Football, basketball, track.

Jacob Erhardt excelled in all three at Hazen High School.

The multi-sport standout will focus only on football at Dickinson State University, beginning this fall, but admits he's having a difficult time letting go of basketball. That's one of the reasons why he chose to pass on invitations to the Badlands Bowl and Shrine Bowl and play in the Lions All-Star basketball series this week.

"I wanted to play basketball one more time," said Erhardt, who is a member of the Class B all-stars. "I played it all my life and it's tough to get away from it. I still might try (basketball) in college, but we'll see what happens with that. For now, it sort of looks like the all-star games will be it for me."

If that's the case, then the games will close the books on what was a sparkling basketball career for Erhardt. The 6-foot point guard ran the Hazen offense for four seasons, during which time he accumulated 420 assists. He also made 339 steals and averaged 8.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.

Erhardt averaged 5.7 assists as a junior and 5.9 as a senior.

"Jacob was a natural at point guard. … He did such a nice job handling the ball and setting up the offense," Hazen boys basketball coach Randy Johnson said. "It wasn't just the assists. He scored and rebounded very well, and his defense was solid. He was a very good all-around player for us."

Johnson said Erhardt's most impressive statistic was his assists-to-turnovers ratio - 3-to-1 in each of the last two seasons.

"That's an incredible stat," Johnson said. "It shows you how dependable he was. You want your point guard to make good decisions and take care of the ball. Jacob did everything expected of him."

Erhardt tasted success in football, basketball and track at Hazen. In football, he was a three-year starter and a two-time all-state selection at defensive back. He had 12 interceptions over his last two seasons.

Erhardt also played wide receiver, and last fall was the starting quarterback. He helped lead the Bison to the Class AA state semifinals three years in a row.

In track, Erhardt was a member of four state champion relay teams and helped the Bison win back-to-back Class B state titles in 2007 and 2008. He placed third in the open 200 last spring.

The state titles top Erhardt's list of high school athletic highlights.

"State championships are what you strive for," he said. "It's a great feeling knowing that I contributed to them. Overall, I consider myself pretty lucky. We went to the state semis in football three times, and we went to the region championship game in basketball when I was a junior. I was lucky to have great teammates, too. They were the best."

Erhardt said he didn't receive many offers to play college basketball, but is considering walking on at DSU.

"We'll see how it goes the first year," he said. "If it works out in football, I'll definitely stay with it. But I probably won't do both sports."

Erhardt plans to major in history with a minor in coaching.

"I'd like to coach football or basketball, or both," he said. "Sports has been a big part of my life. I'd like to carry it on."

Erhardt is thrilled to be playing with such a talented group this week. That group includes former foes like Mr. Basketball Austin Dufault of Killdeer and finalist Justin Shipman of Watford City.

"I played against some of the guys on (the Class B) team, and I've seen or heard about the others," he said. "I'm excited to be a part of this team. I'm playing with the best Class B players in the state."

Erhardt has attended Lions all-star games in the past, but never saw a win by the Class B team.

Class A has won the last nine games in the series and Erhardt would love to be on the team that snaps that streak.

"That would be great," he said. "The games are for fun and all, but there's still a pride thing."