Crossroads' Gladieux signs with Trine University for hoops
By Brandon White bwhite@hendersondispatch
HENDERSON — A proud tradition of basketball for the Gladieux family is set to continue at the collegiate level in the fall.
Crossroads Christian men’s basketball player Mason Gladieux, who is the oldest son of former Stetson University player Ryan Gladieux, signed his letter of intent to play at Trine University in front of his family and teammates on Wednesday afternoon.
The path to Trine in Angola, Indiana has been one filled with many twists and turns for Mason but he expressed his gratitude towards his family and everyone at Crossroads for enabling him to persevere through adversity and earn an opportunity to play at the collegiate level.
“This feels incredible,” Mason said. “I’ve been knocked down a lot in my life but I’ve also had a lot of overwhelming support. To finally be able to sign to Trine University is truly a special moment.”
Basketball has been a part of the Gladieux family for generations.
Mason’s great grandfather Bud Gladieux was a standout player for Toledo University during the 1940s while his son and Mason’s grandfather Bill Gladieux enjoyed his own success competing at St. Joseph’s University.
The Gladieux family’s love for basketball carried on into the 1990s through Bill’s sons in Ryan, Matt and Adam. As Ryan carved out his own role at Stetson, Adam served as a leader for High Point University’s team while Matt started out at his grandfather’s school in Toledo before later transferring to Coastal Carolina University.
For Ryan, seeing his own son become a fourth-generation collegiate basketball player is a great source of pride for and knows that Mason is going to use all of the knowledge obtained from the three previous generations to fit right in under Trine head coach Brooks Miller.
“I’ve tried to pass down the concepts of effort and intent,” Ryan said. “Anybody can shoot a basketball but putting in the effort and intent to get rebounds, box out, dive on the floor, take charges and do the dirty stuff is so important. Those are the tough things but they’re also the lessons I want to see Mason take with him to Trine.”
Ryan added that Mason signing any letter of intent would have faced more substantial hurdles without the assistance of Crossroads Christian athletic director Scottie Richardson.
Mason was fighting for a role on Cardinal Gibbons’ varsity team when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in March, 2020. The ensuing limitations placed on Cardinal Gibbons convinced Mason’s family to search for another school, where they ultimately came across Crossroads Christian.
When Richardson first met Mason, he knew that his composure and mentality would make him a valuable member of Crossroads basketball and said that the last two years have only served to prove that initial hypothesis correct.
“[Mason] is a very likable kid,” Richardson said. “When you come in humble and wanting to learn, that’s half of our battle as coaches. He came to practice every day ready to work and he’s become a great leader for us. It took Mason a while to learn the system but he worked really hard over the offseason and I’m so proud of him.”
As the sixth man for Crossroads, Mason has excelled as a plug-and-play athlete under Richardson’s position-less system of basketball. Although Mason has not put up the same scoring numbers as some of his teammates, he did reach a career high of 15 points in an 85-59 loss to Grace Christian earlier this year.
Being a leading scorer has never been a top priority for Mason, who said that playing under Richardson at Crossroads has emphasized the importance of selfless play on the court and motivating others to reach their potential in every aspect of the game.
“I’ve come a really long way,” Mason said. “All of my trainers, coaches and teammates have made me such a better basketball player. All of the hard work that we put in together during the offseason, over the summer and during the season has definitely changed things for the better.”
Although Mason has thoroughly enjoyed building Crossroads into a championship-caliber program, he admitted that his favorite memory at the school came away from the basketball court.
In Crossroads’ first year of fielding a cross country team since 2015, Mason emerged as the best runner on the program despite not having competed in the sport in two years and helped Crossroads claim the NCISAA 1A title while simultaneously taking home individual state championship honors.
The versatility and leadership that Mason displayed on both cross country and basketball at Crossroads are qualities that Richardson said will benefit him at Trine, which is coming off a 69-55 loss to Randolph-Macon College in a de facto NCAA Division III national championship game the year before.
Preparing his players for the next level of basketball has been a key philosophy for Richardson since arriving at Crossroads four years ago and said that Mason is going to proudly represent the school and those values over the next four years.
“This is a testament to our program,” Richardson said. “We’re starting to see the fruits of our labor with Taylor Bell, Zach Murphy and some other guys that have gone on to college. We even have Colby Taylor who is currently on the staff at High Point University under Tubby Smith, so I’m very excited for Mason.”
Since Mason is still 17 years old and only 6-2, Richardson said there is still plenty of room for him to get better and contribute for Trine in ways that he was not able to at Crossroads.
Ryan also believes that Mason will be a key focal point for Trine on both ends of the floor but said that Mason needs to discover his own interests while at the school so he can put himself in the best possible position to succeed once his playing career is over.
“I want Mason to [go to Trine and] be a man,” Ryan said. “I want Mason to grow into his own and chart his own path. He needs to pick a major that he will love and get a college degree while having fun playing basketball in the meantime. I don’t think he’ll go to the NBA, so the goal for him is to focus on what he will do the rest of his life.”
Mason intends to pursue a business major during his time at Trine but is currently focused on finishing out his final few games at Crossroads strong with the hope of adding another championship banner inside the gymnasium.
A busy offseason lies ahead for Mason even before graduating from Crossroads but he is ready to embark on the challenge in front of him so he can add another chapter to the successful basketball legacy of the Gladieux family.
“I’m going to stay level-headed and continue getting good grades,” Mason said. “I need to recover from this ankle injury I suffered a couple of weeks ago but my spring is slated with a bunch of basketball workouts and a lot of opportunities to get ready for my time at Trine.”
By Brandon White bwhite@hendersondispatch
HENDERSON — A proud tradition of basketball for the Gladieux family is set to continue at the collegiate level in the fall.
Crossroads Christian men’s basketball player Mason Gladieux, who is the oldest son of former Stetson University player Ryan Gladieux, signed his letter of intent to play at Trine University in front of his family and teammates on Wednesday afternoon.
The path to Trine in Angola, Indiana has been one filled with many twists and turns for Mason but he expressed his gratitude towards his family and everyone at Crossroads for enabling him to persevere through adversity and earn an opportunity to play at the collegiate level.
“This feels incredible,” Mason said. “I’ve been knocked down a lot in my life but I’ve also had a lot of overwhelming support. To finally be able to sign to Trine University is truly a special moment.”
Basketball has been a part of the Gladieux family for generations.
Mason’s great grandfather Bud Gladieux was a standout player for Toledo University during the 1940s while his son and Mason’s grandfather Bill Gladieux enjoyed his own success competing at St. Joseph’s University.
The Gladieux family’s love for basketball carried on into the 1990s through Bill’s sons in Ryan, Matt and Adam. As Ryan carved out his own role at Stetson, Adam served as a leader for High Point University’s team while Matt started out at his grandfather’s school in Toledo before later transferring to Coastal Carolina University.
For Ryan, seeing his own son become a fourth-generation collegiate basketball player is a great source of pride for and knows that Mason is going to use all of the knowledge obtained from the three previous generations to fit right in under Trine head coach Brooks Miller.
“I’ve tried to pass down the concepts of effort and intent,” Ryan said. “Anybody can shoot a basketball but putting in the effort and intent to get rebounds, box out, dive on the floor, take charges and do the dirty stuff is so important. Those are the tough things but they’re also the lessons I want to see Mason take with him to Trine.”
Ryan added that Mason signing any letter of intent would have faced more substantial hurdles without the assistance of Crossroads Christian athletic director Scottie Richardson.
Mason was fighting for a role on Cardinal Gibbons’ varsity team when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in March, 2020. The ensuing limitations placed on Cardinal Gibbons convinced Mason’s family to search for another school, where they ultimately came across Crossroads Christian.
When Richardson first met Mason, he knew that his composure and mentality would make him a valuable member of Crossroads basketball and said that the last two years have only served to prove that initial hypothesis correct.
“[Mason] is a very likable kid,” Richardson said. “When you come in humble and wanting to learn, that’s half of our battle as coaches. He came to practice every day ready to work and he’s become a great leader for us. It took Mason a while to learn the system but he worked really hard over the offseason and I’m so proud of him.”
As the sixth man for Crossroads, Mason has excelled as a plug-and-play athlete under Richardson’s position-less system of basketball. Although Mason has not put up the same scoring numbers as some of his teammates, he did reach a career high of 15 points in an 85-59 loss to Grace Christian earlier this year.
Being a leading scorer has never been a top priority for Mason, who said that playing under Richardson at Crossroads has emphasized the importance of selfless play on the court and motivating others to reach their potential in every aspect of the game.
“I’ve come a really long way,” Mason said. “All of my trainers, coaches and teammates have made me such a better basketball player. All of the hard work that we put in together during the offseason, over the summer and during the season has definitely changed things for the better.”
Although Mason has thoroughly enjoyed building Crossroads into a championship-caliber program, he admitted that his favorite memory at the school came away from the basketball court.
In Crossroads’ first year of fielding a cross country team since 2015, Mason emerged as the best runner on the program despite not having competed in the sport in two years and helped Crossroads claim the NCISAA 1A title while simultaneously taking home individual state championship honors.
The versatility and leadership that Mason displayed on both cross country and basketball at Crossroads are qualities that Richardson said will benefit him at Trine, which is coming off a 69-55 loss to Randolph-Macon College in a de facto NCAA Division III national championship game the year before.
Preparing his players for the next level of basketball has been a key philosophy for Richardson since arriving at Crossroads four years ago and said that Mason is going to proudly represent the school and those values over the next four years.
“This is a testament to our program,” Richardson said. “We’re starting to see the fruits of our labor with Taylor Bell, Zach Murphy and some other guys that have gone on to college. We even have Colby Taylor who is currently on the staff at High Point University under Tubby Smith, so I’m very excited for Mason.”
Since Mason is still 17 years old and only 6-2, Richardson said there is still plenty of room for him to get better and contribute for Trine in ways that he was not able to at Crossroads.
Ryan also believes that Mason will be a key focal point for Trine on both ends of the floor but said that Mason needs to discover his own interests while at the school so he can put himself in the best possible position to succeed once his playing career is over.
“I want Mason to [go to Trine and] be a man,” Ryan said. “I want Mason to grow into his own and chart his own path. He needs to pick a major that he will love and get a college degree while having fun playing basketball in the meantime. I don’t think he’ll go to the NBA, so the goal for him is to focus on what he will do the rest of his life.”
Mason intends to pursue a business major during his time at Trine but is currently focused on finishing out his final few games at Crossroads strong with the hope of adding another championship banner inside the gymnasium.
A busy offseason lies ahead for Mason even before graduating from Crossroads but he is ready to embark on the challenge in front of him so he can add another chapter to the successful basketball legacy of the Gladieux family.
“I’m going to stay level-headed and continue getting good grades,” Mason said. “I need to recover from this ankle injury I suffered a couple of weeks ago but my spring is slated with a bunch of basketball workouts and a lot of opportunities to get ready for my time at Trine.”
