Player of the Week : Erbst Has Grown Up on the Court

If there’s been one thing Katella High School center Bob Erbst never has had to worry about concerning his basketball career, it is his height. The 6-foot 8-inch junior has grown an average of four inches a year since he was 10.

And Erbst needed every year of growth last week in the Knight’s 3-A Southern Section playoff game against Burbank. With only two seconds remaining and Katella trailing by a point, Erbst outreached two Bulldog defenders for a lob pass and, in the same motion, put in a short jump shot to give Katella a 46-45 win.

However, three days later, the excitement of that win was erased by a 80-68 quarter-final loss to Damien. Though Erbst scored 32 points--23 in the first half--it was not enough to overcome the Spartans, who made 55% of their shots.

Erbst scored 47 points and had 20 rebounds for the week, and earned The Times’ Player of the Week honors.

Listed as a center, Erbst consistently makes shots from 15 to 18 feet away. Katella Coach Tom Danley thinks that with Erbst’s outside shooting (a season-average of 63% from the field) and his ability to handle the ball, he could be an off-guard once he reaches college.

A big man who can shoot outside and handle the ball like a guard. What else could a coach want? If you’re Danley, you ask for a little more.

“I know there are a lot of coaches who would look at Bob and his scoring average (19 points per game) and be happy to just let him be,” Danley said. “They’d probably figure that you don’t fool around with a great player. But I don’t think Bob is a great player yet. He’s a very good player, but when he starts to do all the little things--play better defense, get out on the fast break--he’ll be a great player.”

Erbst said he knew of Danley’s feelings and admitted that early in the season the two of them were not, “seeing eye to eye on basketball.”

“For the early part of the season, coach and I were just not communicating,” Erbst said. “But then we started having these long talks, and I could see there was a method to his madness. I started to understand more about my role as a team player . . . you know, I’ll probably only grow another inch or two, but I think I’m growing a lot now mentally.”

With his mind set, Erbst has turned his attention to building up his body. At 175 pounds, Erbst is bordering on skinny.

“Coach and I and talked about that, too, and I’m going to hit the weights over the summer,” Erbst said. “I don’t want to lift to the point that I lose any quickness or any touch on my shot, but I do want to get physically stronger. I think that will help my inside game a lot.”

Said Danley: “We’d like to see Bob get up to 185 or 190 pounds. I think Bob realizes he needs to get stronger. I think the light bulb has gone off in his head and he realizes all the things he needs to do to become a truly great player.”