Inside The Huskies

UW's Bryson Tucker Readies Himself for Indiana Return

He played 23 games for the Hoosiers last year, all as a reserve forward.
Dan Raley|
Bryson Tucker returned to the Huskies after a lengthy absence.
Bryson Tucker returned to the Huskies after a lengthy absence. | Dave Sizer photo

Bryson Tucker will return to Indiana on Sunday for the first time since he left, only this time wearing a University of Washington basketball uniform.

While he hasn't been real sharp since coming off a severe ankle sprain for the Huskies, the 6-foot-7 Tucker is in a good place with his game.

The forward can walk into Assembly Hall -- the house that Bobby Knight built -- and know that he's valued by the UW.

Last season, Tucker arrived at basketball-crazy Indiana as a 5-star recruit and a McDonald's All-American and was considered somewhat of a disappointment because he didn't take over, didn't regularly put up big numbers and in the end didn't play at all.

"I came in as a McDonald's All-American and I wanted to come in and impact the program as much as I could," he said earlier this season. "In the program, I just wasn't used. That's kind of how that went. There wasn't much to speak on."

Tucker appeared in 23 games as a reserve for the Hoosiers, who finished 19-13 and fired their coach Mike Woodson, a former Indiana standout.

The swingman averaged just 5.4 points and 2.9 rebounds, with a high scoring game of 16 against Minnesota, not exactly the numbers people were expecting from him because of his credentials.

Once the season reached the stretch run, the Hoosiers didn't even use him over their final six games, which included a 78-62 victory over the UW at Alaska Airlines Arena on March 1.

Huskies forward Bryson Tucker is shown at Baylor in a game in which he got hurt.
Huskies forward Bryson Tucker is shown at Baylor in a game in which he got hurt. | Chris Jones-Imagn Images

In Montlake, Tucker has found a big supporter in coach Danny Sprinkle. He was a starter to begin the season, coming out of the lineup only when he got hurt at Baylor and missed six consecutive games.

"I'm sure he has some anxiety, but he's a competitor," his coach said of Tucker. "I'm sure he's ready to get back to Indiana. I have a feeling he's going to play really well."

Bryson Tucker (8) fires up a shot for Indiana against USC.
Bryson Tucker (8) fires up a shot for Indiana against USC. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For the UW, Tucker currently averages 6.1 points and 4.8 rebounds an outing. In the two games before he got hurt, he scored in double-figures each time, averaged 29 minutes, grabbed 17 rebounds and connected on 5 of 11 3-pointers.

In four outings after getting cleared to play again, he's still searching for his previous form. He's missed all six of his 3-point attempts while averaging 12 minutes an outing.

"I hope he gets the same looks he's been getting," Sprinkle said. "Because he could go for 25 on any of those given nights."

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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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