ALL THE WAY BACK : Bickmore Perseveres After Unexpected Illness to Become Top Player at SCC

Jeff Bickmore got off to a rough start at Southern California College two years ago. A 6-foot-7 freshman who started only one season for the varsity in high school, Bickmore was eager to try his skills at the college level.

But before he even set foot on the basketball floor at SCC, Bickmore needed emergency surgery to remove infected bone marrow in his left wrist.

The operation and recuperation sidelined him for six weeks and involved a series of intravenous treatments that forced him to shuttle back and forth from class and his home in Santa Ana four times a day.

Bickmore wasn’t a complete player at the time. He had a good shot, but wasn’t terribly quick. This was the last thing he needed.

But now the only reminder of what seemed so serious two years ago is a scar on his left arm. Bickmore, a center who redshirted that first season, is the leading scorer for SCC, which is 22-2 overall and 9-0 in the Golden State Athletic Conference. Averaging 20 points and eight rebounds for a team ranked 23rd in the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics, Bickmore has come a long way from that first day at school.

Bickmore awoke that morning with a sore wrist. He went to class, then to a basketball meeting. But later in the day, he developed a fever and became nauseated.

“I thought I slept on it wrong,” Bickmore, 20 said of that first morning. “I was doing yard work, and it still hurt so I thought I sprained it. The next day I felt like I had the flu, but I didn’t connect the two.”

The next day, his parents took him to an orthopedist, who diagnosed his condition as osteomyelitis, an infection of the bone marrow usually caused by an infected wound or blood infection. If untreated, it can result in amputation. The doctor operated right away and put Bickmore’s arm in a cast.

Bickmore missed two days of classes, and then started the routine of intravenous antibiotics for a month in between classes and basketball meetings.

“The worst part was getting the (IV) treatments at home,” Bickmore said. “It was such a hassle. They would run out of veins. I used to not mind needles, but now I hate them.”

It was a long struggle for Bickmore to go from freshman redshirt to the player he is now. It started six weeks after the surgery, when he resumed practicing with the team. He spent 6 hours on weekends shooting baskets in the gym and increasing his speed and aggressiveness through running drills.

“The first day back (at practice) we just did line drills and I was tired,” Bickmore said. “The next day I was sore.”

He eventually got in shape and put some weight back on his 185-pound frame. (He weighs 200 now). Bickmore played whenever he could over the summer. He started last season on the bench, quickly became a starter and finished the season averaging 10 points and 5 rebounds a game. He was unanimously voted most improved player by his teammates and coaches.

“He was blessed with a good shooting touch,” SCC Coach Bill Reynolds said. “But we didn’t think he would make so much progress so quickly. We got more confidence in him, and he got more confidence in himself.

“He learned he was a good scorer at this level and not to be afraid against players that are bigger, stronger or more experienced than him.” “

Bickmore’s best game so far came Feb. 1 in a 103-95 victory over Point Loma Nazarene. He scored 37 points and pulled down 19 rebounds.

“(Bickmore’s) confidence has grown a lot,” team captain Todd Dixon said. “I always knew he was great shooter. I always expected him to be good, but he’s gotten even better.”

Bickmore’s athletic career began as a Little League pitcher, following his father, George, who played in the St. Louis Cardinals’ minor league organization at the age of 16.

“When I was 12 years old I thought I was the best pitcher in the world for my age,” he said. “I thought for sure I was going to play professionally.”

Basketball was another matter, though.

He was cut from the eighth-grade basketball team at McFadden Junior High School in Santa Ana and wasn’t brimming with confidence, but his father encouraged him to try basketball in high school.

“When nobody thought I was any good, he knew I could be pretty good,” Bickmore said. “He helped me a lot with my confidence and helped me want to practice more.”

Bickmore continued pitching at Southern California Christian High School in Orange. He began playing basketball as a freshman only after Coach Mike Murphy, who had also played basketball at Southern California Christian, asked him to. He made the varsity as a junior, but played sparingly. Bickmore averaged 26 points as a senior and was recruited by Cal Poly Pomona and SCC. He chose SCC largely because he wanted to stay at home.

He began his freshman season with high hopes, only to have them set aside. Still, the bone infection may have had its positive effects.

“I didn’t think (the infection) would be that big adeal,” Bickmore said. “But because I got to redshirt, and gain experience it was a blessing in disguise.”