Keith Raymond Erickson (born April 19, 1944) is an American former

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

player. After graduating from

El Segundo High School El Segundo High School, or ESHS, is a four-year public high school located in El Segundo, California. It is the only secondary school incorporated by El Segundo Unified School District. First built in 1927, the school campus contains 5 main build ...

(California), attended El Camino College. Erickson then played basketball at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

, where he was a member of the

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

and 1965 NCAA Champion teams. Erickson, who attended UCLA on a shared

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

/basketball scholarship, also played on the 1964 US Men's Olympic

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

team. Coach John Wooden would later remark that Erickson was the finest athlete he ever coached. In 1965, he was selected by the

San Francisco Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 1 ...

in the third round of the NBA draft. Erickson played for the Warriors,

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

, the 1972 NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers, and Phoenix Suns. He had been traded along with a 1974 second-round selection (31st overall– Fred Saunders) from the Lakers to the Suns for

Connie Hawkins Cornelius Lance "Connie" Hawkins (July 17, 1942 – October 6, 2017) was an American professional basketball player. A New York City playground legend, "the Hawk" was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992. Early ye ...

on October 30, 1973. Erickson retired in

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

with 7,251 points and 3,449 rebounds. He later served as color commentator for the Los Angeles Lakers with Chick Hearn, the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

, the Phoenix Suns, and '' The NBA on CBS''. He was inducted into the

UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPS ...

in 1986 and was inducted into the Pac-12 Conference Men's Basketball Hall of Honor during the 2016 Pac-12 Conference men's basketball tournament.Pac-12 Basketball Hall of Honor to Induct 2015-16 Class
Pac-12 Conference, January 19, 2016

References

External links

Keith Erickson answers questions from fans

SANDS OF TIME, book excerpt

Video: Erickson discusses Coach John Wooden
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erickson, Keith 1944 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's volleyball players Chicago Bulls expansion draft picks Chicago Bulls players El Segundo High School alumni Los Angeles Clippers announcers Los Angeles Lakers announcers Phoenix Suns announcers Los Angeles Lakers players National Basketball Association broadcasters Olympic volleyball players of the United States Phoenix Suns players San Francisco Warriors draft picks San Francisco Warriors players Shooting guards Small forwards Basketball players from San Francisco UCLA Bruins men's basketball players UCLA Bruins men's volleyball players Volleyball players at the 1964 Summer Olympics American men's basketball players