Point Without Peer : Since She Was Young, Brea-Olinda’s Erickson Has Taken Charge of Her Life On, Off Court

Sandy Erickson said her daughter has always been this way, strong-willed, stubborn and independent. Born under the sign of the bull, she has always been her own person.

“Even in birth,” Sandy Erickson said, “she did not want to come out.”

Nicole Erickson took her sweet time--33 hours--making her way into the world, but she quickly took to life’s other milestones. She was walking and talking at 9 months.

She had a good vocabulary by the time she was 2, and she was roller skating, skateboarding and ice skating in her third year. “After we went around the rink once,” said her father, Keith, “she pushed away from me and she went around, and I just followed her.”

She never needed training wheels and never needed a doctor--she never got hurt. Ever. She did everything on her own, whether it was sports or selecting her clothes.

Keith and Sandy Erickson’s second child, Kevin, didn’t have it easy.

“I always kept comparing my son to Nicole, so I thought he was a little slow,” Sandy Erickson said. “I thought something was wrong with him.”

There was nothing wrong with

Kevin, who is two years younger than Nicole, 17. He may have grown up in Nicole’s shadow, but he is not alone--nearly every girl who has played basketball the last four years has been in that shadow.

It’s a long shadow.

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“She had a pass her sophomore year in a playoff game, most incredible high school pass you’ll ever want to see. Three on one: She went behind her back--caught it--and then reversed it. Everyone’s on their feet . When she came out of the game, she got another standing ovation. She would do that every day in practice and I told her, ‘You’ve got to do it in a game.’ She said, ‘Don’t you think it’s hot-dogging?’ I said, ‘No--we’ve got to entertain these people -- as long as it serves its purpose and you can do it.’ If you’ve got da Vinci, you’ve got to let him paint. She’s an artist and the court’s her canvas.” --Mark Trakh Former Brea-Olinda coach now at Pepperdine

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The sport came naturally for Erickson, who was a fourth-grader when she joined National Junior Basketball. Her first summer, she competed in the local Fullerton Elks’ free-throw shooting contest and reached the national finals in Indianapolis, the first Fullerton representative to get that far. She reached the nationals again as a sixth-grader. She played competitively alongside boys her age until the eighth grade--two years after she could have played with only the girls.

She was an extremist when it came to sports, whether it was golf (she played for six weeks, won a tournament and then quit) or softball (she played Bobby Sox one year, made the all-star team, started in center field and her team finished second in nationals) or basketball. She loved basketball and she practiced forever, dribbling in her room or shooting in her driveway while her brothers rebounded for her.

“People don’t see all the work she puts into it,” Sandy Erickson said. “She is very talented, but it’s not like ‘This is Nicole Erickson and it just happened.’ She’s worked for it.”

Her father told her to learn to handle the ball with both hands, and she does; she passes left-handed as well as right-handed. She learned to be aggressive competing against the boys, and she learned they don’t slow down. Neither does she. She never gives up on a ball or a situation.

Never a situation:

* Alaska Invitational championship: Erickson scored nine points in the final seven minutes. Brea-Olinda, leading Lake Oswego (Ore.) Lakeridge by two with six minutes to go, wins by nine, 63-54. She finishes with 38 points, 10 more than Lakeridge’s 6-foot-7 Stanford-bound center, Chandra Benton. Erickson is the tournament MVP. It is the closest game Brea-Olinda has had this season.

* The Alaska semifinals created a national championship-type setting. Fifth-ranked Brea-Olinda beat sixth-ranked Garfield Heights (Ohio) Trinity, 65-55. Erickson scored 16, but more importantly, dominated Trinity’s full-court press and had only two turnovers.

* State Division II championship game, 1993: Erickson’s 12-foot baseline jumper with 3.5 seconds to play gave Brea-Olinda a 42-41 victory over Fair Oaks Bella Vista. She finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

* Southern Regional semifinal, 1993: Erickson’s three-pointer tied the score with 33 seconds left. She scored eight of Brea-Olinda’s 10 points in overtime in a 64-55 victory over Carlsbad. She finished with 26.

* State Division III championship game, 1992: Erickson’s three-point basket with 30 seconds left put away Healdsburg, 47-44.

Erickson has spent her entire high school career as a starter for the Ladycats, who have won 96% of the time (129-5). Barring a catastrophe, they should win their fourth consecutive State title on Saturday when they play San Jose Archbishop Mitty.

She has been instrumental in Ladycat winning streaks of 55 and their current 53 games--the second- and third-longest streaks in Southern Section history. Only the Cheryl Miller-led Riverside Poly team won more (84), from 1978-82.

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“I remember seeing her in an OCN interview after the title game last year, and you could just see it in her eyes. . . . She had incredible presence. It was like, ‘That’s what we’re all about--we came here to win.’ When she’s on the court, there isn’t anyone else. She’s one you would do anything for, I think, if you were a player.” --Eric Bangs Woodbridge coach *

Purdue has never been to the NCAA Final Four in women’s basketball, but it has been to the Sweet 16 twice. The Boilermakers are top-seeded in the West Region this year. Erickson will be at Purdue next fall.

“I definitely think she’s the type of point guard who can help us win a national championship because of her versatility,” Purdue Coach Lin Dunn said. “I’ve had the opportunity to coach all the (U.S.) point guards in the last three Olympics, and I think Nicole has the potential to be in that league. . . . They’re all much older than her, they’re seasoned veterans, but she’s in the elite category of point guards.”

A former Purdue assistant, Gail Goestenkors, now the coach at Duke, saw Erickson at the AAU under-13 nationals and added her to the university’s recruiting files. Goestenkors could see, even then, her competitiveness and the potential to be a great floor leader.

Dunn attended AAU nationals in Chattanooga, Tenn., last summer looking for a point guard. She wanted someone like Michelle Joseph, a “tremendous scorer” and Purdue’s all-time assist leader.

“We don’t usually recruit in California,” Dunn said. “We usually stay in the Midwest, but I had heard so much about her and she had been in our files so long, and some alumni out there sent us clippings. So I was curious and when I saw her, I said, ‘Wow, this is special.’

“Her ability to see the floor, to put it where she wanted to put it--she was so competitive. I can see why they’ve won so many games--she won’t lose. In crucial situations, she wanted the basketball. I watched her play every game. In my mind, she’s the No. 1 point guard in this year’s class.

“She’s perhaps one of the best ballhandlers I’ve ever seen, a natural ballhandler. She’s tremendously unselfish, has the ability to score when she needs to, has the ability to get the ball to other people. But I think it’s her leadership on the floor. You can just see that she’s in charge of whatever team she’s in charge of.”

Purdue has not been without complications. Erickson and another recruit, 6-6 center Michelle Van Gorp from Macomb (Mich.) Chippewa, were featured in Boilermaker uniforms on the cover of Gold and Black Illustrated, an independent publication for Purdue followers, a few days after they signed letters of intent. Recruiting services said the duo gave the Boilermakers one of the nation’s top five recruiting classes.

The Lafayette (Ind.) Journal and Courier reported a month ago that the program was under investigation for as many as eight possible rule violations, including the posed-for picture on Erickson’s recruiting trip.

Dunn said on Friday she could not comment on any investigation but said Erickson shouldn’t lose any eligibility.

“Chances of winning a national championship are very important to me, and Purdue has a great chance,” Erickson said upon signing her letter of intent. “Plus, it’s Indiana. Indiana loves basketball, and that’s what I want.”

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“She’s always in control. That’s why they win. She’s going to do something big at the crucial time in the game . Nicole Erickson is the best Orange County player for her generation.”

--Mary Hauser Mater Dei coach and former Monarch standout *

Erickson was named Kodak All-American last week. She already had been named Gatorade State player of the year. She was a nominee for the Dial Award, given to the most outstanding female athlete in the country. She was a Street & Smith Preseason All-American and a four-time AAU age-group All-American. She was the State Division II player of the year last year, an All-State player as a sophomore, and an All-State Division III second team player as a freshman. She is a two-time Times Orange County player of the year.

Who knows how she will be honored in the weeks ahead, but it’s a pretty good showing for someone who was told by her father that she was never going to have great athletic ability, that she would never be the fastest player or the best jumper. She was told, simply, to “learn to handle the ball better than anyone else, learn to shoot better than anyone else.” In short, do the things that can be practiced over and over.

She has done pretty well for a 5-foot-6 tomboy who was often mistaken for a boy by other players’ parents until she let her hair grow in the fifth grade.

She is Brea-Olinda’s all-time leading scorer (1,976 points), playmaker (Southern Section record 868 assists), thief (488 steals) and three-point shooter (Southern Section record 209 of 494, 42.3%). Four years of high school, three State titles and maybe another one on the way. Her jersey No. 22 will be retired in April at the team banquet.

It’s a remarkable legacy accomplished the only way she knew how. Her way.

The Erickson Era

The game-by-game record of the Brea-Olinda girls’ basketball team during the four-year career of point guard Nicole Erickson:

1990-91

Record: 33-1

- IRVINE TOURNAMENT

University: 54-23

Cypress: 68-26

Woodbridge: 63-42

Edison: 72-52

- BREA-OLINDA LADYCAT CLASSIC

Rosary: 66-31

Diamond Bar: 64-39

Alemany: 49-40

Cerritos Gahr: 53-51

- COSTA MESA TOURNAMENT

Santa Margarita: 82-17

Montebello Schurr: 70-35

Woodbridge: 57-50

Tustin: 83-53

Savanna: 61-24

Anaheim: 77-21

La Habra: 53-52

Magnolia: 76-45

Valencia: 59-38

- Christ the King (New York): 43-58

Western: 77-44

Savanna: 65-42

Anaheim: 89-16

Magnolia: 65-35

Mater Dei: 59-17

Valencia: 64-38

Western: 83-29

- SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION 2-AA

Orange: 99-27

San Clemente: 63-45

Pomona Garey: 82-32

Riverside J.W. North: 68-59

Ventura: 50-42

- SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL

DIVISION II

Torrance Bishop Montgomery: 55-38

Carlsbad: 61-47

Ventura: 58-51

- CIF DIVISION II STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

Hayward Moreau: 54-46

1991-92

Record: 32-2

- IRVINE TOURNAMENT

Dana Hills: 58-23

Newport Harbor: 62-40

Ocean View: 71-42

Capistrano Valley: 46-42

- BREA-OLINDA LADYCAT CLASSIC

Rosary: 75-25

El Modena: 66-29

Alemany: 66-30

Cerritos Gahr: 61-30

- SANTA BARBARA

TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

Glendale: 60-45

Thousand Oaks: 34-47

Cerritos: 59-48

Poway: 56-43

Costa Mesa: 74-45

Peninsula: 42-48

Magnolia: 111-22

Anaheim: 103-19

Torrance Bishop Montgomery: 62-42

Western: 81-27

Savanna: 66-37

Valencia: 55-25

Magnolia: 98-31

La Habra: 51-38

Anaheim: 112-19

Western: 100-37

Savanna: 92-50

Valencia: 84-35

- SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION 3-AA

Lakewood St. Joseph: 97-36

Culver City: 70-41

Newport Harbor: 63-50

Morningside: 49-35

- SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL

DIVISION III

Santee West Hills: 96-16

West Covina South Hills: 74-25

Rancho Alamitos: 70-51

- CIF DIVISION III STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

Healdsburg: 47-44

1992-93

Record: 32-2

- IRVINE TOURNAMENT

Tustin: 64-19

Dana Hills: 59-39

Costa Mesa: 69-50

Woodbridge: 61-28

- BREA-OLINDA LADYCAT CLASSIC

Esperanza: 73-46

Troy: 75-38

Costa Mesa: 75-63

Playa del Rey St. Bernard: 48-45

- SANTA BARBARA

TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

Cerritos: 64-52

Long Beach Millikan: 65-46

Poway: 48-46

Thousand Oaks: 51-59

- BREA-OLINDA

ORANGE COUNTY CHALLENGE

Orem (Utah) Mountain View: 46-59

Fair Oaks Del Campo: 81-72

Western: 87-33

Valencia: 81-32

La Habra: 79-32

Anaheim: 79-11

Savanna: 88-38

Magnolia: 98-25

Western: 94-39

Long Beach Millikan: 91-44

Valencia: 87-26

Anaheim: 113-26

Savanna: 77-27

Magnolia: 72-18

- SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION 2-AA

Ocean View: 72-36

Burbank Burroughs: 85-36

Hemet: 76-48

Cerritos Gahr: 75-39

- SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL

DIVISION II

Ventura: 77-41

Carlsbad: 74-25

San Diego University City: 45-39

- CIF DIVISION II STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

Fair Oaks Bella Vista: 42-41

1993-94

Record: 32-0

- ETIWANDA TOURNAMENT

Claremont: 83-12

Ridgecrest Burroughs: 86-30

Etiwanda: 77-34

Lynwood: 55-40

- BREA-OLINDA LADYCAT CLASSIC

Pasadena: 98-27

Rancho Cucamonga: 85-33

Torrance Bishop Montgomery: 76-34

Cerritos Gahr: 65-38

- SERVICE (ALASKA) INVITATIONAL

Palmer Colony (Alaska): 73-54

Garfield (Ohio) Trinity: 65-55

Lake Oswego (Oregon) Lakeridge: 63-54

Magnolia: 72-15

El Dorado: 84-37

Anaheim: 101-19

Western: 111-35

Capistrano Valley: 72-31

Valencia: 75-25

Savanna: 87-18

Mater Dei: 65-49

Magnolia: 90-20

Anaheim: 112-23

Western: 120-17

Ontario: 75-43

Valencia: 81-25

Savanna: 110-16

- SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION III-AA

Fullerton: 90-36

Magnolia: 85-15

Torrance Bishop Montgomery: 65-36

Newport Harbor: 70-40

- SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL

DIVISION III

San Diego Scripps Ranch: 75-43

San Luis Obispo: 86-33

Newport Harbor: 67-39

- CIF DIVISION III STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

San Jose Archbishop Mitty: Saturday