March Madness brings Johni Broome back to Rupp Area, where NCAA basketball career began
LEXINGTON — Johni Broome doesn’t need your validation. He never has.
The best thing about Broome, Morehead State men's basketball coach Jonathan Mattox told The Courier Journal, is he thinks he’s the best player on the court regardless of where he is.
He felt that in high school, despite the lack of interest Power Conference schools showed in the nation’s No. 471 recruit. He felt that in Morehead, where he was brought in to add depth to the Eagle’s frontcourt, not be a key contributor. And he feels it in Auburn, Alabama, where people are finally verbalizing what he’s always known to be true of his game.
“It's not really an arrogance,” Mattox said. “He just has a strong self-belief that, ‘Hey, regardless of what anybody says, I can make it happen.’ And he certainly has proven that.”
This week the long-legged lefty from Plant City, Florida, returned to the site of his first-ever collegiate basketball game — Rupp Arena — as a frontrunner for National Player of the Year. The former Morehead State Eagle now dances in the NCAA Tournament with the No. 1 overall seeded Auburn Tigers. He started the last leg of his career, and one last run at a championship, an hour east of the mid-major school that gave him an opportunity five years ago. A beautiful bookend to a storied career.
But not if Broome has anything to say about it.
“Hopefully it’s not full circle,” Broome said. “Hopefully we get past Lexington.”
'Under the radar'
Growing up, Broome wanted to be like James Harden.
He’s one of the best scorers in basketball. And scoring is really fun to watch as a 9-year-old who just started hooping at the local YMCA. Plus Harden is left handed — just like Broome.
But back then, Broome wasn’t necessarily known as a prolific scorer. He didn’t make the first AAU team he tried out for and missed out on Nike camps. Broome boosted his basketball resume in high school, averaging 9.6 points and 10.9 rebounds as a senior, earning the title of Hillsborough County Player of the Year.
But that didn’t seem to move college coaches. Broome’s dad, John, described the recruiting process as “quiet.” “He just wasn't really getting the attention that he was destined to have,” John Broome told The Courier Journal.
The lack of interest hurt. To see other players around him, players he knew he was better than, getting the opportunities he felt he deserved. Why didn’t college recruiters see the image he had of himself?
“‘You just keep working,’” John remembered telling his son back then. “‘You keep you keep doing what you need to do, and they will find you.’”
Then Preston Spradlin with Morehead State came along. He saw Broome at a camp out of state in 2019 and kept up with him through his senior year. Spradlin and his staff knew Broome had the potential to be a good ball player. Not National Player of the Year good, though. His commitment didn’t feel like the steal it does with hindsight.
The Broomes loved Morehead State — its staff and the feel of living in an intimate community like the one they were part of in Plant City. A bonus: The city isn’t exactly known for its robust nightlife scene. So all Broome had to focus on was “books and balls.” Just as mom and dad liked it.
He spent a lot of time in the weight room between July and November, putting on by Mattox’s estimate, 15-20 pounds during that stretch. Morehead State’s coaching staff planned for Broome to back up forward Tyzhaun Claude in Year 1 and develop behind the 6-foot-8 sophomore. But Claude went down with a season-ending injury in November. Next man up.
“The rest is history,” Mattox said. “We didn’t know he was going to have the impact he did as a freshman.”
Broome was named Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year and Tournament MVP in 2020-21. He won the conference's 2021-22 defensive player of the year award after setting a single-season school record with 131 blocks as a sophomore. But the internet still had its doubts about him. Could his skills translate to high-major basketball?
Loyalty means a lot in the Broome household. What you start, you better finish. But this was about Broome's future. This was his chance to learn if he had what it takes to play at the next level — like he always knew he could.
"He was so used to being under the radar," Broome's mom Julie said. "This was the opportunity to say, 'Hey, can you do it?'"
Deciding on Auburn
“Quiet” is not the word John would use to describe his son’s second recruiting process after he entered the transfer portal in 2022.
“My phone didn’t stop ringing for about three or four days straight,” John said.
John Calipari, Mark Few and Penny Hardaway all reached out. Louisville, Florida and Houston also went after him. One school, John said, offered him a job on their staff in exchange for Broome’s commitment. “I didn’t necessarily believe it, but obviously I didn’t end up taking the bait.”
Kentucky was in serious contention for a while. But when Oscar Tshiebwe announced he’d return to Lexington and use his final year of eligibility, Broome crossed UK off his list. He wasn’t leaving Morehead State to play behind somebody.
Florida and Auburn were Broome’s finalists. The Gators were closer to home, but then-first-year head coach Todd Golden was still getting his staff together. Bruce Pearl and his group offered stability. And John felt a kinship with Pearl. Two tough guys, John said, who could hold Broome accountable, push him to be great.
Great is a perfect adjective for what he’s been at Auburn.
Broome received 15 out of 16 votes for the Associated Press' 2025 SEC Player of the Year award. He and Duke freshman Cooper Flagg were selected as unanimous AP All-Americans. Auburn legend Charles Barkley said Thursday that the 6-foot-10 forward has been "better than me in college."
Mattox has observed Broome’s growth, on the court and tangential to basketball, from afar. They still talk, checking in with each other over the phone every couple weeks or so. It's clear to Mattox that Broome is no longer the sophomore frustrated with his team for not getting him the ball more. (A 12- or 15-field-goal-attempt night was never satisfactory for Broome back then, Mattox said. "With his confidence in himself, it was almost like, 'Well, why didn't I get 20? I'm the best player on the floor.'")
At Morehead State, Broome said he learned how to "be more of a leader," and use his voice to uplift teammates when things aren't going their way.
It’s funny now for Mattox to remember Broome’s first college basketball game. He had a team-high 11 points in a 81-45 loss to Kentucky. Impressive, but no indication of the player he’d become.
Broome returned to Rupp Arena March 1, tallying 9 points in Auburn’s 94-78 win over UK. Julie and John didn’t let themselves get emotional then, knowing he could be right back in Lexington for March Madness.
And back he is. But this isn't where he wants his story to end.
Reach college sports enterprise reporter Payton Titus at ptitus@gannett.com, and follow her on X @petitus25.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: March Madness at Kentucky's Rupp Arena: Johni Broome's journey back
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