Rodney Tucker

4/25: "Tallahassee Community College men's basketball coach Eddie Barnes today announced that Rodney Tucker will continue his education and basketball career with Auburn University in Auburn, Ala." - Rivals Hoops

4/11: Tucker cancelled his visit, per Lance McAlister.

4/10/02: Rivals Hoops is reporting that TCC Head Coach Eddie Barnes said Tucker will visit Cincinnati on Apr 19-21. He also plans on visiting Auburn this weekend. (2 to 4)

3/28/02: "(FSU's Leonard) Hamilton visited Tallahassee Community College last Wednesday to see former Seminole Rodney Tucker and to let Eagles coach Eddie Barnes know that local connections will be important to FSU basketball." - Tallahassee Democrat

3/21/02: "Rodney Tucker, a 6-8, 230 pound power forward from Tallahassee C.C. in Tallahassee, Fla., decided to reopen his recruitment last week after Steve Robinson was fired at Florida State. JUCO Junction/Rivalshoops.com caught up with first-year Tallahassee Head Coach Eddie Barnes earlier this week, and he told us that Cincinnati, Auburn, Tennessee, Miami and Georgia Tech are among the most interested parties.

Tucker attended Florida State for two years, but only played one season at the ACC school. He was involved in a highly publicized sexual assault case at FSU, but said he planned on returning to the school after a year at TCC. Of course, Tucker never signed a national letter of intent to attend Florida State back in the fall, so he was committed to the school in voice only (not binding). As a result, he is free to throw his recruitment wide open, though Barnes suspects he'll remain in the deep south. "Rodney said he wants to stay somewhere in the Southeast," Barnes said. "Cincinnati might be the furthest north that he would go."

A native of Stone Mountain, Ga., Tucker averaged 15 points and eight rebounds this season for TCC, which finished second in the Panhandle Conference and reached the state tournament in Marianna earlier this month. Barnes said he expects Tucker to definitely visit both Auburn and Cincinnati in the coming weeks." - Fansonly.com (inactive to 4)


1/25/02: "Rodney Tucker is looking forward to his second go-round with Florida State, and he sure won’t have to move his belongings far when it comes time to enroll. A rugged, 6-8, 235-pound power forward, he is averaging 16.5 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots per game at Tallahassee Community College in Florida. He is hitting 63 percent of his shots from the floor.

Tucker started the 2000-01 academic year as a sophomore with the Seminoles, but he was arrested on a felony (sexual battery) charge in September 2000. (He entered a plea of not guilty and remained in school but was automatically suspended from the team under FSU athletic department rules. His trial was scheduled to begin last month.) He has committed to return to Florida State, but he chose not to sign his second letter of intent with the school when he had a chance in November. "It appears he will do that in April,” Tallahassee coach Eddie Barnes said. “He just has to straighten (his legal situation) out first, and he wants to make sure Steve (Robinson) is still there. He wants to be at Florida State. "Rodney has played very well for us. He plays center and creates problems for opponents because people can’t play him one-on-one. He’s a strong young’un and hard to handle down low. But he can also face the basket and hit jump shots, and for that reason, I think he will be a four man for Florida State. "He is a very athletic kid who runs well and has good hands. One scouting service rates him the No. 2 junior college post player in the country.”

Tucker was ejected three minutes into the opening game of this season and had to sit out the next three. In his first game back, he scored 16 points. He had a season-high 27, along with 10 rebounds, in one game against Dothan Junior College of Alabama and got 24 points and 13 boards in another contest with the same school. He scored 20 or more points six times in the 14 full games he has played. "Rodney was getting some minutes at Florida State,” Barnes said. "A lot of kids, when they leave a team, fall by the wayside. So it is a credit to him how he has worked to go back.

"He’s a pretty tough kid, but he had lost his confidence. Rust was part of it. We have worked a lot with him and have added to his game. He has the ability to step out and hit the 15-foot jump shot. Now, when people are playing behind him, he will turn and face the basket. Everything before with him was a power-type thing. He is making better decisions, and his confidence has gone way up. His footwork is better, and when he is double-teamed, he finds open teammates. He is so strong, though, that he often just drop-steps and dunks it. "Rodney gets out on breaks real well. He runs the floor and beats a lot of big people down the court. Every time he steps on the floor, he is getting better. He has been consistent all season."

Tucker had a 2.67 GPA in his first semester at TCC. Because of the NCAA’s five-year eligibility clock, he will have only two years of eligibility upon his return to FSU." - galaxy of PrepStars, by Thad Mamau

1/17/02: "Rodney Tucker made all seven of his field goal attempts and finished with 15 points and five blocked shots. " in a win over GCCC. - Panama City News Herald

12/28/01: "The first game of the Classic was a display of Tallahassee Community College's 6' 8" Sophomore Forward Rodney Tucker. Tucker seemed unstoppable, while leading the Eagles with 29 points and 12 rebounds in an 82-72 win over George Wallace Community College of Dothan, Alabama. Tucker's three thunderous dunks helped TCC turn a 6 point half-time deficit into a 10 point victory and advance into tomorrow night's championship game of the SFCC Holiday Classic." - game report, Sante Fe Saints website.

Fall 2001: "A large part of that foundation is a crew of new players that are sure to bring excitement and freshness to this “new” team. Highlighting the group is Rodney Tucker, a 6-foot-8, 230-pound forward, who transferred from Florida State University. He averaged 2.0 points and 1.9 rebounds as a freshman for the Seminoles in 1999-2000 before sitting out his sophomore year." - Tallahassee Community College website

8/21/01: "WCTV in Tallahassee reported that Rodney Tucker, from Stone Mountain, Georgia, will transfer to Tallahassee Community College (TCC) and play for the Eagles under new basketball coach Eddie Barnes this season. The power forward's playing status was in limbo all of last season after being charged with sexual assault. Under the Florida State Athletics Code of Conduct, a student athlete is not permitted to participate in intercollegiate athletics while a felony charge is pending. Tucker's trial is scheduled for December 10th. Once Tucker enrolls at TCC, he can be recruited by other college programs. Nevertheless, Tucker still plans to transfer back to Florida State in time for the 2002-03 season and will still have two years of eligibility." - The Territory.org (Fla State)

(I was unable to find a news report of a conviction, only the charge of assault. - Mike Ryan)