ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Wednesday, February 12, 1997           TAG: 9702120082
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: C-1  EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ANDREA GIBSON STAFF WRITER

TEEN RUBS ELBOWS WITH THE ALL-STARS

A NORTH CROSS JUNIOR was one winner of the Nestle Crunch "Jam Jury" essay contest. His prize: a trip to the NBA All-Star Weekend.

A looming history test was about the furthest thing from Brandon LaCroix's mind last weekend.

While his North Cross classmates were hitting the books, LaCroix was rubbing elbows with NBA players Glen Rice, Mitch Richmond and Dikembe Mutombo - just to name a few.

LaCroix, 17, spent the weekend getting close and personal with basketball's best on a free trip to the NBA All-Star Weekend in Cleveland.

Reality sank in Monday during test time.

``I brought my notebook with me and I tried to study on the plane [on the way home Monday morning], but I was too tired,'' said LaCroix, a junior guard for North Cross who scored 14 points later that evening in a victory over Hargrave Military Academy. ``We were going nonstop all weekend.''

Here's the irony: LaCroix won the trip by writing a short essay on how the fundamentals learned in school are important in developing one's personal character. ``Why School is Jam'n'' was the theme of the Nestle Crunch ``Jam Jury'' Essay Contest that sent 13 kids from across the country to Cleveland to judge the NBA's mascot and celebrity dunk competitions.

``It was a blast,'' LaCroix said, reeling off the names of celebrities he met over the weekend, including Terry Kirby of the San Francisco 49ers, Derek Bell of the Toronto Blue Jays, and television stars Jimmy Smits (``NYPD Blue'') and Jamie Foxx (``The Jamie Foxx Show" and "In Living Color'').

``At times I felt a little out of place,'' LaCroix said. ``I sat out in the middle of the floor to judge the celebrity slam dunk contest along with people like [Olympians] Michael Johnson and Lisa Leslie, and I looked around and thought `What am I doing here?'''

In fact, it was somewhat of a fluke that LaCroix even found out about the contest, which was open to youths 12-18 years old but only advertised in cities with NBA franchises. LaCroix was visiting relatives in Cleveland over Christmas break when he spotted a newspaper ad.

``I didn't really have anything else to do, so I decided to sit down and write it,'' LaCroix said. ``My essay was four sentences. It was definitely worth my time.''

LaCroix said his favorite part of the trip, which included tickets to the NBA slam dunk competition and All-Star Game, was a dinner he attended Saturday night along with All-Stars Rice, Richmond and Mutombo. LaCroix said he struck up a conversation with Rice, who plays for the Charlotte Hornets and was the All-Star Game's MVP on Sunday.

``He was cool,'' LaCroix said. ``We talked about what a streak he had been on recently. ... He was just a normal, regular guy.''

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ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  Brandon LaCroix (right), a junior at North Cross, poses 
          for a photo with Glen Rice of the Charlotte Hornets during a trip to
          the NBA All-Star Weekend in Cleveland. color.