Randall High School held a ceremony Monday in front of a packed crowd of students, staff, family, former players, and coaches to honor its longtime and only head basketball coach, Leslie Broadhurst, by naming the gymnasium after him.
Thousands cheered as Broadhurst's signatures were unveiled to the public for the first time. Broadhurst, who has coached the team since 1988, smiled as he saw the unveiling to a standing ovation.
"It was pretty awesome,” he said. “They asked me to do those signatures, and I have a terrible signature, so I bet I did 100 of them trying to make it look right, and they picked one. ... At least with my name, you can spell it and look at it and tell it is the right name.”
Nathan Maxwell, who played for Broadhurst almost two decades ago and is the second leading scorer in Randall High School history, came to center court to talk about playing for Broadhurst, speaking glowingly about the experience. K.J. Thomas, who broke his record to become the leading all-time scorer, reflected on his time with Broadhurst.
“He is a big part of the man I am today; I have learned a lot of lessons from him on and off the court,” Thomas said. “He has really shown me how to be a leader and always gave me the support I needed to become that. It has been my honor to play for Coach Broadhurst, and I am a better man and player for it.”
Broadhurst's daughter, Brooke Burciaga, spoke about her memories of her dad as a coach at Randall High School.
“Our childhood was here; we grew up in this gym,” she said. "This was always the thread of our family. It has just been a cool, full-circle journey for us. When people think of Randall basketball, that is the face of who they see.”
With so many in attendance whose lives Broadhurst has touched with his coaching, he said it was an amazing honor to have the gym named for him after 36 years as the coach.
“I have worked with a lot of great players and coaches through the years, which has made coaching here special,” Broadhurst said. "It has been such a great experience coaching here. I just love this place.”
Asked about coaching his sons Blair and Jacob at the school, Broadhurst said it was an awesome experience.
“It was a great thing to be able to coach both of them,” he said. “Blair and I had a few run-ins, but I am so proud of him and what he has become, just like all my players. It is great to spend quality time with your kids, and you spend so much time on buses, practices, games. If it is your son, it makes it really special.”
Reflecting on how future generations should view his legacy, Broadhurst said he wants to be remembered for how he taught and treated his players and those he worked or interacted with.
“We preach to our players all the time about consistency ... I think when you go to a place and spend 36 years, that is kind of that,” he said. “We talked a lot about being a good person; hopefully, I have treated most people right and treated them the right way to be kind to people except when we are playing the game. There are such good people here, and this honor is just the cherry on top of the cake.”
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