Erickson to play for University of Alaska

Standout basketball player John Erickson will soon trade the black-and-white colors of the Outlaws for the green-and-gold of the Seawolves. He has earned a full-ride scholarship to play for the University of Alaska Anchorage.

In addition to playing for the Outlaws, Erickson spent the past three summers playing club ball. He traveled to Portland three times a week for practice and attended 10 tournaments this past summer that took him to California, Texas, Wisconsin, Las Vegas, Washington, Idaho and Arizona.

"Playing for the Outlaws really helped me improve defensively and made me a much tougher player," said Erickson. "And club ball helped me be more aggressive on offense and really attack the basket."

While Erickson was at a tournament in Las Vegas, Assistant Coach Ryan Orton from the University of Alaska Anchorage saw him play.

John said, "Coach Orton talked to my coaches about me and then he called me a week later."

Erickson was invited to Alaska for an official visit this past fall. John met Head Coach Rusty Osborne and stayed with some of the players on the Seawolves' basketball team. On the last day of his visit, Erickson was offered a full-ride scholarship.

"I took two days to let it sink in and then I called them right back and said I wanted to play for them," said Erickson.

John will head to Alaska in July for some team conditioning and begin practice in the fall.

When asked what the highlight of his visit was, Erickson replied with a grin, "Going to a hockey game. I'd never been to a hockey game before and I got to see the University of Alaska play Minnesota. It was really cool. They're really fast on the ice, and it was sweet."