After achieving legend status in New Mexico, this Quebecer is helping grow basketball back home

A lot of Montreal hoop dreams were born in Park Ex.

As a teenager, Hernst Laroche would often spend his weekends going up against some of the city's best at the William-Hingston sports complex in the north-central Montreal neighbourhood a few steps away from where he grew up.

Dozens of ballers from different age groups would crowd the centre's courts, and Laroche knew he had to bring it.

"You had guys from the west side, you had guys from Montréal-Nord and Saint-Michel. There are no centres there, so everybody would just pull up to Park Ex," said Laroche.

Those showdowns in the early 2000s helped the Montrealer of Haitian descent develop his trademark tenacious defense and playmaking ability. They're what catapulted him to years of basketball success. 

It also helped him secure basketball immortality in a small city called Las Cruces, N.M.

In February, Laroche was one of four athletes inducted into the New Mexico State University Hall of Fame, his alma mater. It was the crowning achievement in a career that's taken him around the world and given him the tools to be a basketball ambassador in his home province.

After a standout career at Montreal's Vanier College, Laroche got on NCAA recruiters' radars through the Brookwood Elites program, where top Canadian players get a chance to square off against players south of the border.

He recalls going up against players like Isaiah Thomas, who would go on to become a two-time NBA all-star.

Laroche had several offers from U.S. universities on the table, but he said he was blown away by the New Mexico State University Aggies's talent level and basketball facilities.

The school, located in Las Cruces, has a separate gym for practices and a tunnel that connects it to its