Feb. 14, 2008
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -
The Samford University basketball team will be playing its final regular-season home game of the 2007-08 campaign Saturday at 7 p.m., against Eastern Kentucky. The following is a feature story on senior center Travis Peterson.
SENIOR FEATURE: Travis Peterson - "Guard in a Center's Body"
At 6-foot-10, Samford's Travis Peterson might look a little odd with the ball in his hands, running the Bulldogs' offense from the top of the key, but not for Samford's coaching staff. That's exactly where they want him.
The Bulldogs' starting center handles the ball with the ease of a 5-foot-something and leads the team with 80 assists. So far this season, Peterson has only turned the ball over 51 times and is ranked eighth in the Ohio Valley Conference in assist/turnover ratio (1.6) - as a center.
Earlier this season, as Samford was salting away its 64-57 victory at Eastern Kentucky, Peterson turned some heads with a hesitation, between-the-legs dribble that caused a pair of Colonel defenders to run into each other. Even some of the remaining Eastern Kentucky fans exclaimed, "Ooohhh."
"Growing up, I kind of always wanted to be a point guard," said Peterson. "I was always a pretty good ball-handler. Even with the growth spurt, I was able to maintain my coordination and it ended up helping me fit into our offense here at Samford. The Princeton offense has been a great fit for me because it allows me to use the skill set that I developed in high school."
At Mountain Ridge High School in Glendale, Ariz., Peterson was the starting point guard for his team before undergoing a six-inch growth spurt. The next season he was the starting center.
His head coach at Mountain Ridge, Drew Tutt, still allowed Peterson to handle the ball and to shoot from the outside. He averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds per game and shot 55 percent from the floor and 80 percent from the free-throw line.
"When I had my growth spurt in high school it was fine with me and my coach accepted it," laughed Peterson. "He let me play a lot more freely in high school than most coaches might have and I was allowed to have more decision making than most big men. I wasn't forced to just post up all the time and he allowed me to drift out to the 3-point line."
As a 3-point shooter, Peterson has perennially proven that he is capable of knocking down the long shot. In his sophomore season, he made over 40 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc, and last year he connected on a career-high 52 3-point field goals.
Earlier this season, Peterson knocked down four 3-pointers against Brewton-Parker on Nov. 26 and Tennessee Tech on Jan. 3. He has shown signs of dominance from the outside this year, but most of his damage has been done on the inside.
"My dad also helped me out a lot in working on my post moves," explained Peterson. "He and my mom have always been extremely supportive of me throughout my career, and they've really been a great help to me in playing basketball."
Not only have the Petersons, Randy and Karen, been a great help to Travis's career, but they have also given him some major talent to work with. His father was a basketball player at California Lutheran and his mother's athleticism played a major role in Travis's height and agility.
This season, Peterson is currently ranked second on the team in scoring with 12.1 points per game, and he recently became the 21st player in Samford history to reach the prestigious 1,000-point plateau. He is shooting 48.4 percent from the field and is also leading the team with 4.5 rebounds per contest.
Peterson's five-year teammate and fellow-senior, Joe Ross Merritt, is also nearing the 1,000-point club. He is only 83 points shy of the mark, and the pair would like to go down in the record books together.
"It would be great if we could both reach 1,000 points in the same year," Peterson said. "Joe (Ross Merritt) has been such an awesome player since he's been here and it's been fun to spend the last five years as teammates. He's always been a great player and it would be huge team accomplishment if we could both reach it in the same season."
A fifth-year senior, Peterson has started in 20 of the team's 24 games this year and has been a fixture in the starting lineup since the 2004-05 season. As a sophomore, Peterson exploded on the scene in the OVC and averaged 11.2 points per contest. He consistently thrilled "The Red Sea" with his key 3-point baskets and his rim-rocking dunks.
"Sometimes, I still can't believe that I'm a senior already," Peterson reminisced. "These last five years have really flown by and it's almost been like a blur. I still clearly remember my first year as a redshirt, just sitting on the bench and not being able to do anything. My time here has gone by fast, but I've enjoyed every bit of it."
Despite his past accolades and accomplishments, Peterson has taken it upon himself to be a vocal leader on this year's young team. He's constantly urging his teammates to give it their all during games, and his signature pre-game pump-up routine at mid-court has been a staple since a season-opening matchup at top-ranked Florida in 2006.
Peterson is also a fun-loving teammate and can always be found on the back of the bus playing cards and acting as the Bulldogs' "iTunes DJ" on road trips.
"My senior year has been a blast," smiled Peterson. "This season's team has been a lot different because it's so young. Right now, it's basically me and Joe (Ross Merritt) and a bunch of guys that haven't played before, so it's been different in that way. I think that it's been good for me, because I've been able to show the younger guys the ropes."
Even though Peterson is nearing the completion of his playing days at Samford, it doesn't mean that his basketball career is coming to an end. Head coach Jimmy Tillette has watched the talents of his 6-foot-10 "guard" for the last five seasons, and feels that his nimble big man can be a star in Europe.
"I think that I'm going to try and play basketball once I'm done here at Samford," answered Peterson, when asked of his post-college plans. "After the season, I'll get with the coaches and weigh my options. Playing in Europe would be a good opportunity for me, but obviously I'd have to see where I am at the time. It would be an exciting time for me and I'm definitely looking forward to the opportunity."
Samford's fans will wish Peterson all the best in his future endeavors, and they will always remember the excitement that he brought to Bulldog basketball over the last four seasons.
