One weakness on next year’s Boston University men’s basketball team was supposed to be post play. With the graduation of seniors Jason Grochowalski and Ryan Butt, the only returnees in the frontcourt will be freshman swingman Etienne Brower, sophomore forward Kevin Gardner and junior forward Rashad Bell.
The future frontcourt got a boost in January, however, when Omari Peterkin, a 6-foot 8-inch forward from the University of Notre Dame, transferred to BU. Peterkin will be eligible to play starting in January 2005, and until then he is allowed to practice and workout with the team. He will have two and a half years of eligibility remaining when he steps on the court for BU next December.
It’s a long road back for the Virgin Islands native who attended Notre Dame for three semesters, but never saw any playing time. He sat out his freshman year, the 2002-03 season, as a redshirt. This year, he found himself buried on Notre Dame coach Mike Brey’s bench, with the majority of frontcourt playing time going to three returnees, including All-American candidate Torin Francis.
“I loved being at Notre Dame,” Peterkin said. “But I didn’t feel like it was the right place for me basketball-wise. I didn’t see myself playing-wise getting as much playing time as I could be getting at other places.”
BU coach Dennis Wolff recruited Peterkin while he was still in high school at Antilles School in St. Thomas. Peterkin chose to go elsewhere after he averaged 25 points and 15 rebounds his senior season and drew attention from higher profile schools, such as Notre Dame. But even after turning down a scholarship from BU, he never completely blocked the school out of his mind because of his draw toward it academically.
“I’ve been interested in studying physical therapy and they don’t have that program at many universities around the nation,” he said. “That’s one of the big things that tipped my interest to studying here.”
Peterkin is not the first transfer from a big-name school that Wolff has drawn to BU during his 10-year tenure as head coach. In 1996, Wolff brought in Joey Beard from Duke University, helping the Terriers advance to the NCAA Tournament in 1997.
Wolff also lured Brad Gladstone from Virginia last year, but Gladstone left the team for undisclosed reasons before he appeared on the court for the Terriers. The athletic department has not publicized Peterkin’s transfer because he is not yet on the active roster, and Wolff refused comment for the same reason.
Besides sitting on the end of the bench during home games, the 264-pound forward has been working hard to get into shape in anticipation of next season. He’s also learning Wolff’s system of play.
“I have to get used to all the plays. There’s a lot of plays and I got my playbook now,” Peterkin said. “I’m getting used to running the offense, to getting back on defense, to running the floor. I hope everything falls into place.”
But the biggest adjustment for a man who hails from the same island as NBA MVP Tim Duncan and former BU and current NBA player Raja Bell has been the weather.
“It’s cold out at Notre Dame, but here it’s a little worse,” Peterkin said. “It was all negative degrees out here for the first few weeks.”
He’s hoping to start heating things up on the court next December, whether it be at Agganis Arena or Case Gymnasium.
“Hopefully as soon as I become eligible, coach will put me in, and depending on how I do, I can earn some playing time,” Peterkin said. “All I want to do is benefit BU. I just want to win.”
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