www.jsonline.com/sports/coll/feb06/389314.aspTucker just fine, thank you
Jeter, UWM teammates happy with senior's play
By BOBBI ROQUEMORE
broquemore@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Feb. 1, 2006
Although the UW-Milwaukee men's basketball team is soaring at 16-4 overall and running away in the Horizon League race at 9-1, there is a lingering feeling by some observers that one player, senior forward Joah Tucker, has been grounded this season.
Perception, however, might not match reality.
Tucker's scoring average is up from last season, his defense has improved and his command of the team in terms of leadership is off the charts.
So why all the fuss about "What's going on with Joah?"
According to Tucker, there is no cause for alarm, pointing out the team's record.
"I'm staying positive, and I'm happy with my year," Tucker said. "We're having a winning season."
Panthers coach Rob Jeter, for one, can't seem to understand why anyone would conjure up the possibility of Tucker having a so-called off year.
"If anything, he's better," Jeter said. "He has not gone backwards in one category. Everyone looks at his three-point shooting, and his three-point shooting is about where it was last year.
"I like what he's doing with this team. He's being aggressive. He's a leader, he's being really vocal with the guys and he's doing everything we ask of him."
One theory offered by UWM senior point guard Chris Hill has a lot to do with how Tucker finished his junior season.
The memories of last March, with Tucker averaging 28 points in the NCAA tournament and building a national reputation, have been hard to shake, even 20 games into his senior year.
Tucker has been a more consistent scorer this season, but those big games of 2005 have been burned into the conscience.
"Maybe the reason why a lot of people say that is maybe because he's not going out there scoring 25, 26 points a night," Hill said. "Last year what people saw Joah doing at the end of the year is that he was averaging 28 points in three tournament games. The last thing you think about was Joah scoring 30. We lost, but he scored 30.
"I guess people had that great expectation that Joah was going to come out every night and put up 28, 29 points a game."
And on the national scene, Tucker is still the most recognized and feared player on the UWM roster.
Jay Bilas, college basketball analyst for ESPN, became very familiar with Tucker and the Panthers during their run to the Sweet 16.
The way Tucker is viewed by opponents has changed dramatically, he said.
"He was not necessarily the No. 1 guy on their scouting report. I thought he was their best player last year, but (former guard) Ed McCants was a bigger scorer," Bilas said.
"Now he's the guy on the scouting report. He's the guy that is always going to draw the best defender; he's always going to draw the most attention. That's going to mean, at times, he's not going to have as good numbers. That's part of the nature of the game."
As well as Tucker played toward the end of his junior year, he was wildly inconsistent at the start of it.
He reached the 20-point mark seven times in the first 20 games, yet there were several off-nights in that span, particularly a 76-68 home loss to Detroit on Jan. 3, 2005. In that game, Tucker shot 0 of 8 from the floor and had no free-throw attempts in 22 minutes.
By contrast, Tucker has been more consistent with his scoring as a senior. He reached double figures in every game but the third one, a 72-67 loss at Tennessee Tech.
Around the time of the Tech game, Tucker was still adjusting to the extra attention being given to him.
Hill, Tucker's roommate and best friend on the team, said the forward confided in him about the situation.
"At first in the season, it was hard for him to realize," Hill said, "like 'Why are they double-teaming me and not double-teaming anybody else?' I told him that he's going to get everybody's best game. People are going to double-team you and try to stop you."
Tucker said he has become used to the attention from outsiders.
Meanwhile, both Tucker and Jeter dismissed any suggestion that their relationship was in trouble and that it might have affected Tucker's start to the season.
Jeter added that the process for developing communication lines with Tucker was no different from other player. "I'm demanding of all of my guys, and all of my guys have been great," he said.
Tucker admitted, though, that it took a while for him to be at peace with the fact that he may not score at the pace he did before.
"At the beginning of the season I was really focused on that. I was trying to score 20 or 30 points a night," Tucker said. "I just don't think that's possible with this system."
Instead of trying to force the game, Tucker is willing to let it find him.
If it's his time to shine and get those 20 points, fine. If it's senior guard Boo Davis' turn or senior forward Adrian Tigert's turn, or even reserve center Derrick Ford's turn, so be it.
"We don't have a so-called man on our team," Tucker said. "Everybody contributes, everybody is an equal contributor."
No, Tucker hasn't had that super-duper, ESPN-highlight reel of a game - not yet at least.
But it does not necessarily mean that he is any less effective than he was before.
"He's just as good this year as he was last year," ESPN's Bilas said.
"If somebody is just looking at his performance by looking at a box score in the newspaper, then you can question it. But if you look at the kid play, he's played really well."
UWM resumes play at 6 tonight at Wright State (5-4, 9-10).
AHEAD OF PACE
Joah Tucker's scoring numbers for UWM are higher than last year's.
Scoring
2004-'05: 14.1 avg. through 20 games
2005-'06: 15.8 avg.
Consistency
2004-'05: 14 of first 20 games in double figures
2005-'06: 19 of 20
Big games
2004-'05: seven of first 20 games with 20 or more points
2005-'06: six of 20
Note: Tucker ended last season by scoring in double figures 10 times in the final 12 games, including six games of 20 or more points and two of 30 or more points.
Source: UWM Athletics
