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Overview

One of the finest athletes to ever compete for the Badgers, the fifth-year forward departs the university as its all-time leader in points scored (2,217), field goals made (798), free throws made (520), free throws attempted (818), offensive rebounds (314), games started (126), games played (134) and minutes played (4,296). His 16.5-point scoring average ranks seventh in Schoolhistory, while his 1,663 field-goal attempts rank second in Badgers history. Despite standing 6-foot-5, he also ranks sixth with 769 total rebounds.

Tucker was only the second player in UW history to score at least 1,500 career points prior to his senior season (Michael Finley), and he was one of just eight seniors in the country with at least 1,500 career points. He became the first Badger to lead the Big Ten Conference in scoring (19 points per game in 2006) since Don Rehfeldt in 1950. He also set the Schoolrecord for free-throw attempts in a season (233) as a junior and broke Finley's Schoolrecord for vertical leap with a jump of 38 inches (Finley was at 35.5).

At Township High School, Tucker was one of only two juniors to be named to the Herald News AA All-Area team. He added All-State first-team honors during his senior year, as he averaged 22.2 points, 7.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game.

As a freshman at Wisconsin in 2002-03, Tucker played in all 32 games, starting the final 27 at power forward, despite measuring just 6-5, 195 pounds. He finished third on the team (and third among Big Ten frosh) in scoring with a 12-point average and was tops among Big Ten freshmen in rebounds (5.9 rpg). He led the Big Ten and set a Schoolrecord for offensive rebounds (2.69 per game, 86 total) and finished fourth in the conference (tops among freshmen) in field-goal percentage (139 of 261, .533). He ranked among the top five in UW freshman history in games played, minutes played, points, field goals, field-goal percentage and free-throw attempts.

Tucker averaged 14 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while appearing in just four games during the 2003-04 season. A foot injury would sideline him most of the year, as he earned a medical hardship. He returned with a vengeance in 2004-05, starting 30 of 31 games. He finished with a 15.2-point scoring average and led the Badgers with nine 20-point efforts.

He was also second on the team in rebounding (6.1 rpg) and ranked among the top 10 in the conference in both categories. He scored a season-high 27 points vs. Maryland and averaged 18.5 points vs. ranked teams, including 25 vs. North Carolina. He made a running 3-pointer as time expired to give UW a win over Iowa in the Big Ten tournament semifinals.

Tucker was a consensus first-team All-Big Ten Conference selection in 2005-06 and was also named to the 2006 Wooden Award Midseason All-American team and the Naismith Award Top 30 list. He earned NABC first-team All-District XI and USBWA All-District V honors as a junior and was named 2006 Paradise Jam MVP. He started all 31 games and led the team in scoring (19.0 ppg.). He ranked among the school's single-season top 10 in points (588, fifth), field goals (222, fourth) and field-goal attempts (490, third) and scored at least 20 points in 11 of 17 games against the Big Ten, including three games with at least 27 points.

Tucker averaged 21.6 points against ranked teams. He scored a career-high and Paradise Jam Tournament-record 38 points (fourth-most in Schoolhistory) in a win over Eastern Kentucky. He set a Paradise Jam Tournament-record for field goals (26) and finished one point shy of the tourney mark of 69 total points. He also suffered a nose injury against Wake Forest and wore a custom-made protective mask in 13 games.

As a senior, Tucker garnered Big Ten Conference Player of the Year honors by both the coaches and media and was the only unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selection by both groups. He was one of five finalists for the Oscar Robertson Trophy, given to the national player of the year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and one of 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, presented each year to the outstanding senior NCAA Division I Student-Athlete of the Year.

He became Wisconsin's first All-American first-team choice (USBWA, NABC, SI.com, ESPN.com, Sporting News) since 1950 and was named Big Ten Player of the Week three times (Dec. 18, Jan. 29 and Feb. 12), tying the Schoolrecord for conference player of the week honors in a single season.

In his final season, he started all 36 games, shooting at a .470 clip from the field (256 of 545), including 40 of 123 3-point shots. He was successful on 164 of 249 free throws (65.9 percent) and scored a career-high 716 points (19.9 ppg), breaking the old Schoolseason-record of 624 points by Devin Harris in 2004. His 256 field goals made broke the old UW season-record of 237 by Rick Olson in 1986 and his 545 field-goal attempts bettered the old Schoolmark of 519 by Clarence Sherrod in 1971.

His 164 free throws made topped the previous Schoolrecord of 152 by Claude Gregory in 1981 and his 249 free-throw attempts broke his own mark of 233 set in 2006. He logged 1,181 minutes of action, topping the old Schoolrecord of 1,162 minutes by Harris in 2004. Tucker had 196 rebounds, with 78 coming off the offensive boards, as he dished out 73 assists, blocked ten shots and had 33 steals. He turned the ball over 60 times and was called for 45 fouls.

In 134 games at Wisconsin, Tucker started in 126 contests. He scored 2,217 points (16.5 ppg) in 4,296 minutes of action (32.1 per game). He connected on 798 of 1,663 field goals (48 percent) with 101 of 329 shooting (30.7 percent) from 3-point range. He hit on 520 of 818 free throws (63.6 percent) and averaged 5.7 rebounds per game, as 314 of his 769 boards came on the offensive side. He doled out 213 assists (1.6 apg), had 104 steals and blocked 29 shots. He was charged with 210 fouls and had 229 turnovers.

Scouting Report

Positives: Long-limbed, lean athlete, but has room on his frame to carry at least another 10 pounds of bulk with no decline in quickness...Gets excellent elevation on his drives to the rim, gliding through the air to draw fouls (but his marginal free-throw shooting is a problem)...Despite his lack of bulk, he likes to work and operate in the paint, as he uses his slashing agility well to get to the basket...His long wingspan helps him compensate for a lack of size in the paint, as he keeps his hands high and active to alter the opponent's shot...Creates mismatch problems for guards with his wingspan, but will need to get faster to compete with them at the next level...Has good, soft hands to grab the one-bounce pass and drive to the rim...Does a nice job of palming the ball on one-handed dunks and is best when he sets his feet first before shooting (can't catch and shoot quickly without looking mechanical and rushed)...Scrappy defender who uses his long arms and lateral agility to get in the face of a shooter out on the perimeter...Intelligent player who has the ability to rotate to several positions, depending on the offensive scheme...When elevating, he hangs in the air long, drawing a bunch of fouls thanks to his school-record vertical leap (38 inches)...Explodes off the ground and times his leaps well to get around the slower opponent in attempts to secure the rebound...Smart player who won't rush the ball down the court or force his shots, as he uses his vision to feed the ball to the open man...Has a good concept for using angles in his drive to the basket and shows good change-of-direction agility...More comfortable scoring in the post with his back to the basket, but also has a nice turnaround jumper and, while he lacks accuracy, he has the strength to fire from long range but needs to set his feet better when firing from the perimeter...Has a nice array of head fakes to commit the defender to going to the air while he darts underneath after taking the opponent's side...Good finisher in transition and can dunk the ball when he's the last outlet on the fast break.

Negatives: Built more like a point guard, but lacks the explosiveness needed to serve at that position at the next level...Also lacks ball-handling skills and most of his turnovers are created when he keeps the ball on the floor too long, as he has a high dribble...Has played power forward at Wisconsin, but at 205 pounds, he won't be able to withstand the punishment in the paint at the next level...Poor free-throw shooter with a noticeable hitch in his release...Lacks a consistent mid-range shot and most of his scoring results by slashing to the basket and on putbacks...Will have to improve his overall strength if he hopes to have success slashing to the basket in the NBA...Will get bounced around at the next level and with poor ball-handling skills, the quicker guards will be able to create turnovers on him...Must develop a more efficient mid-range shot to counter bigger defenders who push him out of the lane...Best in a half-court game, as he lacks the speed to handle open-court activity...Would be much more inviting as a potential shooting guard at the next level, but he must greatly improve his mid-range game...Has the ability to draw fouls, but then puts up a lot of clunkers at the charity stripe...Must become more aggressive setting up and playing off screens (some scouts feel that he tries to pace himself too much)...Floats around the perimeter too much late in games and won't crash the glass as much as he does earlier in games.

Compares To: LARRY HUGHES, Cleveland. Until Tucker gets into a good training program and proves that he can carry another 10-15 pounds of bulk, he can't be used much at forward. He seemed to regress with his aggressiveness the last two years, as his body took a pounding as a 200-pound "enforcer" at power forward. He is trapped in a two-guard's body, but might not be quick enough to handle guards defensively. He lacks a perimeter game to handle small forward duties, except in spurts. Off the bench, he will put a few quick points on the board and he might even manage to get his fair share of rebounds. For a guy that draws so many fouls, he could be a better foul shooter.

High School

Attended Township (Lockport, Ill.) High School...One of only two juniors to be named to the Herald News AA All-Area team...Added All-State first-team honors during his senior year, as he averaged 22.2 points, 7.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game.

Personal

Life sciences/communication major...Son of Lisa Tucker and Forrest Harris...Born 2/11/84...Resides in Lockport, Illinois.

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