Sports

The dynamic duo

By Tyler Ohmann

03/20/2012

Theordore Roosevelt once said: “Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”

Perhaps no two Bottineau athletes have endured both the hardship of failure and the triumph of glory than Mark LaCroix and Justin McCloud. The duo, who have played together for the better part of their sporting days, have experienced both the highs and lows the sports world has had to offer.

Senior year

The pair can say that their senior year has definitely been a high point.

The year began in the fall with the two playing integral parts in sending the Bottineau High School Braves football team to the playoffs with a number two seed, and tying a school record with eight wins.

“It was amazing, especially coming off of two years of injury-riddled seasons,” LaCroix said. “To bounce back and have Justin come back like he did, and have everybody step up thier game this year.”

They went from the low point of their career when the Braves was a basement team and won only a combined four games in the 2009 and 2010 seasons to a high point when the football team contended for the 2011 Class AA Region Title and made it to the quarterfinals of the state playoffs.

“I couldn’t believe the difference with the injuries, but it gave everybody the experience I guess, and that made a big difference,” LaCroix said. “We had the  experience out there and everybody knew what to do when they were in the game, and that helped us a long ways.”

During the season the pair shattered BHS records left and right, along with the rest of the team.

LaCroix broke the single season receiving record after amassing nearly 600 yards. McCloud, who tossed all those passes to LaCroix, in turn broke the single season passing yardage record, throwing for 1,368 yards.
LaCroix said that breaking the awards meant quite a bit to both Justin and himself.

“It means a lot. It means we’ve had a great team over the years,” LaCroix said. “We’ve always had some great players with us to help us along the way.”

“They will be broken. Records are meant to be broken, but I don’t know when they’ll be broken,” LaCroix continued. “I’m happy right now that Justin and me broke a lot of them, but I do hope they get broken one day because that means the athletics here have gotten better.”

The Braves also set team records for rushing, passing and made a run at the school record for scoring.

“It was nice whooping up on some teams because usually we’re the team that is taking the pounding, this year we gave them,” LaCroix said. “It meant so much to be out there and win the homecoming game, senior night. It was awesome to be out there.”

By the time football ended, the pair took little time before they hit the court. The basketball season began with some big expectations, as the Braves looked to advance past regions with a senior heavy team.

When the Region 6 tournament rolled around, the Braves were 22-1, and had a District 11 title wrapped firmly around their waistline.

By the time the Braves cruised past Glenburn and Des Lacs-Burlington the showdown many expected was upon them — Berthold against Bottineau: winner goes to state.

“All season the talk was about us and Berthold, and then it came to be,” McCloud said. “In that last minute of the game, knowing I was losing, I got that feeling in my head, I just knew there was nothing you could do, and it sucks.”

It was another low point, but the season also yielded many good things. Records again were broken as the pair tore through a rough schedule as point guard and post.

McCloud broke the BHS single-season scoring record after dropping in 607 points this past season (the previous record was 596). However, it was LaCroix who got the best of McCloud in career points as he finished with 1,477 points, a 15.7 average, and also averaged 10 rebounds per game. McCloud did finish second in school history with 1,454, a 15.5 per game average.
McCloud said he never thought much about the records, but was worried more about the team.

“I’m not just an individual player who wants to break records,” McCloud said. “I’m all about the team and winning before any of that, but it’s definitely an honor to be on the board, especially in two sports.”

“I don’t think its about it really, but when people tell me that I’m close, it is definitely in the back of my mind,” McCloud added.

The pair is also poised to try and make a run at a third consecutive trip to state in baseball as well. This year, they eye a state title after placing fifth last season.

If done, LaCroix admits it will cap off an amazing prep career.

“I think I’ll look back at it more after my senior year, but it’s been awesome being with this group,” LaCroix said. “We’re definitely happy where we are, but we would like to get one state championship here in baseball to round it off.”

Loud LaCroix

When a spectator is watching a Bottineau Braves game, they can easily pick out Mark LaCroix. All they have to do is point to the one that is doing most of the talking.

“Everyone knows that Mark is strong and has a lot of emotion and he shows it on the court or the field or whatever it is,” McCloud said of his teammate. “I don’t know if that helps or hurts him, but that’s who he is, and I just know him like that.”

“When he talks, he enforces everything and people listen, because he is so loud and kind of intimidating. I think that has always been his main role too, he can just talk,”  McCloud added.

Being vocal is not the only thing that gets LaCroix noticed on the field or court. If a player is diving into the stands or running into a wall or fence to make a play, it’s likely LaCroix.

“He doesn’t give up on anything, he’s got the motor that never stops,” said Braves basketball and baseball Head Coach Nate Simpson. “He goes flying into the stands constantly with no regard for his own body. He is just trying to get a loose ball or get a rebound. He is out-working every single person on the court.”

McCloud agrees, and believes that hard work makes him a great teammate to have.

“He’s a great player, and a great teammate to have, because not only does he make everyone else around him better, but he makes himself better by pushing himself so hard and the dedication he has,” McCloud said.

Where does the hustle come from? LaCroix recalls an eighth grade basketball game that he watched, which taught him to try his hardest.

“When we were in eighth grade, we were watching Rugby play Velva, and I was talking to the Rugby coach at the time. Rugby was down two points, and there was a loose ball, the Rugby kid jogged after it and it went out of bounds,” LaCroix recanted. “Velva got the ball back and the coach said, ‘we’re going to lose this game now because we don’t hustle.’ Sure enough, Rugby ended up losing the game.”

“So ever since then, I’ve thought if there is a loose ball, I have to go get it, if there is a 50/50 ball, I want to go after it,” LaCroix said. “I want to be that hustle guy, I mean I don’t want to lose because I didn’t go hard after a ball.”

LaCroix admitted that was the moment he believes he decided that he was going to try harder and try and be more competitive than anyone else.

“I think it makes me strive harder, and I don’t want to lose, so I just go hard, and hopefully good things happen,” LaCroix said.

To start his career though, LaCroix posed a little cause for concern for Simpson, who has been his coach for the majority of his varsity career at BHS.

“As a freshman I was a little concerned about him to be able to mentally handle a varsity sport, but he grew up immensely in the last couple years,” Simpson said.

“Physically, emotionally, as a leader, and he is exceeded my expectations in basketball more than anything.”

McCloud first ran into LaCroix back in tee ball, but he said he didn’t realize how impressive LaCroix was until later on.

“We started out in tee-ball, but nobody knew each other then, or who was good,” McCloud said. “But in fifth grade basketball and junior high football I always knew he was really good.”

Basketball, however, isn’t LaCroix’s passion, his preference is to step out on the baseball diamond.

“Baseball is his sport, that’s the one he is passionate about, the one he works the most on,” Simpson said. “He has gotten progressively better, and he has really, really grown up the past couple years, and that’s shown on the field and on the court.”

Simpson said that having LaCroix on the field is like having an extra coach.

“What he’s doing in baseball is that he thinks like a coach out there. He is thinking three plays ahead or three batters ahead, and constantly running situations through his head,” Simspon said. “He is barking them back at me, and sometimes he gets me thinking, but he’s constantly thinking about situations in baseball.”

LaCroix’s passion for baseball stems from the Aus brothers, who taught him the game at a young age.

“Derek Aus had a big impact on me when I was a little kid,” LaCroix said. “He’s pushed me along the way with baseball, and Danny Aus too, both the Aus’ have helped me so much.”

“They are the reason I love the game, and give it my all when I go out there,” LaCroix continued. “Derek was one of my favorite coaches of all time, and I’ve always wanted to go further because he’s pushed me.”

As for LaCroix’s future, it will be in baseball. As to where, he hasn’t decided yet.

“I’m looking to go to a junior college so I can play right away,” LaCroix said. “If you go to a four-year school, you will probably have to sit a couple of years, and I’m not looking forward to that. I kind of want to stay out there on the field and keep getting better.”

LaCroix said he has looked at junior colleges in North Dakota such as Dakota College at Bottineau, Williston State College and Bismarck State College. Another college he has looked at include Iowa Central as well as other colleges in Iowa.

Simpson noted that LaCroix has a lot of options as to what the next level could hold in store for him, and it wouldn’t be just on the baseball field.

“I think Mark has chosen baseball, even though I think he would be one heck of a college football player too,” Simpson said. “If you added four inches to him we wouldn’t even be talking football or baseball, we would be talking a D-1 college basketball scholarship.”

As to the success for LaCroix at the next level, Simpson has no doubt that it will follow LaCroix wherever his cleats are hung.

“I think he’ll be successful, and it’s something that he’s been looking forward to for a long time,” Simpson said. “He’s trying to find the right fit now. As soon as he finds that fit, that college program is going to benefit because he’s going to work so hard, and he’s so competitive.”

McCloud the Mind

McCloud became the first Bottineau boy’s basketball player ever to be nominated for North Dakota’s Mr. Basketball award in the 26 year history of the award, but that was no surprise to LaCroix.

“He is one of the best around, and he definitely should have gotten Mr. Basketball with the way that he played, and as hard as he worked,” LaCroix said. “He would have definitely been deserving if he got the award, and hopefully he gets all-state now.”

McCloud acknowledged it was a dream to be on that court with the seven other nominees.

“It is just as blessing. It is almost unreal,” McCloud said. “It’s been a goal ever since I was a little kid and watching on TV, and they lined up all the Mr. Basketball finalists, I just wanted that to be me one day.”

“It would have been unimaginable to win it, but just to be mentioned with those seven other guys is an honor,” McCloud said.

The nomination was exciting for Simpson, who didn’t necessarily expect McCloud to be nominated, though he knew he deserved it.

“I was ecstatic when I found out about that, and honestly I didn’t know what his chances were,” Simpson said. “Nobody deserved to be a Mr. Basketball candidate more than Justin. For the time that he’s put in, the type of player he is, it was right up his alley.”

“I know he’s been through a lot in his life, so to top off his high school basketball career with a Mr. Basketball nomination was great,” Simpson continued. “I know he didn’t get a ton of votes, but just to be nominated was great.”

As for the play that got him there, Simpson said the mental side of Justin’s game is what makes him so special.

“He’s got a quiet competitiveness about him, and he is just completely in control of himself, and making players around him better,” Simpson said. “He has a way of slowing the game down in his head, whether it’s baseball, basketball or football. That makes him that much better of an athlete.”

“I can’t even imagine what it’s like being in his head, going down a basketball court, and he knows what that defender is going to do five seconds before they know what they are going to do,” Simpson added.

Simpson said that with McCloud the talent was always there, but that he grew (literally) into a tremendous basketball player.

“We pulled him as an eighth grader, he played JV and you could tell there was talent there,” Simpson said. “He played a lot, handled the ball a lot, and talk about growing up, it seemed he came back every year and was a little taller, a little better shooter, a little better ball handler.”

Simpson credited McCloud’s work in the off season and on off days as a big part to his successes.

“He didn’t let you know he was working on things, but he was constantly playing basketball, and working on things, trying to get better,” Simpson said. “He was playing against older kids to better himself, the talent level is there, and you add those five, six inches he grew, and he became a college basketball player right before your eyes.”

Basketball is McCloud’s love, and it was instilled into him at a young age by his father.

“I just love the game ever since I was a little kid and my dad would tell me stories about when he played over in Belcourt,” McCloud said. “It was the sport that he mainly pushed me in to play, so I just developed  a love for it, and it stuck with me ever since.”

McCloud got his first taste of playing with the big boys, when he was called up to play junior varsity as an eighth grader, an experience he said really helped his game.

“I think that definitely helped, not just the competition level, but the physicality of the game and how much faster it is,” McCloud said.

McCloud’s future is rooted firmly on the basketball court, and after averaging 24.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.8 steals per game his senior season, several offers have come in.

McCloud said he has a couple of routes he could go in college, he sees his best bet of playing Division I ball coming after a stint at a junior college.

“My main goal, probably along with anybody who wants to play basketball, is to play at the highest level and that would be Division I,” McCloud said. “If I want to play Division I, I don’t really have any great offers to play right out of high school, so I’m thinking of a junior college, and hopefully that works out and I get some looks.”

Some junior colleges McCloud has looked at include: Dakota College at Bottineau, Bismarck State College and Williston State College.

“I’ve also thought of getting into a program, like Division II, and just sticking with that program and getting my career done,” McCloud said. “There is something just telling me to try and get to the highest level and play Division I basketball. I just want to be able to say that I played at that level, so that’s probably what I’m going to do.”

Four-year school’s McCloud might consider he said include: Minot State, South Dakota Mines or Northern State.

McCloud said he hasn’t made a decision as of yet, but believes he will make one by summer. He plans on making visits to schools in the next couple weeks, and making an informed decision from there.

Simpson said that with McCloud’s talent he could easily play at the next level in all three sports that he has participated in during high school.

“I don’t know what school he’s going to go to or what route he’s going to go basketball wise, but he’s another kid that if he wanted to play college football somewhere he could do that, if he wanted to play college baseball somewhere I know there is a ton of schools that would love to have a shortstop with his hands and his ability to handle a bat,” Simpson said. “But, basketball is his first love, and if he keeps getting better like he has over the last several years, he is going to be extremely successful in whatever he chooses to do.”

An ‘A’ in Chemistry

To say it was pretty important for LaCroix and McCloud to develop a rapport on the field, court or diamond would be an understatement.

In football, McCloud, the quarterback, slings bombs to LaCroix, the receiver. On the hardwood McCloud, the point guard, dishes dimes inside to LaCroix, a post. In baseball when McCloud takes the mound as the pitcher he tosses fastballs into LaCroix’s awaiting catchers mitt.

Therefore a chemistry between athletes is necessary to for the two to be successful.

LaCroix said that the ability to play closely with McCloud developed through their years of playing together.

“I think it’s built over the years, Justin has been a great teammate,” LaCroix said. “In basketball he passes the ball, shoots, we can rely on him whenever we need him. Football wise Justin is so smart as a quarterback, he always knew what to do, what to call, and it really helped us out. In baseball he is the same way, he is a smart guy out there and doesn’t make mistakes.”

However, LaCroix said it is McCloud who holds all the power on the playing field.

“Pretty much if Justin wants to, he can cut me off, and say get out of here,” LaCroix joked.

McCloud differs with LaCroix in that he believes that the connection between the two athletes was there from the beginning.

“I think it’s been there since we were little kids playing fifth-grade basketball and seventh and eighth grade football,” McCloud said. “Me and Mark always seemed to be the dominant two, and it kind of grew with us.”

“One might get the recognition each night, but we both know we couldn’t do it without each other,” McCloud added. “Both of us make each other better in every sport that we play in.”

Simpson agrees more with LaCroix, stating that their junior year was when the pair really hit their stride as a duo.

“I think it’s taken them awhile to develop that relationship, but the last two years I think they’ve had it,” Simpson said. “They complement each other very well. You have Justin on the one side, who is quiet, humble, goes about doing his thing, and then with Mark, you’ve got that outspoken side, a vocal leader.”

“I think that their leaderships styles are different, but they feed off of each other,” Simpson added.

McCloud continued to say that the pair have always had a bit of an unspoken rivalry.

“I didn’t necessarily try to compete, but it was a kind of inner thing between me and him,” McCloud said. “We didn’t want to try and do better than each other, but we just didn’t want to get beat, because that is the nature of how competitive we are.”

The one regret that McCloud admits might have been that when he was bumped up to junior varsity in eighth grade that he missed out on another year of working together with LaCroix.

“Looking back if I would have stayed with eighth graders it maybe would have developed more chemistry with us, but the next year we stepped up and Mark and I were playing at the varsity level again, and I don’t think it hurt us very much.”

When the pair were younger and growing up, McCloud said they always talked about how well they would do when they got their shot at varsity, and he believes they fulfilled some of those dreams.

“I kind of figured it would happen, because we’ve always played with the core group of guys ever since we were little. We always kind of thought of ahead about how good we’d be and what we would be able to do, and we’ve done most everything that we thought.”

Though the dynamic duo may be splitting paths as athletes after the baseball season ends and school begins next fall, chances are they will be cheering each other on as they each move forward.

The pair have endured many defeats, but those also led to many successes. As C.S Lewis wrote: “Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.”