Penigar named top Aggie
Utah Statesman: How does it feel to be the Utah State University athlete of the week as well as the Big West Conference athlete of the week?
Desmond Penigar: It’s a great accomplishment [being USU athlete of the week]. [Being BWC athlete of the week for two consecutive weeks] just means they represent Utah State as a good [basketball] program. Me being athlete of the week for two weeks is bringing attention to USU and that’s putting us on the map.
US: What do you think of the atmosphere of the Spectrum?
DP: It’s good. It’s one of the better places to play. I know there are a couple of schools in California that don’t have 6,000 people come to a game. Against Brigham Young University, we had 10,000. It’s wonderful here.
US: Not being from Utah, what does it mean to defeat BYU and the University of Utah?
DP: If I didn’t know about the rivalries and the past history I would have just took it as another game. But it’s way more than that. It means more to the community, the fans and the coaching staff. Beating BYU and Utah at the same time, man, that’s big.
US: You committed to come to USU a while ago, what drew you here?
DP: The players. When I came up here on my visit everyone came together, it felt like a family. When I came here we all went to parties together and that’s how it is. We went to parties together, we went shopping together. If someone went to the store, everyone went to the store.
US: You’ve mentioned before training with Ronnie Ross, have you formed a close friendship with him?
DP: Yeah, as soon as we came here. As soon as we signed here he called me up a couple of times and we talked over the phone. He was in a couple of magazines and I was in a couple of magazines, so we talked about that. He’s from Louisiana and I’m from Louisiana. We know a lot of things about Louisiana that a lot of people don’t know about Louisiana. It’s tight.
US: What do you think of the snow?
DP: It’s different. It’s my first time being in the snow. I know this is a stupid answer, but it’s cold. It’s fun. We’re throwing snowballs and making the best of it.
US: Are you planning on giving skiing a try?
DP: I don’t know about that. Maybe after the season. Coach [Stew] Morrill wouldn’t like that right now.
US: What’s your favorite Looney Toons character?
DP: That big rooster [Foghorn Leghorn] and he chases that dog. Man, that rooster’s smart. He always gets that dog. He always tricks that dog.
US: What’s the biggest culture shock coming to Utah?
DP: In the classroom. I’m in a class with about 250 [people] and there’s like five boys. It’s a child development class. There’s like two African-Americans in the class and that’s different. I came up here and I knew the situation. It’s a good thing. Everyone knows who I am and that I play basketball.
US: Does the team have any nicknames for Stew or anyone on the coaching staff?
DP: We’ve got a lot of them to tell you the truth. We’ve got … I can’t tell you. I’ll tell you at the end of the