But now is not the time to fear Tyler Petty. That comes later.
With his mask hiding a bushy beard and blond hair, Petty plays limited minutes but makes his significant presence known.
He shoots only 1-for-3 from the field, but the one comes on a coast-to-coast, finger-rolling layup following a steal.
That athleticism is what earned him a spot on the JV roster. Petty first approached Coach Hubert Davis about playing for him at church. Davis, who is 6 feet 5 inches tall, said he looked up and said, “Yeah! Can you run?”
“He can obviously do more than run,” Davis said after the game.
The mask, while intimidating, poses its own set of challenges for Petty. It gives him tunnel vision, requiring him to move his entire head to track the ball.
Despite the limiting effects of the mask — it protects the broken nose he earned playing pickup ball before the semester started — Petty recorded six rebounds, two blocked shots, two assists and two steals before fouling out.
As a freshman, Petty is still growing as a player. But his parents, who drive an hour and 45 minutes from Salisbury, N.C., to watch every game, say he has blossomed under Davis’ tutelage. They gush superlatives about the coach who has given them another season of watching their son play.
