Crossroads' Ben Gladieux commits to Stetson University
Apr. 26—HENDERSON — On Tuesday, Crossroads Christian senior Ben Gladieux officially inked his commitment to Stetson University — a Division I school in central Florida — to play basketball.
In his four years at Crossroads, the 6-foot-7 big man scored almost 1,000 points and skyed for over 400 rebounds. In his senior year, he denied 41 shots in the 28 games he played.
Gladieux thought about transferring out of Crossroads his junior year but instead, he pushed through and stayed at Crossroads with head coach Scottie Richardson. During his senior year, he helped the Colts claim a conference championship trophy and a state playoff berth.
Gladieux's decision to stick it out at Crossroads after the COVID year was arguably the turning point of his career. Deciding to "trust the process" with Richardson and continue to make the 40-mile trek from Raleigh to Henderson, Gladieux shot up four inches and quickly blossomed into an elite, young talent.
"I came here a small, weak little kid, and I think I'm leaving here a man," said Gladieux in his signing day press conference.
Gladieux's older brother, Mason, also played college hoops, attending a Division III school at Trine University. With the stream of college hoopers coming out of Crossroads (Richardson has sent 12 players to college on a basketball scholarship since 2021) the program has become a marketing arm for the school.
"To get to this level, you can't just show up to practice," said Richardson. "You have to put the work in."
The blue-collar mindset of the program is what attracted the Gladieux to Coach Richardson, and Ben bought into the Colts' culture from day one — both on and off the court. Gladieux was accepted at all 11 schools to which he applied, including The Citadel — a prestigious military college in South Carolina — just based on his academic resume.
Gladieux will receive his next big basketball opportunity this summer when he travels to Greece to compete with the USA U20 national team.
