St. Al basketball standout Anthony McCloud signs with Tougaloo College

Published 12:27 pm Monday, January 27, 2025

Anthony McCloud has put in plenty of work to become a college basketball prospect. To get to the next level, though, the St. Aloysius senior first needed to get a haircut.

“The barber that cuts my hair is best friends with the Tougaloo coach,” McCloud said. “After he realized I was trying to go there, he gave me his number and we started texting and I sent him some videos.”

Once that initial connection was made, the rest fell neatly into place. On Monday morning, McCloud achieved another major milestone by signing to play at Tougaloo College.

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The NAIA school in Jackson is coached by Eric Strothers, a Vicksburg native and family friend. The Bulldogs have a 16-5 record this season and reached the NAIA national tournament three years in a row.

Several family members have also attended Tougaloo, which McCloud said made it a place he wanted to be.

“The coach is familiar with my family. He grew up with them. My cousin goes there, and it’s close, and it was just a good place to be,” McCloud said.

McCloud’s recruitment isn’t just a favor to an old friends, though. He’s turned himself into an outstanding all-around guard who can score, rebound, and play inside or outside.

A three-year starter at St. Al, McCloud is averaging 20.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game this season. Earlier this month he scored his 1,000th career point. St. Al has a 13-8 record and is in second place in MAIS District 4-5A heading into Tuesday’s game at Copiah Academy.

“The kid wakes up to train at 5 o’clock in the morning. Then he goes to school. Then he goes to private lesson training. Then he does some homework and then he comes back for practice. That’s the kind of dedication you have to have to reach the goal that he’s reached,” St. Al coach Walter Hallberg said. “He’s never complained about it, he’s never missed a practice, he’s never been late to practice, he stays after and shoots. He does everything you want somebody to do to achieve the things he’s achieved.”

The latest achievement is the opportunity to achieve some more. McCloud celebrated his big moment in St. Al’s library Monday morning, with a ceremony attended by family, coaches and classmates.

“Thank everybody that was here, and thank God. It’s going to be a while if I name people,” he said with a laugh.

Putting his name on the scholarship paper, McCloud added, was both a blessing and a relief.

“It feels like a relief because you’ve been working for it for a while and it’s finally coming. It’s a weight off your shoulders. I’ve seen other people do it and I wanted to to do the same,” he said. “I’ve been working hard for it forever. It’s good to finally get that chance to continue that career instead of ending it now.”

About Ernest Bowker

Ernest Bowker is The Vicksburg Post's sports editor. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post's sports staff since 1998, making him one of the longest-tenured reporters in the paper's 140-year history. The New Jersey native is a graduate of LSU. In his career, he has won more than 50 awards from the Mississippi Press Association and Associated Press for his coverage of local sports in Vicksburg.

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