Welcome to “That’s A Wrap,” our player-by-player recap of the 2024-25 Indiana Hoosiers. Right now, our participant recaps begin with Bryson Tucker.
Tucker (23 video games): 5.4 factors, 2.9 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 37.8 FG% in 16.5 minutes per sport.
Bryson Tucker entered the 2024-25 season as Indiana’s lone freshman, however one with lofty potential.
A 5-star prospect in line with ESPN and Rivals and a 2024 McDonald’s All-American, Tucker hoped to be the third straight Hoosier to win Large Ten freshman of the 12 months.
After a rocky common season debut, the 6-foot-7 ahead put up 12 factors and 6 rebounds in opposition to Jap Illinois on November 10, then posted 14 factors in opposition to UNC Greensboro on November 21.
Like Indiana as a complete, Tucker struggled in Battle 4 Atlantis. He shot 4-for-17 from the sphere in 49 minutes and his defensive struggles have been uncovered in opposition to high-major abilities on Louisville and Gonzaga.
Within the Hoosiers’ convention opener Dec. 9 in opposition to Minnesota, Tucker produced his finest outing of the season. He scored 16 factors and grabbed six rebounds in an 82-67 win.
Following a pair of nine-point outings to wrap up non-conference play, Tucker’s inconsistencies confirmed when the Large Ten schedule commenced. He scored zero and two factors in video games in opposition to Rutgers and Penn State, respectively, then scored 9 factors in back-to-back video games.
After a blowout loss to Illinois, Tucker missed the following three video games. Later disclosed as a finger harm, Tucker was out at Ohio State. He was listed as questionable and warmed up in uniform at Northwestern and had no harm designation in opposition to Maryland. Nevertheless, he didn’t seem in both contest.
Throughout this time, coach Mike Woodson acknowledged Tucker’s struggles on his weekly radio present. He said that he’d sat and talked with Tucker and wished to “work out some issues,” saying Tucker may nonetheless assist the group.
He returned Jan. 31 at Purdue and logged 4 minutes, recording only one missed subject purpose. At Wisconsin the next sport, he put up 9 factors and 6 rebounds in 24 minutes in a blowout loss.
In IU’s following three video games, Tucker produced simply 5 factors and one rebound in 22 minutes. After a stat-less 5 minutes in opposition to UCLA on Feb. 14, Tucker failed to look for the Hoosiers of their remaining six video games of the season.
The preseason hype across the anticipated freshman phenom shortly dissipated and by no means recovered. Tucker struggled to defend the perimeter and couldn’t rating constantly sufficient to stay a prevalent rotation member.
At his finest, Tucker was a menace to attain on midrange jumpers or slash to the basket with quickness and athleticism. His measurement allowed him to make the most of smaller guards inside or shoot excessive of them.
Like a lot of IU’s items with remaining eligibility, Tucker’s future with this system is unsure. Given the switch portal period and Mike Woodson’s tenure ending, the previous 5-star might resolve to discover his choices.
Backside line: Tucker finally wasn’t prepared for high-level competitors. His restricted vary – a 15 % 3-point shooter – and incapacity to remain in entrance of guards poorly meshed with IU’s personnel and made it troublesome to slot in on the ground. In contrast to Mackenzie Mgbako his freshman 12 months, Tucker’s potential didn’t progress his sport all through the season, and it reduce him out of the rotation.
Quotable: “Once we recruited him, we thought he can be an enormous piece to the puzzle, and he’s, and we simply acquired to maintain steering him in the proper course and pushing him to play at a excessive degree, play tougher and smarter and do the issues that we want him to do on the ground.” – Mike Woodson on Dec. 9 following Tucker’s 16-point, six-rebound efficiency in opposition to Minnesota.
Class: Commentary
Filed to: Bryson Tucker
