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Athlete of the Week: Erb’s charisma, leadership goes from stands to court for winter

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By Michael Bower

Tom Erb put on the curly, green-haired wig, the bulging-muscles suit and held the fake green and white trident for just about every Poway High football game in the fall.

The senior often paced in front of the Titans’ student section or stood right in the middle of the pack, raising his trident and shouting out spirited cheers.

The student section would respond to the man they call “Tommy Titan” by going nuts, creating an energetic and fun-filled atmosphere.

That combined with the football program’s recent success and handful of young stars had students and members of the community buzzing about Friday nights.

That type of pulse has been non-existent for the boys basketball program for several years now. Erb is hoping this is the season it will come back.

The 5-foot, 10-inch point guard changed out of his Friday night gear and into a basketball jersey for the winter.

The new outfit brings just as much charisma, but instead of a wig and trident it is his steals and flashy passing bringing the student section to its feet.

“This is a football school right now,” Erb said. “People have always been excited about the football team ... but coach (Scott Fisher) came in and made it a priority for us to bring Poway basketball back and get the community to support us. We have been reaching out to people to come to the games, but the best way to do it is to win.”

The Titans have not only been winning, they have been beating some of the top-ranked teams in the San Diego Section. Poway entered this week with a 3-2 record, including victories over Foothills Christian, El Camino and Vista — all top-10 ranked teams in the preseason.

The only two losses the Titans have suffered are to No. 1 La Costa Canyon (56-46) and No. 3 Hoover (57-54). And Poway played right with both the entire way.

Erb, who prides himself on being a traditional-style, pass-first point guard, has played a key role in the promising start.

He delivered 12 assists and five steals in a 57-54 loss to Hoover last week. He followed that performance with a 13-assist, four-steal night in Poway’s 58-28 rout of Vista.

For his efforts, Erb is the Toyota of Poway Athlete of the Week.

“Any time you have someone that is good at and willing to pass, your team is going to be better for that,” first-year Titans’ coach Fisher said. “We are hoping he shoots the ball better, too, but even when he is not shooting well he is still a major contributor to our offense by giving the ball to people in spots they can do something with it.”

Erb says his love of passing goes back to what his dad taught him as a youngster.

“It all stems back to my dad,” said Erb, who entered this week with a section-leading 50 assists. “He is the one that always taught me to be a pass-first point guard. I just love it because when you are a scoring point guard you are the first guy that has the ball and nobody wants to watch you go down and take the first shot. If you are a passing point guard, everyone is involved and everyone enjoys playing with you.”

The floor general has a ton going for him off the court, too. He always has put academics first, carrying well over a 4.0 GPA and staying involved as president of the Environmental Club at Poway.

It all paid off recently, when he committed to the prestigious Pomona College.

Forbes ranks Pomona No. 2 in the nation on the list of top colleges, behind only Stanford and one spot ahead of Princeton University.

“I chose Pomona because, first of all, they have the program that I want to do (Environmental Policy),” Erb said. “And coach Charles Katsiaficas seems like the kind of coach that is a relationship first guy. That’s what I want to have and I think he will be able to build me into the player and individual I want to be.”

But right now Erb, along with his teammates, are concentrating on building the Poway boys basketball program where they want it to be.

They want packed crowds, an energetic atmosphere and the community to be excited about going to a game. They want the buzz the football program has had over the past three years.

But there has been little to buzz about when it comes to the Titans’ boys basketball program.

Poway has not won a league title for 15 years and the last time it won a section title was 1992.

These Titans believe they can make one or the other or maybe even both happen this year.

“We have not won a league title since 1998 and we are reminded of that every time we step foot in the gym because of the banner on the wall,” Erb said. “Winning a league title would be huge. That would be something that would bring the community and Poway basketball back.”

And that would be one more thing “Tommy Titan” could leave Poway feeling proud about.

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