Photo by: Rich Graessle
Zipporah Broughton: Banking on Success
Sep 02 | Women's Basketball
The transition from high school to college is not always easy and for a Division I point guard, the transition can be even tougher.
As a highly touted prospect, Zipporah Broughton went through ups and downs her first two seasons "On The Banks" and with her experience, she is eager to pass on her knowledge to the newcomers in Rutgers' nationally ranked 2020 recruiting class.
It's not just the in's and out's of marathon practices, the learning of the Stringer system, navigating the campus and balancing the life of being a student and an athlete. Broughton wants her fellow Scarlet Knights to learn and feel comfortable on the court, but she also wants to know if her teammates are ready to for the real world after graduation.
"When has fear made you money," Broughton can be heard asking her teammates in the locker room.
In the processing of applying to the business school, Broughton, the Robert E. Lee High School valedictorian, has taken an interest in some of the post graduate problems facing college students, namely student debt, savings and financial stability. Her teammates lovingly called her the team financial advisor since, in addition to regularly talking x's and o's behind the scenes, she can also be counted on to talk retirement plans despite being nearly 45 years away from approaching the late-life milestone.
In addition to taking classes towards a business degree, she supplements her free time by reading at least a chapter a day on topics to better herself.
"I'm not only big on finance, but also personal development," she noted. "I read Think and Grow Rich. I took my time with that one so I can let everything marinate."
Also spotted on Broughton's bookshelf are Four Agreements, Richest Man in Babylon, Financial Peace and Rich Dad, Poor Dad.
"I believe in goals and one of my biggest goals is to be financially stable when I graduate," she stated in addition to her goal of playing professionally in the WNBA. "As college athletes, many of us are blessed to have some of the financial burden of our education taken care of with scholarships, but many of us still have the reality of facing financial uncertainty in our future."
Broughton has a goal of educating her on-court sisters in what she considers lessons that have transcended the walls of the RAC. The rising junior has found that her lessons in finance - balance, leadership, accountability and overcoming fear - are all traits she feels responsible for when serving in the role of being the Scarlet Knights' floor general.
Heading into the regular season finale at Ohio State freshman year, it was the fear of letting down her teammates that sparked a major turnaround for Broughton. It was in striking a balance between accountability for improvement and taking on a leadership role on the court that helped Rutgers reach its first ever Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal.
"I know there were stretches where that season was rough, but by the end of the season people could see significant change," she noted. "I'm trying to use that to carry me through the rest of my time here."
Broughton made her Scarlet Knight debut in the 2018-19 season opener against St. Francis (Pa.). As a member of the starting five, she netted 11 points to along with four assists and three steals backing up her scholastic resume she had put together before she arrived at Rutgers.
However, an injury caused the Wetumpka, Alabama native to miss the next three games. When she returned to the court, Broughton came off the bench and averaged only 2.7 points over the next 20 games. She battled physical setbacks again as a sophomore, yet kept bouncing back to make an impact on the floor.
"When we lost a few teammates, you could visibly see how it affected the team and we were all questioning about how the rest of the reason was going to go," recalled Broughton. "I didn't feel like I was doing what I was supposed to and I was upset at myself. I wanted to be a person my teammates could depend on. So from that day on, I dedicated myself to getting in the gym and putting up the extra shots."
That extra gym time paid off as Broughton exploded for a career-high 19 points against the Buckeyes in a nationally televised contest. She shot 7-of-11 from the floor, including three made shots from downtown, along with four rebounds and a pair of blocks.
"It got to a point where I could hear in the game, 'Where's Zippy? Where's Zippy?'. That's where my confidence came from, mainly my teammates.
"It was the end of the season and I didn't want my teammates to feel like they couldn't depend on me," Broughton added. "I didn't want, especially our seniors, to feel like our season was over. I became a whole different person. I was laser-focused in practice, I was taking more of a leadership role and I felt like I was trusted as a point guard. When your teammates trust you, that's the best feeling in the world."
Broughton is ready to challenge herself for her third season "On The Banks" and pass on the lessons she has collected to date to be successful both on and off the court. Just don't be surprised when after practice that she'll want to talk about the latest stock trends or interest rates to help your bank account in addition to what she can do to help the Scarlet Knights win.
As a highly touted prospect, Zipporah Broughton went through ups and downs her first two seasons "On The Banks" and with her experience, she is eager to pass on her knowledge to the newcomers in Rutgers' nationally ranked 2020 recruiting class.
It's not just the in's and out's of marathon practices, the learning of the Stringer system, navigating the campus and balancing the life of being a student and an athlete. Broughton wants her fellow Scarlet Knights to learn and feel comfortable on the court, but she also wants to know if her teammates are ready to for the real world after graduation.
"When has fear made you money," Broughton can be heard asking her teammates in the locker room.
In the processing of applying to the business school, Broughton, the Robert E. Lee High School valedictorian, has taken an interest in some of the post graduate problems facing college students, namely student debt, savings and financial stability. Her teammates lovingly called her the team financial advisor since, in addition to regularly talking x's and o's behind the scenes, she can also be counted on to talk retirement plans despite being nearly 45 years away from approaching the late-life milestone.
In addition to taking classes towards a business degree, she supplements her free time by reading at least a chapter a day on topics to better herself.
"I'm not only big on finance, but also personal development," she noted. "I read Think and Grow Rich. I took my time with that one so I can let everything marinate."
Also spotted on Broughton's bookshelf are Four Agreements, Richest Man in Babylon, Financial Peace and Rich Dad, Poor Dad.
"I believe in goals and one of my biggest goals is to be financially stable when I graduate," she stated in addition to her goal of playing professionally in the WNBA. "As college athletes, many of us are blessed to have some of the financial burden of our education taken care of with scholarships, but many of us still have the reality of facing financial uncertainty in our future."
Broughton has a goal of educating her on-court sisters in what she considers lessons that have transcended the walls of the RAC. The rising junior has found that her lessons in finance - balance, leadership, accountability and overcoming fear - are all traits she feels responsible for when serving in the role of being the Scarlet Knights' floor general.
Heading into the regular season finale at Ohio State freshman year, it was the fear of letting down her teammates that sparked a major turnaround for Broughton. It was in striking a balance between accountability for improvement and taking on a leadership role on the court that helped Rutgers reach its first ever Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal.
"I know there were stretches where that season was rough, but by the end of the season people could see significant change," she noted. "I'm trying to use that to carry me through the rest of my time here."
Broughton made her Scarlet Knight debut in the 2018-19 season opener against St. Francis (Pa.). As a member of the starting five, she netted 11 points to along with four assists and three steals backing up her scholastic resume she had put together before she arrived at Rutgers.
However, an injury caused the Wetumpka, Alabama native to miss the next three games. When she returned to the court, Broughton came off the bench and averaged only 2.7 points over the next 20 games. She battled physical setbacks again as a sophomore, yet kept bouncing back to make an impact on the floor.
"When we lost a few teammates, you could visibly see how it affected the team and we were all questioning about how the rest of the reason was going to go," recalled Broughton. "I didn't feel like I was doing what I was supposed to and I was upset at myself. I wanted to be a person my teammates could depend on. So from that day on, I dedicated myself to getting in the gym and putting up the extra shots."
That extra gym time paid off as Broughton exploded for a career-high 19 points against the Buckeyes in a nationally televised contest. She shot 7-of-11 from the floor, including three made shots from downtown, along with four rebounds and a pair of blocks.
"It got to a point where I could hear in the game, 'Where's Zippy? Where's Zippy?'. That's where my confidence came from, mainly my teammates.
"It was the end of the season and I didn't want my teammates to feel like they couldn't depend on me," Broughton added. "I didn't want, especially our seniors, to feel like our season was over. I became a whole different person. I was laser-focused in practice, I was taking more of a leadership role and I felt like I was trusted as a point guard. When your teammates trust you, that's the best feeling in the world."
Broughton is ready to challenge herself for her third season "On The Banks" and pass on the lessons she has collected to date to be successful both on and off the court. Just don't be surprised when after practice that she'll want to talk about the latest stock trends or interest rates to help your bank account in addition to what she can do to help the Scarlet Knights win.
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