Terran Petteway To Leave Nebraska Cornhuskers And Declare For 2015 NBA Draft

Earlier this week, Nebraska junior guard Terran Petteway opted to declare for the 2015 NBA Draft.  Petteway had become the top player for the Cornhuskers over the last two seasons after transferring into the program for Texas Tech.

Petteway talked about his decision in a release from Nebraska and took his time to not only talk about his time in Lincoln, but also the fanbase.

[Read more after the break.]

“I want to start off by thanking the city of Lincoln and state of Nebraska for all of the love and support that you guys have shown me over the last three years,” Petteway said. “This is a bittersweet moment for me because Lincoln has become a second home to me, but in the same instance has helped me grow as a man and ballplayer, and I love y’all.”

This is a huge loss for a Nebraska team that struggled to a 13-18 record last season.  Losing a contributor when you are an underwhelming team is bad enough, but losing the biggest contributor on a team that really struggled down the stretch is even more significant.  Just take a look at some of his stats from this season.

Terran Petteway 2014-15 Stats:

• Led the team in scoring, FGs, FGAs, 3PAs, 3PTers, assists, blocks, FTAs.
• Led the team in efficiency rating, points produced, assist%, usage, %Shots.
• 2nd on the team in minutes, rebounds, defensive rebounds, steals, FTs.
• 2nd on the team in win shares, percent of minutes played, true shooting rate.
• Averaged 18.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game.

If there's anyway you look at those numbers and don't think Petteway was a major, major contributor for Nebraska last season, then you're missing something.  So not only is a Nebraska team that finished below .500 on the year losing arguably its biggest contributor, but when you add in the earlier transfer of Tarin Smith, things look even tougher for the Huskers.  Perhaps freshmen Bakari Evelyn or Glynn Watson can step in right away and contributor, but it seems like Nebraska's backcourt could take a step back without Petteway next year.

Overall though, Petteway had a really nice career for Nebraska and really was a major piece in putting the Huskers back on the college basketball map.  The interesting thing will be whether he can slide into the 2nd Round of the NBA Draft and land on a roster.

Other Links:

- The Big Ten's Top 5 Remaining 2015 NBA Draft Decisions

- McDonald's All-American Game Breakdown

- Three Takeaways from Wisconsin vs. Duke

- Jake Layman to Return to Maryland

- Sam Dekker (Wisconsin) Declares For 2015 NBA Draft

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