With a picturesque setting, the Northwestern Hills Recreational Complex presents itself as a great place for people in the community to do various activities, as it is open every day except for Monday. One thing in general is that the center has an Olympic-sized pool that is operable during the humid Louisiana summer days. Open from 1-7 p.m., the pool has served as an aquatic home for Northwestern State University students since the closing of Nesom Natatorium in April 2012, while also serving the needs of Natchitoches residents, including swimming lessons. For non-members, it is eight dollars for adults and five dollars for children under the age of 12, accompanied with at least a 16-year old. “We offer group lessons in June,” aquatics director Cindy Davis said. “We also offer adult lessons, parent/child lessons and private lessons in July. Water exercises are Tuesday to Thursday from 5:30-6:30 p.m. all summer.” The center also has a golf course and tennis courts that are open from 7:30 a.m. to dusk. The tennis courts are free to use and it costs $30 per player for 18 holes of golf with a cart. Northwestern State University students pay $5 in golf course fees. “We’re kind of an all-inclusive facility,” general manager Hall Adams said. “We have everything that you can think of as far as swimming, tennis and golf.” The other unique thing about the recreational center is that it is one better ones in the state as far as what it offers. “Of all the universities in the state, who has what we have? I don’t think anyone in the state has what we have,” general manager and superintendent William Ackel said. “We have a complete country club setting.” Various tournaments and other events are also held on the facility’s grounds. “We have different tournaments throughout the year,” Adams said. “We also have a pavilion that we rent out to the general public as well.” Davis added, “A lot of times during the summer, we host camps that are at Northwestern. We also provide lifeguards for the university place pool and the columns pool and they use those for camps.”

Unless your basketball team was competing against his, you might have found yourself cheering for Ervin Johnson. And no one would have blamed you. What was not to like? Ervin Johnson was as unassuming and mild-mannered as Gomer Pyle, but he had the drive of Gen. George S. Patton -- minus the vulgarity, of course. Self-motivated, but never self-centered. From a-zillion-miles-off-the-radar in high school to an All-America player at the University of New Orleans to a 13-year career as an NBA center . . . and now a spot in the 2013 class of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Johnson will be enshrined Saturday night, June 29, at a sold-out induction ceremony in a basketball-heavy class. His journey to state legend status is one of the more unlikely in the Hall’s history, but it had a solid base. "You could sum it up in one word," Johnson said. "Faith. Belief in myself, belief in God. He had a plan for me. I was just following His lead." In a nutshell: Johnson quit his team in the 10th grade at Block High School in Jonesville, La. -- about a 100-mile drive from Natchitoches -- grew eight inches after graduation (to 6-11) and worked in a Baton Rouge supermarket for 2½ years before enrolling at UNO in January 1989. He offered his services to Tim Floyd, then in his first season as UNO's head coach, on the final night of the early signing period in November '88 after hearing of UNO's need for depth and height. Floyd, whose first UNO team had no starter taller than 6-5, instantly awarded Johnson a scholarship and redshirted him. Then Johnson climbed the heights, though it wasn't easy. He bristled at Floyd's suggestion in the spring of 1989 to transfer to a junior college -- "At that point we just didn't think Ervin was ready to play at the D-I level," the coach said -- then showed him. And wowed him. Johnson wowed everybody. By the time he finished his UNO career in 1993, Johnson had started for three conference-championship teams, played in two NCAA Tournaments and set UNO records for career rebounds (1,287), field-goal percentage (.591), blocked shots (294), games started (116) and minutes played (3,694). His 1,608 points ranked second in UNO history. He was Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year as a senior on a team which was 18-0 in conference and 26-4 overall. Though his ranking on UNO's career scoring charts has changed, this fact hasn't: He's UNO's only first-round NBA draft choice. "Ervin Johnson is an example of a lot of things," said Floyd, who also coached against Johnson for five seasons in the NBA. "He was a non-pampered athlete who was determined to change his life. He was a guy who was hungry, who was driven, who has high character. He's counter to the way the American player is developed today. Instead of being a workout guy -- 1½ hours three times a week -- he chose to spend many lonely hours in a gym by himself. He is a testament to the ability to listen and to personal responsibility. "His story doesn't appeal to the pampered athlete. He's a kid who was hopeful and was willing to work and not give up on his dream." In short, character. Floyd loves to point out that Johnson gave his employer two weeks' notice before heading to UNO. Johnson completed correspondence courses through the University of Washington to help him earn his UNO degree in December '96 -- and then was the commencement speaker. Shortly after he turned pro, Johnson contributed a sizable amount of money to help UNO athletics upgrade its weight room. "Ervin never forgot where he came from," Floyd said. "He was always humble, true to his convictions, to God and his religion. He's a real person who cared about the team than himself." Seattle drafted Johnson, and he played there for three seasons. He spent a year in Denver and averaged 7.1 points, 11.1 rebounds and 2.8 blocks while starting all 82 regular-season games, but he was traded for three players the following year to Milwaukee, where he spent seven of his final nine seasons. Johnson started more than half of his 845 NBA games with career averages of 4.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 20.1 minutes per game. "He was a tough defender," said New Orleans Pelicans coach Monty Williams, who played against Johnson while at Notre Dame and in the NBA. "He could finish around the basket. He played the game the right way. If you played in the league, you knew about him."