Temple Lafayette Tucker (born March 28, 1936)[1] is an American former basketball player, known for his All-American college career at Rice University in the 1950s. At 6'10", Tucker played the center position.
 Tucker's Campanile yearbook photo in 1958 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 28, 1936 Bowie, Texas, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) |
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Bowie (Bowie, Texas) |
| College | Rice (1955–1958) |
| NBA draft | 1958: 4th round, 29th overall pick |
| Selected by the Philadelphia Warriors | |
| Position | Center |
| Number | 21 |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
A native of Bowie, Texas, Tucker starred at Bowie High School, winning four state championships in four years while scoring 2,331 points.[2] He then enrolled at Rice in the fall of 1954.[3] Due to NCAA player eligibility rules of the time, Tucker could not play varsity basketball until his sophomore year in 1955–56.[4] He made an immediate impact that season, which saw him average 22.1 points and 12.7 rebounds per game.[4] The 22.1 scoring average was the second best in school history to that point, while his 12.7 rebounds led the Southwest Conference (SWC) for the season.[4] In just his first eligible season, Tucker earned a third-team All-American selection by a major All-American voting body of the time (NEA).[5] He was also named to the All-SWC second team.[6]
Despite his drop in production, Tucker's junior season in 1956–57 saw him repeat in leading Rice in points (15.1) and rebounds (10.5) per game.[4] He earned his second consecutive All-SWC second team honor.[7]
During his senior season, Tucker averaged 13.5 points and 8.8 rebounds and was awarded the Billy Wohn Award as the team's most valuable player.[4][8] For his career, Tucker scored 1,218 points (including a then school single-game record of 43) and grabbed 768 rebounds (then-second in school history behind Gene Schwinger's 810).[9]
After his collegiate career ended, Tucker was selected in the 1958 NBA draft by the Philadelphia Warriors in the fourth round (29th overall).[10] He opted to pursue a career as a life insurance agent instead, where he earned a lifetime membership into the Million Dollar Round Table.[4]
References
edit- ^ "Overview of the Fincher Family by Ernest Hilliard Fincher". Fincher.org. November 7, 1995. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
- ^ "Bowie honoree". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. January 30, 2004. p. 60. Retrieved June 14, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "BASKETBALL: Hangin' with Temple Tucker". Bowie News. July 4, 2017. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f "Rice Institute basketball player Temple Tucker". Rice Digital Scholarship Archive. 1956. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
- ^ "NEA All-America Team Selections". Lubbock Evening Journal. March 7, 1956. p. 18. Retrieved June 14, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Only Unanimous Choice is Downs". Austin American-Statesman. March 2, 1956. p. 27. Retrieved June 14, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "3 Mustangs On All-SWC Cage Squad". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. March 6, 1957. p. 18. Retrieved June 14, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Temple Tucker". TheDraftReview. 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
- ^ "2019–20 Rice Owls Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Bowie News. 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
- ^ "1958 NBA Draft". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2020.