Mike LaRoche (May 24, 1946 – July 30, 2020) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player in the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

, rostered briefly in the 1968–69 season with the then- Los Angeles Stars.

Early life

LaRoche attended

Fillmore High School Fillmore High School (FHS) is a public comprehensive high school serving grades 9–12 in Fillmore, California, United States that opened in 1912. It is one of two high schools in the Fillmore Unified School District, the other being Sierra High ...

, and in 2010 was inducted into the school's inaugural Hall of Fame.

College career

Playing for Cal Poly, LaRoche was the CCAA's leading scorer in 1966–67, and earned all-conference status three consecutive times.

Professional basketball

Los Angeles selected LaRoche with a pick in the additional rounds of the 1968

ABA Draft The American Basketball Association draft was held from 1967 to 1975. First overall picks Note: 1974 ABA College Draft, not 1974 ABA Draft of NBA Players Further reading *{{cite book, last=Bradley, first=Robert D., title=The Basketball Draft Fac ...

. Standing 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, LaRoche signed with the Stars in June 1968, for $12,000 with a signing bonus of $3,000, after scoring eight points each in two summer intrasquad games at the L.A. Sports Arena. Of the signing, L.A. coach

Bill Sharman William Walton Sharman (May 25, 1926 – October 25, 2013) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He is mostly known for his time with the Boston Celtics in the 1950s, partnering with Bob Cousy in what was then considered ...

commented: "LaRoche showed us a lot during our rookie summer camp. He is a fine shooter, very aggressive and an excellent defensive player." He was assigned uniform number 14, and netted 14, 26 and then 10 points in a trio of the club's preseason scrimmages. While then rostered for the Stars' first two regular-season games, LaRoche did not see any floor time during either of the two games, and thereafter was released. After basketball, he went on to a lengthy law career.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:LaRoche, Mike 1946 births 2020 deaths American men's basketball players Cal Poly Mustangs men's basketball players California Polytechnic State University alumni Los Angeles Stars draft picks