PHS keeps basketball position in the family

PORTALES — Portales High boys basketball is keeping it all in the family.

The school announced this week that Randy McBroom will replace his father as the Rams’ head coach going forward.

The younger McBroom, an assistant during Rickie McBroom’s entire nine years as head coach, said he hopes to add to what his father established with the program.

The elder McBroom retired from coaching and teaching in late May.

“We’re going to look at increasing discipline,” Randy McBroom said. “We’re going to look to continue to build on the legacy we have in place.”

Randy McBroom, 39, was the boys basketball coach at Clovis Christian from 2006-09, leading the Eagles to their first NMAA district championship during that time, before spending the next three seasons at the Clovis Freshman Academy. He joined his father’s staff when Rickie McBroom was named the Rams’ head coach in 2012.

He said he’s still working on his staff, but added that Scott Shumpert will be a part of it. Shumpert has coached in the Clovis system for a number of years.

“He’s a veteran coach, and he’s going to fit in real well with what we’re trying to do,” Randy McBroom said.

He said the McBrooms have been quite happy in Portales.

“For us, Portales is a great place,” Randy McBroom said. “They always have great kids that work hard. I’m extremely excited for this opportunity. I want to continue the strong tradition of Ram basketball.”

Incoming PHS athletic director Ruth Gomez said she thinks Randy McBroom and his staff can bring a new energy to the program.

“Even though he’s been in the program for many years, I think he’ll bring a new dynamic,” Gomez said. “We’ve got some goals and expectations that we’ve set, and I’m going to work side by side with him to try to get the program where we want it to be.”

Rickie McBroom’s teams compiled a 139-91 record at PHS, including a trip to the Class 4A state finals in 2017. The Rams, though, were hard-hit by graduation this spring and may be in a bit of a rebuilding mode.

“Honestly, we’re going to be pretty young this year,” Randy McBroom said. “We graduated a pretty big senior group. We return just a handful of kids that were fulltime varsity players.

“But I will say I’m excited about the group coming up. We’ve got some young kids that love the game of basketball.”

Randy McBroom said the Rams will incorporate whatever style best fits their personnel.

“We’re going to continue to play the way we need to for our athletes,” he said.

Randy’s younger brother, Todd, was on the PHS staff for a time before taking the girls head coaching job at Gallup. Todd McBroom led the Lady Bengals to a Class 4A state title in May.