Jan. 22, 2025
Ethan Erickson's all-around play helps lift nationally ranked Ferris State basketball squad
Rest assured, opponents who have Ferris State University's men's basketball team next on their schedule zero in on whatever it takes to slow down sharpshooting senior guard Ethan Erickson.
This winter, the Grand Rapids native is averaging a career-best 16.8 points while shooting 40.5 percent from outside the 3-point line and an outstanding 90.4 percent at the free throw line for the Bulldogs, who are 17-2 overall and 7-1 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and ranked in the top 10 again this week in the National Association of Basketball Coaches Top 25 Poll.
This is not a one-year deal. As a freshman, Erickson fired shots up at 35 percent from three-point line. But since then, he has shot 47, 44 and now over 41 percent shooting the deep shot. Those shooting numbers keep opposing coaches and defenders focused with whatever it takes to keep Erickson, the former Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern High School star, and his quick, accurate release contained.
It can get rough on the floor for Erickson, a Business Administration major who has to play through it all.
"Honestly, I think it just came natural to me because in high school, all teams that we played against were doing the same thing defending me," he said of the grabbing, scratching and clawing play that he frequently faces by defenders who try to maintain as close contact as possible to him with teammates screening for him.
The 6-foot shooting guard is often face-guarded and sometimes faces box-and-one defensive sets and other strategies, sometimes buried deep inside the coaching manual to keep him from lighting up the scoreboard from outside the 3-point line. Given his unlimited shooting range, his proficiency forces defenses to cover him as soon as he crosses the mid-court stripe, if not sooner.
Erickson, who has already set the Ferris State career mark for most 3-pointers made with 118 in 2023-24, remains undeterred despite sometimes leaving games with his jersey stretched from opponents putting and keeping hands on him, often including fresh sets of scratches and bruises.
Erickson, who reached 1,000 career points earlier this season in his Bulldog career, will keep battling.
He’s more than just a shooter. The expansion of his overall game, including handling the basketball, driving it to the goal off the dribble, and a brilliant touch, keeps defenders honest.
Erickson also gets by with a lot of help from his teammates. The Bulldogs are drawing contributions from up and down the roster as they prepare for the stretch run of a grueling conference schedule. He is one of three Ferris State players averaging double digits, with a few others not too far off that pace.
What Erickson loves is the balance of scoring the team features.
"We've had so many guys stepping up for us. I mean, we're such a deep team and we have so many people that can hurt you," said Erickson, who mentioned how proud he is of the growth and play of teammate Tyler Hamilton, who is giving the Bulldogs strong point guard play off the bench. "I'm honestly most proud of him and what he has been doing for the team."
Ironically enough, one of Erickson's most significant shots of the season was a 2-point bank shot he hit late in an 83-81 win over Lake Superior State University in a battle of nationally ranked teams earlier this season in Big Rapids.
"I'm coming off screens and getting myself ready to shoot, but it takes my teammates setting all those screens and people getting the ball to me to make that happen," Erickson said of his big guys who take the physical contact, doing the challenging work to help free him up. "What we're doing out there, we're doing as a team, and I'm happy to be part of it."
Ferris State returns to its home court for GLIAC games on Thursday evening against Northern Michigan at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday afternoon vs. Michigan Tech at 3 p.m. in Jim Wink Arena.