{{Infobox basketball biography | name = Mike LaRoche | position = Shooting Guard | birth_date = May 24, 1946 | birth_place = Ardmore, Oklahoma, United States | death_date = July 30, 2020 | death_place = Granite Bay, California, United States | height_ft = 6 | weight_lb = 200 | high_school = Fillmore High School | college = Cal Poly | draft_year = 1968 | draft_league = ABA | draft_round = Additional | draft_team = Los Angeles Stars | career_start = 1968 | career_end = 1968 | career_position = Shooting Guard | career_number = 14 | highlights = 3x All-CCAA (1966–68) | years1 = 1968–1969 | team1 = Los Angeles Stars | height_in = 4 }}
'''Mike LaRoche''' (May 24, 1946 – July 30, 2020) was an American professional basketball player in the American Basketball Association, rostered briefly in the 1968–69 season with the then-Los Angeles Stars.
== Early life == LaRoche attended Fillmore High School, and in 2010 was inducted into the school's inaugural Hall of Fame.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 13, 2010 |title=Fillmore High will honor legendary players, coaches and teams at its first Sports Hall of Fame induction |work=VC Star}}</ref>
== College career == Playing for Cal Poly, LaRoche was the CCAA's leading scorer in 1966–67, and earned all-conference status three consecutive times. {| class="wikitable" |+Collegiate Statistics ! !GP !Total Rebounds !Reb. Avg. !Total Points !Scoring Avg. |- !1965–66 |24 |127 |5.3 |445 |18.5 |- !1966–67 |23 |200 |8.7 |550 |23.9 |- !1967–68 |23 |178 |7.7 |505 |21.9 |- !Career |70 |505 |7.2 |1,500 |21.4 |}
== Professional basketball == Los Angeles selected LaRoche with a pick in the additional rounds of the 1968 ABA Draft.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bradley |first=Robert D. |title=The Basketball Draft Fact Book: A History of Professional Basketball's College Drafts |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2013 |isbn=9780810890695|pages=123 |language=English}}</ref> 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 commented: "LaRoche showed us a lot during our rookie summer camp. He is a fine shooter, very aggressive and an excellent defensive player."<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 27, 1968 |title=Stars sign LaRoche |pages=10 |work=San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune}}</ref>
He was assigned uniform number 14, and netted 14, 26 and then 10 points in a trio of the club's preseason scrimmages.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 8, 1968 |title=LaRoche's Stars to collide with Rick Barry's Oaks |pages=6 |work=San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune}}</ref>
While then rostered for the Stars' first two regular-season games,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lambdin |first=Brian Jon |date=February 25, 2005 |title=Searching for anything, finding the Hall |pages=7–8 |work=Mustang Daily}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 14, 2020 |title=William Michael LaRoche 5/24/1946 – 7/30/2020 |work=The Auburn Journal (CA)}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:LaRoche, Mike}} Category:1946 births Category:2020 deaths Category:20th-century American sportsmen Category:American men's basketball players Category:Cal Poly Mustangs men's basketball players Category:California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, alumni Category:Los Angeles Stars draft picks Category:Los Angeles Stars players