Tucker has enough tricks that UW coach Bo Ryan sees him Tucker Makes Big eventually playing two or three more positions. Impression "He may play (center) some," Ryan said. "He might play (small The Freshman Forward Has Already Proven He forward). He might play (shooting guard), eventually. We're just Can Play Inside With The Big Boys starting. Vic Feuerherd Wisconsin State Journal "He's made some very good decisions with the ball when we do November 14, 2002 our press break. He's a pretty good passer. He's a little more comfortable (at power forward) and maybe we can expand from there. Alando might be able to play two or three positions." Alando Tucker is not making a big deal about it, but he swears he is an inch taller than his listed height of 6-foot-5 on the University of Wisconsin men's basketball roster. At this point, Tucker is open to all of Ryan's possibilities. Tucker will take every inch he can get. "Anything (Ryan) puts forth is going to be a challenge for me, "I hope it's not the last inch," he said. "I might have to squeeze but I'm willing to take that challenge and live up to his out another inch or two." expectations," Tucker said. Tucker, a freshman from Lockport, Ill., will take anything that will prove an asset as he prepares for life in the lane as a college player. His education gets its first test Friday and Saturday when UW opens its regular season in the NABC Classic at the Kohl Center. "I'm ready," Tucker said this week after a UW practice. "You're anxious. You want the real things to start." If Tucker's two quizzes last week are any indication, he is ready. He received a passing grade in UW's two exhibition wins, as he showed he could hold his own at the power forward position. But playing as a so-called undersized power forward against Division I competition will be a challenge. Tucker knows that as well as anyone. "Nothing is going to be easy," said Tucker, who averaged 12 points and 5.5 rebounds in the two exhibition games. "It's just going to take work, work in practice." That work will come against the Badgers' two frontcourt starters - - 6-8 Mike Wilkinson and 6-11 Dave Mader. Throw in 6-9 Andreas Helmigk, and Tucker is getting a big-time education. "Hopefully, those guys will get me ready and put me in the position that if in a game I have to guard someone who has two or three or four inches on me, it will help me a lot." But Tucker doesn't expect much to come easy. "It shows in practice," he said. "If you come to practice one day and maybe you don't feel good or something, other guys will step up and exploit you. They'll outbang you; outhustle you; outrebound you. It definitely shows." It wasn't easy when he was younger and played against his brother Antonio, who is four years older than Alando, 18. It wasn't easy when Antonio would bring along his 6-6 friends and a sixth-grade Alando ended up looking up on the defensive end of those pickup games. "Here, it's another level," Tucker said. "But that always gets you ready. You learn some tricks from those guys." Tucker's response to such a rare superlative from his coach was an Tucker Brings His 'a' Game aw-shucks shrug of the shoulders. "That gives me even more Tucker Has Made Immediate Impact motivation to come out and work even harder," he said in his deep, baritone voice. By Rob Schultz, The Capital Times January 8, 2003 He's even trying to put more arc on his shot, which flattened out after he broke a bone in his hand last summer diving for a loose ball during a practice for an Illinois all-star game. The letter 'A' was important to Lisa Tucker when her kids were born. What gives Tucker the ability to learn is that he knows how to listen and he doesn't get excited. That comes from having to mature No matter what obstacles were presented to her, she figured out a in a hurry at Lockport Township High School, when he had to take way to start all her kids' names with the first letter of the alphabet. a leadership role as a freshman on the varsity team. Antonio, Alicia and Aaron were easy. She got creative with the other two. Once he learns, Tucker is quick to expand his knowledge with his instincts. Against Temple, he figured out during the game that Instead of naming one daughter Olivia, she named her Alivia. And Hawkins didn't like going to his left, so he overplayed him to the instead of naming one son Orlando, she named him Alando. right. He dared Hawkins to go left and forced him to take bad shots. Ever since, Alando Tucker has thought about that letter, too. He "We always talk to our guys about learning on the fly," said Ryan. thinks about it during classes, practices and games with the "As you play, in a game, you're picking up tendencies every University of Wisconsin men's basketball team. Everywhere he possession. The smart guys, the guys who are really attentive, pick goes, Tucker always brings his 'A' game. that up and really use it." The talk of the Big Ten Conference as the season opens this week It's the definition of a gamer, which is an adjective Ryan often uses has centered on all the talented freshmen. to describe his prized freshman. "I've had a lot of guys who think like him and I've had some guys who don't," said Ryan, "I like all Indiana guard Bracey Wright, Illinois guards Dee Brown and the guys who think." Deron Williams, and guard Daniel Horton of Michigan (7-6), which the Badgers (10-2) play in their conference opener here The Big Ten season starts tonight for the Badgers, and Tucker will tonight, have gained the most notoriety. They all have played big have the unenviable task of trying to stop the Wolverines' star, roles in the successes of their respective teams. LaVell Blanchard, who is a taller, more experienced version of Tucker. But Tucker is treating it no differently than when the But none of those freshmen have played any more of an important Badgers prepared to play Chicago State. role for their teams than Tucker has for the Badgers. Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan will be first in line to say Tucker belongs on the A- He wants to avert a situation like at the Bradley Center earlier this list of the conference's top freshmen. season, when an electric crowd helped Marquette edge the Badgers. How the 6-foot-5 Tucker helps the Badgers goes beyond averaging 12.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, while shooting 61.3 percent "In games like that, you have to learn to keep your emotions down from the field. and just try to stay focused," said Tucker, who wasn't able to do that vs. the Golden Eagles. "At the start of that game, everybody's It was seen in his defense of Temple guard David Hawkins, who energy was flowing and you didn't pay attention to some of things Tucker goaded into a 7-for-20 shooting night despite having to you're supposed to be doing out there. You're just feeding off spend much of the game chasing Hawkins on the perimeter. It was emotions." seen in his defense of bigger players like Ohio's Brandon Hunter and UNLV's Dalron Johnson in the paint. Tucker will be just one of many freshmen playing tonight. Michigan will start Horton and 6-6 freshman Lester Abram in the It is seen every day in practice, when few Badgers work harder or backcourt. The Wolverines will alternate freshmen Graham Brown listen better than Tucker, who has a desire for learning like Anna and Chris Hunter at center. Nicole Smith has a desire for eating. Tucker doesn't know any of them because he didn't play much You think the young man nicknamed 'Doe' is good now? Just wait. AAU ball during high school. The only other conference freshman he knows well is Illinois' Dee Brown, who he played with during Ryan has had plenty of players in his 30-plus years of coaching some summer tournament games. who have learned to become good rebounders or good scorers or good passers or good defenders. But Tucker is in a class by himself "It doesn't really make a difference what they do," Tucker said of because he has the ability to become good at everything. the other conference freshmen. "I glance at it and think it's great You name it, Tucker wants to do it - and do it well. And that thrills they are doing good." Ryan more than Tucker's record-setting vertical leap, his 300-plus pound bench presses and his inside-outside game. But he will never try to one-up his freshman brethren. That's too emotional. "If you take Alando in five, six, seven categories, and take his improvement and run it - there's no one that I've ever coached who "I just try to find opportunities, like if I can score or if I can have a has come close to it," said Ryan.