Erik Bond and Seattle Prep aim for another state title
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Erik Bond was a few hours away from playing Rainier Beach in the semifinals of last year's Class 3A state basketball tournament and the butterflies in his stomach were doing combat maneuvers. He was tense and nervous.
Then someone handed him a bouquet of balloons in Seattle Prep's colors of blue and white with a card that read:
"From your guardian angels."
Suddenly, he relaxed, and thought, "This game doesn't mean that much." With the fresh perspective, he went out and scored 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Seattle Prep to a 63-58 victory. The next night, he scored 19 points in the 52-50 title victory over Mount Vernon and was named the tournament's most valuable player.
The balloons and card were from the parents of two close friends who had died years earlier. David Crowl died of muscular dystrophy when he and Bond were in fourth grade. Lissy Moore, a Holy Names student, died when they were freshmen.
Bond keeps the guardian-angel card on a wall in his room at his family's Green Lake home. With it are assorted items such as a photo of his girlfriend, Seattle Prep soccer player Kai Corby and a photo of last year's state championship team.
California-bound Bond, a smooth 6-foot-7 forward, is considered by many to be the best recruit in the state. He begins his final high-school state tournament today when fifth-ranked Prep (24-3) plays Sequim (19-4) at 9 a.m. at the Tacoma Dome.
Bond was destined to play the game, growing up as the youngest of three brothers in a basketball family.
"It definitely has been an advantage being the youngest because I had to learn all my brothers' tricks and moves," he said.
Jason, 27, played on Lakeside's 1991 Metro League championship team and then at Washington before transferring to Gonzaga. He is 6-7, played in Belgium for two years, and now is working on a second degree.
Jesse, 24, is 6-8 and finished his college career at St. Mary's last year, then played in Germany. He played his high-school varsity ball at Eastside Catholic, enrolling there when the family lived briefly in Bellevue before deciding they preferred their Green Lake home.
The boys' father, Jay, is a Spokane native who was a 6-9 center for Washington from 1968 to '70. He and his wife, Loui, 5-11, a Queen Anne graduate who swam for the Huskies in an era before interscholastic basketball for girls, operate a firm that sells insurance and financial services.
"Our dad likes to say we got our shooting touch from him and a lot of our athletic ability from mom," Jason said. "She had a 30-inch vertical jump in high school."
Erik said, "My brothers and I are so competitive we drive each other crazy. We compete in every little thing."
Years ago, Erik made 28 consecutive three-point shots on the family backyard basket. Jason was shooting with him and was determined to top the mark.
"He stayed out there for about three more hours then he came in the house," Erik said. "At first, he didn't say a thing. Then he just said, `33.' "
Like any younger brother, Erik wanted to hang around his older brothers when he was little, especially when they played basketball.
"Let Erik play some, too, guys," Loui would admonish his older brothers.
Young Erik wouldn't confine his basketball to outdoors.
Jason recalled, "I remember when he was very young, he was jumping off his bed all day working on various dunks on a Nerf ball hoop."
Bond describes himself as "really easy-going" but "really goofy" off the court.
Jason said, "As a third child, I think he's more laid-back."
The family's athletic genes are deep-rooted.
One late grandfather, Elmo Bond, played football for the Huskies, fought in Burma in World War II, then returned and played football for Washington State. Two of Elmo's brothers played in the NFL. Erik's late maternal grandfather, Fred Lindenmeyer, played three sports at Iowa and was drafted by the 49ers.
The Bond boys' lineage includes a half-dozen European countries plus Shawnee. Family lore has it that some ancestors were selected as guards for 18th century Prussian leader Frederick the Great because of their height.
As the youngest Bond grew, so did his game. It became obvious that Erik would be something special. On his bedroom wall, alongside the card from his guardian angels, are two signs. One, in a 12-year-old's handwriting, proclaims that on March 18, 1995 he grabbed the rim with both hands. Another announces that on Feb. 22, 1996 he made his first two-handed dunk.
Bond was a much-sought recruit. He eventually selected Cal over Washington, Oregon and Gonzaga, saying he felt most comfortable there and liked the recruiting class.
"Erik has such a great sense of what's happening on the basketball court," Cal Coach Ben Braun said. "He knows when to unload the ball, when to shoot, spacing - all the types of things that make a team better. He's tough to defend because he'll knock down the three, pull up for the mid-range jumper and explode to the basket and use his great jumping ability. He's a dedicated player who will help us in many different ways."
Bond is Prep's all-time scoring leader with 1,805 points, a total that would be higher if he wasn't benched early in mismatches. He averages 19 points, down a point from last season when he was called upon to score more.
"This year, we've had a number of kids able to put the ball in the hoop, so he didn't have to dominate like he had to the other three years," said Seattle Prep Coach Chris Miller, who once described Bond as a "once-in-a-lifetime player for a coach."
Bond is pretty good in the classroom, too, where he has a B-plus average and his favorite class is advanced-placement calculus.
Prep, which also features 6-9 Washington recruit Jeffrey Day, is one of the tournament favorites. The most obvious piece missing from last year's title team is point guard Shea Robinson, now playing for Seattle University. As one of the state's top point guards, Robinson found ways to get the ball into Bond's hands when it mattered most.
As the team defends its state championship, the pressure is squarely on Prep's best player.
"I just pray we can put it together for another four games," Bond said. "There's so much luck involved."
And, for Bond, a little perspective from guardian angels.