Postin Up with Terran Petteway

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In this week's edition of our Postin' Up series, we sit down with sophomore wing Terran Petteway. After redshirting last season following his transfer from Texas Tech, the Galveston, Texas, native has made an immediate impact for the Huskers and currently stands as one of the top scorers in the Big Ten Conference at 17.3 points per game.

We talk with Petteway about his debut season, adjusting to life in Nebraska, and which of his teammates thinks they have more game off the court than they actually do.

HOL: I asked Leslee Smith this last week, so I'll go ahead and ask you as well - what's your favorite song right now to listen to before a game?

TP: "Rich Homie Quan, the whole mix tape. It's called 'I Promise I Will Never Stop Going In'. That gets me ready every time."

HOL: Seeing how you're from one of the southernmost cities in the United States, I'm guessing you never had to deal with winters like this before coming to Nebraska?

TP: "Not at all. Where I grew up, my house was a block away from the beach. The beach was right there. Coming here and I see all this snow, it was a big transition. I would call my mom all the time and tell her about how cold it is and how much I miss home, but I think I've kind of gotten used to it now."

HOL: Not sure if you've noticed, but you've gotten some attention during TV game broadcasts and such for your unique dreads and facial hair look. How long have you been sporting that?

TP: "I started my dreads when I was a freshman in high school. I'd had braids before and I just got tired of them, so I started doing dreads and just kind of stuck with that. The facial hair, that came from my older brother. He had them, and I kind of liked how it looked, so I wanted to try it out. That was probably about a year and a half ago."

HOL: Have you tried to convince any of your teammates to grow out their beards?

TP: "Nah, they're not doing it. They try to tell me to cut it, but I'm not cutting it."

HOL: What would it take for you to shave?

TP: "Nothing."

HOL: OK, let's get serious here. Which of your teammates thinks he has game with the ladies but really doesn't?

TP: (Laughs) "I'd probably have to say Leslee Smith. Les and Deverell (Biggs), man. Those are the two guys with that. Ah, no, I've got to go three. It's in this order: Tai (Webster), Leslee and then Dev. They think they can just talk to any girl and get any girl they want, especially Tai. You've got to see him in action. It's hilarious."

HOL: In your experiences in the Big Ten and Big 12 during your career, what is the best venue you've seen so far?

TP: "I would have to say Kansas, man. That was crazy. They sold out to see us play, and we were last in the league I think that year. There were so many people. I was a freshman, and I was just like, 'Whoa, what is going on?' That was kind of neat. Then when they did that Rock Chalk chant, I was kind of freaked out. I was like, 'What is that?' I've talked to Benny (Parker) about that, because I remember when they first did that I was like, 'What are they doing?' He was like, 'That's their chant.' And I was like, 'What?' It kind of freaked me out at first."

HOL: Best basketball movie ever?

TP: "'He Got Game'. I love Ray Allen. When I first saw it, I think I was like nine or 10, and I thought Ray Allen was the best player in the world. I thought nobody was better than him ever."

HOL: Not sure how closely you follow your stats, but you currently rank fifth in the Big Ten in scoring at 17.3 points per game. How important of a goal is it for you to be one of the conference's top scorers?

TP: "It's important, but once you think about it, it's not as important as you'd think because we're still losing. If we were winning and I had 17 a game, I'd be proud of it. But I'm not really proud of averaging 17 points and being one of the league leaders because I'm focused on winning and trying to change this program around. That's really all I'm focused on."

HOL: When you look back on that Michigan game earlier this season, how close was your final shot to going in?

TP: "Man, I thought about that a lot that night. I wish I would've done another move and got closer to the basket. It was close. I'd made the shot five times in a row and then missed it right there for the game winner. That one hurt. If I could do it again, I probably would've tried to get my own rebound. When I shot it, I faded away from my shot because I thought Leslee was going to tip it. I probably would've tried to get my own rebound."

HOL: What is your favorite Tim Miles story/moment/experience you've had so far?

TP: "I think it was the first or second day of practice in Pinnacle Bank Arena, and he told us a story about the indians and when they used to go to war. He said when the dudes would go to war they would paddle in their canoes to the battle, and once they got there they would burn the canoes so there was no turning back. He kind of related that to basketball, and I thought that was one of the best stories I'd ever heard. They burned their canoes so nobody could run back, because they were fighting for their families. That was a pretty neat story to me."

HOL: Miles recruited you at Colorado State pretty hard before you ended up going to Texas Texas out of high school. When you look back how everything has played out, does it feel like you wound up at the perfect place in the end?

TP: "It kind of felt like it was meant to be in the first place when you think about it. When I was planning on leaving Tech, he had just got this job, so I called them and asked if they still wanted me, and Coach (Craig) Smith asked (Miles) and he said, 'Hell yeah I still want you.' So it was no recruiting thing. It was just I came here, I saw it, and that was it. I wasn't going anywhere else."

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