'Going To Get the Best of Him' Sprinkle Says of Transfer Bryson Tucker

The Huskies sign a once highly regarded player who struggled in his freshman season at Indiana.

Indiana's Bryson Tucker looks to shoot over Minnesota's Frank Mitchell in December. Tucker has joined the UW now. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Maybe a change of scenery, three time zones away in Seattle, is all Bryson Tucker needs to get his basketball game untracked.

On Monday, the University of Washington announced the 6-foot-7 former Indiana swingman and one-time 5-star high school recruit has signed an agreement to play this coming season for the Huskies and Danny Sprinkle's staff.

Tucker comes to the remnants of a team that finished last in the Big Ten and experienced what he did last season as a highly regarded first-year player for the Hoosiers -- both struggled to make things happen.

As the only true freshman on the Indiana roster, Tucker appeared to lose confidence early on and the situation magnified to the point he sat out the final six games of the season, including a March 1 matchup against the UW at Alaska Airlines Arena, won by the Hoosiers 78-62.

"That’s probably why his minutes were kind of sporadic, but I think we’re going to get the best of him," Sprinkle said in a prepared statement. "He’s coming in with a chip on his shoulder, but the one thing I really love is he can really score the ball at the wing spot and create his own shot, which is something we struggled with last year."

Indiana's Bryson Tucker (8) shoots over USC's Kevin Patton Jr. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

So the Huskies will replace struggling players with a guy who knows how that feels. This is maybe where coaching will come into play. Before the season ended, Tucker knew full well his Indiana leader Mike Woodson wasn't returning.

From Bowie, Maryland, Tucker was one of the nation’s most heavily pursued high school prospects a year ago as a McDonald's All-American and ranked No. 21 in his class, No. 7 as a small forward and, in playing his senior year out of state, as the top player in Virginia.

“Bryson is a huge addition for us,” Sprinkle said. “We needed another wing that can really score and had experience with the Big Ten schedule."

In his first Big Ten outing, Tucker put up his top offensive showing of the season against Minnesota, finishing with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting and 6 rebounds in 20 minutes of play.

Over 23 games for Indiana, all as a reserve, he averaged 5.4 points and 2.9 rebounds.

Tucker is the 11th new player for the Huskies, who return just guard Zoom Diallo and center Franck Kepnang from last season's 13-18 team, which was 4-16 in conference play.

“Adding him next to Wesley [Yates), Quimari (Peterson), Zoom and some of our freshmen," Sprinkle said, "I’m really excited where our guard and wing play is at.”

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