At UW, Bryson Tucker Continues On Path To Basketball Redemption

Bryson Tucker didn't play when Indiana visited Alaska Airlines Arena last winter for a late-season game. He wasn't one of the nine Hoosiers who drew minutes in a 78-62 victory over the University of Washington basketball team. He sat and watched.

By then, the 6-foot-7 sophomore forward from Bowie, Maryland, was glued to the bench in a bad situation. He sat out the final six games with his coach, Mike Woodson, on the way out as a lameduck leader. He was neglected.

Fast forward eight months and three time zones, and Tucker finds himself rejuvenated. He's not only starting for the Huskies, but playing at a high level.

That's high level, as in two thunderous dunks among 12 points plus he had a team-high 10 rebounds in a 94-50 season-opening victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Monday night in Montlake. A double-double, no less.

And that's 10 rebounds, which was an amazing amount considering he plays alongside 6-foot-11 senior Franck Kepnang and 6-foot-11 freshman Hannes Steinbach, both board-minded individuals.

"I have to go rebound amongst trees," Tucker joked.

Said UW coach Danny Sprinkle, "He could have have 15 or 16 -- he went every time."

Tucker has found new basketball motivation after going from McDonald's All-American selection to being considered overrated at Indiana to well on the way to making big strides in restoring his reputation in Montlake.

It was fun night all around for him as he sat down for a postgame interview and watched media members cavalierly toss a heavy microphone across the room in order to ask him a question.

Rather than cast him aside, Sprinkle has shown off his coaching skills by challenging Tucker to be the player everyone thought he was initially.

"I'm proud of him because I've been coaching him hard," the UW coach said. "I know what his talent can do. I tell him when he's aggressive and really engaged like that, he's really hard to deal with."

Indiana Hoosiers coach Mike Woodson confers with Bryson Tucker early in the season, which ended with his firing. | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Tucker's first big moment on opening night came right before tipoff -- when he was introduced as a starter.

At Indiana, he appeared in 23 games, all in a reserve role. He averaged 5.4 points and just 2.9 rebounds. And again, he didn't play in a game after a Feb. 14 visit to UCLA, with his minutes rapidly dwindling before then.

"it was a big deal today, coming out," Tucker said of starting the UW opener. "I didn't have a chance to [at Indiana], so coming out today, I loved it. It was a great feeling."

Bryson Tucker, then of Indiana, shoots against USC last January. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For the Huskies, he pulled 29 minutes, second only to teammate Wesley Yates III, who played 30.

Tucker was efficient by hitting 5 of 10 shots, including 2-for-5 from 3-point range, plus he had an assist and a block.

Sprinkle noted how Tucker just sort of hung in the air, amazingly above the white square on the backboard, as he waited for JJ Mandaquit lob passes to arrive each time on his electrifying backdoor dunks.

"He's our most athletic, bouncy, fast-twitch guy," the coach said.

Most of all, he's the new Bryson Tucker, feeling good about his game and getting rewarded for it.

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