Based on appearance, Nicole Erickson doesn't look like much of a basketball player. She doesn't tower over fellow students when she walks along the quad, and her shoulders aren't as broad as a Mack truck.
But talk to women's basketball coach Gail Goestenkors, and you might learn that appearances can be deceiving.
"Nicole is a tremendous shooter," Goestenkors said. "She is also the best ball-handler I've ever seen in my life. She makes great decisions with the basketball and has knowledge of the game and a great love for the game."
Erickson, a junior transfer from Purdue, steps into Kira Orr's spot at shooting guard. As a sophomore, Erickson played in all 31 of the Boilermakers' games and averaged 6.4 points and 3.4 assists per game. She had a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio and shot a school-record 44 percent from three-point range. But she also displayed a passion that did not show up on the stat sheet.
Erickson discovered her passion for the game as a fourth-grader, when she started playing basketball during P.E. class. Erickson quickly took to the sport and started playing organized ball. Her town had no girls' league, though, so Erickson had to play in an all-boys league. Her parents supported her decision to play and have been a major influence in both her life and her basketball career.
"My parents have made me who I am," Erickson said. "They have instilled all the values that I have. I think I get my hard work and my determination from my parents.
"Basketball has always been fun for me. It hasn't been a chore or work, like some parents have made it for their kids. Before every game my mom would always say, 'Have fun tonight.' That's what she cared about the most."
Erickson's determination carried her to Brea-Olinda High School, where she led her team to four state championships. In her junior year, with the odds stacked against her team, Erickson experienced what she calls her "greatest basketball experience" in the California state championship.
"It was about 13 seconds left and were down by one point," Erickson said. "The other team had just scored so our coach set up this play. I came down, got the screens and I shot it and made the basket with like two seconds on the clock and we won."
Purdue posed the next challenge for Erickson. The first year was an adjustment period, as Erickson had to learn how to handle collegiate athletics. Although she played frequently at the beginning of the year, she experienced something she had never before endured: sitting on the bench. Many athletes would struggle with riding the pine after winning Parade All-American honors, but Erickson's focus was on the team, not on personal honors.
"I felt what it was like to be sitting on the bench and just cheering and also having to feel like you're a part of it," Erickson said. "It was hard at first, but I think I handled it very well. I always valued the people who didn't get to play that much and how they felt. So it wasn't like I felt so terrible or anything."
Playing point guard her second and final year at Purdue, Erickson led the team into the NCAA Tournament. After Purdue was upset in the first round by Notre Dame, Erickson's life changed, and the Duke women's basketball team changed with it.
"I remember being sad that we lost," Erickson said, "but I was excited for the next year. I remember thinking, 'It's gonna be our year, we're going to have a great team,' and then, BAM!
"The next day we got a call to go to this meeting. We found out that our coaches had gotten fired and my world came tumbling down. And from that point on, it was hell, it was just terrible. I had to make a decision that I was not about to stay at this school."
Erickson's choice was an easy one. Several factors influenced it: the friendship between Goestenkors and Lin Dunn, the ousted Purdue coach; the decision by Michele VanGorp, Erickson's teammate and friend, to transfer to Duke; and Duke's strong academic reputation.
"I figured once you transferred, you're going to be stuck there," Erickson said. "So if basketball wasn't the greatest thing, I decided I would have a Duke degree. I didn't want to put all my eggs into the basketball part of it and then graduate from some place without good academics."
Erickson once again warmed the pine, sitting out the following year under NCAA transfer rules. She found herself having to adjust one more time. But this time, Erickson also had to deal with the different atmosphere and surroundings that Duke presented.
"It wasn't only the fact that I wasn't playing, but I still trying to get over not being at Purdue. Everything was just so different. It was like culture shock coming from Indiana to Duke. But once halfway through the season, we started going to the games, it started to get a little easier. I was just excited to play the next year."
Finally, the wait is over. This year presents another challenge for Erickson, who has big shoes to fill figuratively, if not literally.
Erickson bears the responsibility of replacing last year's leading scorer, Kira Orr. In addition to her scoring prowess, Orr was also the team leader and the person to whom the Blue Devils turned with the game on the line.
With Orr gone and only one senior on Duke's roster, considerable pressure now falls on Erickson.
"I think she wants that pressure," Goestenkors said. "She's somebody who's a gamer, who loves pressure and does well under pressure. So she understands that we have high expectations for her, and she has the same expectations for herself."
Erickson downplays the comparison to Orr, and as always, emphasizes the team over her own personal achievements.
"I don't really look at it necessarily as replacing Kira Orr," Erickson said, "because we're different players completely. But at the same time, I don't want the level of play to go down.
"I think we're a completely different team than we were last year. I don't want our team to be like last year, when everyone waited for Kira to get that last-second shot. I think with this team, it could come from anybody. And hopefully, that is what will develop."
If Erickson and Duke develop that big-play mentality, they may find the success they are looking for.
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