Peter Sullivan '11 had a fairly typical Thanksgiving break. The Wilmette, Ill., native went home, ate turkey, saw friends and family and played some basketball.
The only difference between his break and yours was that he played basketball for a Division I team. Not just any Division I team, but a Brown Bears team that upset the Big Ten's Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. In front of nearly 100 friends and family, Sullivan dropped 19 points - 16 in the second half - to lead the Bears to a 73-67 win in a performance that even Dennis Rodman, Sullivan's idol, would envy.
For that, Sullivan is The Herald's Athlete of the Week.
Herald: Wow. You're really tall.
Sullivan: Um-hmm.
Exactly how tall are you?
I'm 6'5".
Get out!
Uh-huh.
No way.
Yep, 6'5".
Whoa. Do you ever get comments on how tall you are?
Well, I did more when I was in high school than now, just because there are taller guys on the team. I'm not one of the taller guys anymore, but in my high school, I was one of the taller guys, so I used to get comments all the time.
Would people just come up to you and ask if you were a basketball player?
Yes, all the time, especially when we're just walking in the airport with the whole team, people are always coming up and asking us, "What school do guys you play for?"
Does it ever annoy you that people just assume that because you're tall, you play basketball?
It gets annoying when people ask you, "How's the air up there?" and questions like that, but it's not too annoying.
Uh, do you think being tall helps you in basketball?
Um. Yeah, I mean definitely. Typically, basketball players are taller, it definitely gives me an advantage. (But) some of the best players are 6'0", 6'1."
I'm trying to adjust. Really, in high school, I was one of the tallest guys on the team, but in college, I'm not anymore. In high school, I could really use that to my advantage, but now I'm in the middle of the pack. So I'm just trying to adjust. I try to do some stuff now, but it doesn't work as well.
In the Northwestern game over the weekend, you had a great game playing in front of your friends and family. Why were you able to do so well? Did you promise your mom 19 points?
(Laughs) No, no, no. (Head) Coach (Craig) Robinson was saying he didn't plan on playing me that much, just because it was really hard to go home and play well in front of your home crowd. But a couple of our guys got in foul trouble, so I was fortunate enough to get an opportunity. I wasn't trying to come in there and be the star of the game or anything, because we do have our seniors, our upperclassmen, our captains - they're going to take the main role in the game. I was just trying to take my role and just do the little things that I thought I would be able to do. I guess Northwestern's focus might have been to stop a couple guys on our team, so I was able to get some open looks and I was able to knock them down.
Who was at the game?
For me, my parents were, my whole family was. I hadn't seem them in a while, since I left for school, so it was good to see them. All my friends were back for Thanksgiving break, so a lot of them were able to go to the game. And then, coaches from high school, from grade school - a lot of people were in the stands. ... In total, in terms of people that I knew, there were probably a hundred there.
Did that pump you up, or did that make you nervous?
Yeah, I was definitely excited. I was a little nervous before the game, because I wanted to play well, obviously. But it was fun, though, being able to see everyone and being able to play well in front of everybody. And our team ended up beating Northwestern, which was also really good.
What kind of mentality does your team take when it goes into a game against a big-conference school like Northwestern?
It's funny because we run the same exact stuff as Northwestern. The same offense, the same defense, because Coach Robinson used to coach at Northwestern. So we were very prepared for them. We knew what they were going to do, and on the other hand, they knew what we were going to do. So it was just who would execute better. We had great practices up until the game, and Coach Robinson was telling us we had four great practices in a row and that should translate to the game, and it did for us.
How long have you been playing basketball?
Since I've been in about third grade.
Since you played center in most of grade school and high school, has it been tough to adjust to becoming a swingman?
I knew I kind of had to do it if I wanted to play in college. I worked a lot on my perimeter skills. Coach Robinson will give a hard time when I make a bad play on the perimeter, but he'll attribute that to me playing center in high school. I had to work at it ... because I knew I wouldn't be able to play down low forever.
What's your favorite part about playing basketball?
I would say one of my favorite parts is being able to beat teams that you knew are favored over you, like Northwestern, especially because I am so familiar over at Northwestern because I live about five minutes away from campus. I would say that's a lot of fun, being able to overcome the odds that were against us and go and beat them.
I see you're wearing a Chicago Bulls cap. Did you root for them growing up?
Oh yeah, I'm a big Bulls, Bears and Cubs fan.
Who was your favorite player growing up?
I was always a big Michael Jordan fan, a big Scottie Pippen fan. I actually really liked Dennis Rodman. I was kind of obsessed with the Bulls when I was younger. I think everyone was in grade school. I'd say Dennis Rodman is probably my favorite, though.
Why Rodman?
He was just a real weird guy, a different kind of player. I'd see him around every once in a while - once, he was looking to buy a house relatively close to my house, so I always drove by, looking at the house, hoping he would buy it, which he didn't end up doing. But I always liked to watch him play.
He was kind of a badass. Do you imagine yourself to be one, too?
I always liked to think so, but I don't know. Probably not like Dennis Rodman. He's a one-of-a-kind type of player. I don't think I play like him or anything. He's just fun to watch.
You don't have any tattoos or date Carmen Electra?
No, no. I tried once, but it didn't work out.
