After considering a cross-country change of scenery, this California guard will stick close to home at UCLA next season.

Anitra "Nikki" Blue is one of the best players to come out of California in the past decade. Last year, the versatile guard from West High School in Bakersfield, Calif., was named Cal-Hi Sports Junior Player of the Year in the state, and broke the all-time Central Section season scoring record with 913 points. She averaged 34 points and six assists per game.

Blue entered her senior season with 2,033 points, needing only 342 more points to break the all-time Central Section career scoring mark. The 5-8 Blue is regarded by several publications as the number one guard in the nation. All-Star Girls Report listed her as the number six player in the nation, and Street and Smith's named her a third-team All-America.

Earlier this year, Blue was rumored to be heading to the University of Connecticut, the perennial east coast powerhouse. But the events of Sept. 11 caused her to think twice about going all the way across the country so far away from home. In October, Blue announced that she would enroll at UCLA, which is a mere 90 minutes from Bakersfield.

While the Bruins have struggled the past couple of years after making the Elite Eight in 1999, Blue is confident things are looking up in the near future. "This year they'll probably have another terrible year," Blue said in the Bakersfield Californian. "But they have five seniors leaving after this year and six good freshmen coming in. I believe it's just like at UConn 10 years ago. They were like UCLA. Someone took a chance, went there and decided to establish something. I think we can do the same thing at UCLA."

Blue, who said she plans to study communications and mass media at UCLA, is excited about the basketball program led by Head Coach Kathy Olivier. "We've already talked about the opportunity I'll have there," she said. "I love the coaches and it's a great atmosphere. The team showed me love. The team already feels like a family and that's what I need."

She admitted that she's glad the recruiting process is over, and she can focus on her senior season. "This has been hard. I've been stressed out during this whole recruiting thing," Blue said. "Now it's time to relax. I feel relieved."

West Bakersfield Head Coach Pat Shiloh seconds that opinion. "It's been rough," Shiloh said. "We had a couple of weeks when we had coaches on campus every day. It sounds like it's fun, but it was a mess. I was really tired of it, and I know she was, too."

Article written by Gball Associate Editor Jim Catalano.

Nominate someone you know as a High School Hero. Email us at info@gballmag.com.