On Tap with ... Blake Dietrick

Q: What was your “welcome to college” moment?

A: During Frosh week, when we went to Cloister — just getting there for the first time and seeing that huge mass of people standing outside — just being stupid. It was a huge amount of people, and it was raining, and it was just like, “Oh, okay, this is what college is going to be like.”

Q: Does the team have any odd rituals or team traditions?

A: We played Stanford this year, and we joke that whenever we play a big team, we always try to find a way to make a transitive property like, “Stanford beat UConn, and we played Stanford and were only down by seven at halftime, so, therefore, we beat UConn.” Also, our rivalry with Harvard is pretty big, so we just get pumped up about that. We tend to joke about the way other teams get pumped up. Girls will stand in a circle and move side to side and yell, and we don’t do anything like that, but we make fun of other people for doing it.

Q: Do you have superstitions or pregame rituals?

A: The only thing I do is that when I shoot free throws, I wipe my feet after every free throw. I’m not superstitious, and people on the team get mad at me. Someone will be shooting free throws in the game, and I’ll be like, “They haven’t missed any yet,” and then my teammates will hit me and be like, “What are you talking about?” And they’ll go and miss, and it’s like, “It’s your fault!”

Q: If you didn’t play basketball, what would you play?

A: I was actually recruited for lacrosse. When I knew that both coaches were interested, it came down to which sport, not which school. I just love basketball a little more.

Q: If you could be a top professional athlete, what sport would you pick?

A: You’re going to like this. I would definitely pick tennis.

Q: Really? You’re not just saying that to flatter me? [Editor’s note: Matt Siow is a junior on the men’s tennis team]

A: No! Our team — we really like watching tennis. One of my teammates, [sophomore guard] Nicole Hung, stayed up until 4 a.m. to watch the Australian Open live. I just love tennis. I’d love to be a professional tennis player. That would be awesome.

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Q: Who is your quirkiest teammate?

A: Definitely [junior center] Meg Bowen. She’s super funny, and she’s crazy, and she says the most outrageous things and has no filter. She’s hilarious.

Q: What has been your favorite part about Princeton so far?

A: Kicking butt. Beating Harvard by like 30 [28, actually] was really sweet.

Q: What has been your favorite class at Princeton so far?

A: People who read this are going to hate me. My writing seminar was awesome.

Q: What about your least favorite class?

A: Art history sucked a lot. I don’t know why I took that, but I did. I was in a philosophy class, but I was like, “This is terrible.” It was some German guy who had an accent, and I couldn’t understand him. So I switched into art history, and it was even worse.

Q: What are your favorite places to eat on or off campus?

A: On campus, Rocky-Mathey because it’s my dining hall. My roommate and I know the staff, and they come to the games. It’s like a family. We hug them every time we go into the dining hall. And off campus, definitely Panera until “The Gastro.” So now I’d have to say Teresa’s.

Q: What is the most embarrassing song on your iPod?

A: Oh God, I have a lot. Probably a recording of my high school wind ensemble because our teacher made us listen to it over break and improve. We were super intense and would win medals and all that crap.

Q: What did you play?

A: The flute. My parents wanted me to be well-rounded.

Q: Do you still play it?

A: (Scoffs) No! My dad made me bring it. He said, “You’ll play. By yourself. In your room.” “No, I’m not going to.” So it’s just there gathering dust.

Q: If you were coach for a day, what would you do?

A: I would give my team the day off.

Q: What do you see yourself doing in 10 years?

A: In 10 years I’ll be ... 28. Right? Yeah. So I see myself possibly married. Probably not though. Maybe married. Working. I will have traveled the world at that point. I don’t want kids when I’m 28 — that’s for sure.

Q: If you could be any superhero, who would you pick?

A: That’s so easy. I would be Catwoman because, first of all, I like cats. Second of all, she has a rockin’ body in that suit. And you just look awesome in all-black leather.

Q: Lebron, Kobe or Jeremy Lin?

A: Jeremy Lin. Hate the Lakers and don’t really like Lebron, so ...

Q: Do you have any groupies?

A: I have a couple of friends who came to the last home game with signs. One of them said, “Will you marry me, Blake?” and the other one said, “I love you Blake!” And afterward, they got in a line with all the little kids and asked me to sign their signs for them. I refused because that’s just weird.

Q: Any shoutouts?

A: They were freshmen Dean Makino, Matt Garvey and Eric ... his name is too hard to pronounce [Bartholomae].

Q: What would your ideal job be?

A: Working in Africa with big animals. But I don’t want to be pre-veterinarian, and I don’t want to go to school for a million years.

Q: If you could trade any physical attribute with one of your teammates, who would you trade with, what would you trade and why?

A: I would definitely trade with LP [junior guard Lauren Polansky]. Well, first of all, I just wish I could trade for her entire body because she doesn’t have any fat on her. But ... oh God, I can’t say that ... never mind ... I would trade for her legs, I guess. She has really nice legs.