With the title "best to ever come out of the Central Section" it can be hard to find the right point to start Nikki Blue's story. After getting inducted into the 2017 Bob Elias Kern County Sports Hall of Fame, her plaque might miss one important note. She turned down playing for legendary UConn coach Geno Auriemma.
Back in 2002 Blue was the fear of every team that came across the West High Vikings. She set the Central Section points record and was wanted by nearly every college coach. Eventually narrowing her decision down to UConn and UCLA.
Wanting to put her stamp on a new program, Blue picked the Bruins and was a four time first team PAC 10 Conference selection. But in 2006 it got even better. "Just like how little boys dream of getting to the NBA I dreamed of getting to the WNBA," she said. "That day I was drafted was a dream come true because I had accomplished everything that I had worked so hard for."
She played four seasons with the Washington Mystics and one with the New York Liberty before a brief stint overseas. "And getting paid to do it? Oh I was in heaven," she recalled.
After her career she's focused on giving back, returning to Bakersfield to be an assistant coach for the women's team at CSUB all the while trying to instill the same life lessons she learned at West.
Pat Shiloh, her coach in the early 2000's, remembers her message to Nikki and the other girls. "Just don't let it pass you by," she said. "This is like a train ride, one of your stops you're going to make in life and you've got to enjoy it while it's here because you're not going to get it back."
Runners' head coach Greg McCall, who watched Blue grow up playing in Bakersfield, said, "She's taught these young ladies not only how to be a good basketball player but first and foremost how to be a lady."
Looking back now it might not seem like it, but that was a tall order for someone who came from humble roots in Central Bakersfield. "4th and P street where normally people just drive through," she said of her childhood home. "To be able to say that I'm in the Hall of Fame coming from there--it's an accomplishment."
Blue was joined Thursday night by the induction of former CSUB wrestler Joe Gonzalez, coach Mark Hutson and Garces/USC volleyball player Katie (Haller) Metcalf.
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