Inside The Huskies

Tucker Came To UW to Restore His Reputation -- And It's Working

The Indiana transfer has found a comfortable landing spot in Montlake with the Huskies.
Dan Raley|
Bryson Tucker has found a supportive atmosphere at the UW.
Bryson Tucker has found a supportive atmosphere at the UW. | UW

At Indiana University, the basketball arena sits atop a hill like some sort of shrine or palace, looking down on the much less impressive football stadium.

It's the house that Bobby Knight built and, for anyone who chooses to play there for the Hoosiers, the expectations can be overwhelming.

Bryson Tucker would know this.

A year ago, he arrived in Bloomington as a sleek 6-foot-7 freshman swingman, a McDonald's All-American, a top-30 player nationally and someone carrying the weight of the Bloomington basketball world on his shoulders.

Tucker played in just 23 games for a 19-13 team -- he was held out of the Hoosiers' 78-62 victory over the UW in Seattle -- and averaged 5.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per outing, shooting 37 percent from the floor. He had just three double-figure showings, with a season-high 16 points against Minnesota.

As his minutes decreased and his shots were muffled, the insinuation from the Indiana fan base and the Hoosiers media was he had been somewhat of a disappointment.

"I came in as a McDonald's All-American and I wanted to come in and impact the program," Tucker said. "I just wasn't used, so that's just kind of how that went. So there wasn't too much to speak on."

Indiana basketball proved to be an uncomfortable situation for everyone all around last season. Hoosiers coach Mike Woodson, a former standout player for Bobby Knight teams, was told in February he would be fired, forcing him finish up as a lame-duck leader. Again, it was that expectations thing.

Tucker entered the transfer portal and couldn't get out of there fast enough. He made a connection with Husky coach Danny Sprinkle and assistant DeMarlo Slocum, and now feels wanted in Montlake.

"Just talking to Danny and coach Slocum, they told me the guys they were recruiting and they told me how I would fit into their program," Tucker said. "I saw that and I put my trust in them."

Sprinkle, without saying it out loud, has made Tucker a determined reclamation project, seeing a player who needs to be used not discarded, built up and not torn down.

In recent interview sessions, the second-year coach was asked for a synopsis on every one of his UW players except the Indiana transfer, an absent-minded omission.

Pointing this out, Sprinkle said he wanted to talk about Tucker -- and he did.

"I challenged him in the summer and he's responded," the coach said. "He's done a nice job at the four spot. There's been times when he gets to the offensive glass. He's so bouncy. He's 6-7. He has as much quick twitch as anyone on our team."

In a 77-62 exhibition win over UNLV, Tucker was the Huskies' second-leading scorer with 14 points, trailing only 6-foot-11 freshman Hannes Steinbach, who had 24. He connected on 6 of 9 shots, 1 of 3 from behind the line.

"Everyone knows he can make shots," Sprinkle said.

Tucker is unique in how he plays the wing position. Whereas most guys immediately hoist a 3-pointer or take the ball and drive hard to the rim, he prefers to shoot the mid-range jumper.

His father, Byron, a 6-foot-10 forward, made that his trademark shot when he played for North Carolina State and George Mason.

"It's a lost art," the younger Tucker said. "But the more and more you see it with a lot of players coming up, it's definitely coming back."

That would accurately sum up his college basketball career, as well.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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