Alando Tucker

Alando Forest Tucker (born February 11, 1984) is an American former collegiate basketball coach and former professional basketball player who played for the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Before joining the NBA, he played college basketball for the University of Wisconsin-Madison men's basketball team, where he became its all-time leading scorer with a total of 2,217 points.

Tucker started off his college basketball career in 2002–03 starting 27 of 32 games as a freshman.

He averaged 12.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, which helped the Badgers achieve 24 wins, a Big Ten title, and a Sweet 16 at the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament during that season.

In 2003–04, Tucker played in just four games because of a right foot injury.

He applied for and received a medical redshirt after the season.

During the 2004–05 season, Tucker started 30 out of 31 games.

He led the Badgers in scoring with 15.2 points.

He also averaged 6.1 rebounds.

At the end of the 2006–07 regular season, Tucker averaged 19.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists.

For the 2006–07 season, Tucker and the Badgers achieved 30 wins and earned their first ever #1 AP ranking in the school's history.

From 2007 to 2017, Tucker had a 10-year career in professional basketball which included playing for the Phoenix Suns and Minnesota Timberwolves for three years in the NBA.

On February 10, 2007, Tucker reached the 2,000-point mark in his collegiate career in a game against Iowa.

He was the second Wisconsin Badger to ever accomplish this, after Michael Finley.

On March 10, 2007, Tucker broke the all-time Wisconsin scoring record (2,147 points) previously held by Michael Finley.

During this time, he also broke Finley's UW vertical jump record.

Tucker's collegiate career ended on March 18, 2007, when the Badgers lost to the UNLV Runnin' Rebels 74–68 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Tucker finished with 17 points on 4–11 shooting from the field and 8–13 from the line.

He also had seven rebounds.

In his final season, he was named Big Ten Player of the Year, an NCAA 1st Team All-American, and received Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.

He also set school marks at the time for games played (134), starts (126), minutes played (4,297), field goals (798), free throws (520), free throw attempts (817), offensive rebounds (769), and overall points scored (2,217).

Tucker graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison on May 19, 2007, with a bachelor's degree in Life Sciences Communication.

Tucker was selected 29th overall in the first round of the 2007 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns.

After appearing in two games for Phoenix, Tucker was assigned to the Suns' NBA Development League affiliate Albuquerque Thunderbirds on November 27, 2007.

His performances include a 25-point, 12-rebound effort in a 92–84 loss to Idaho on December 1, 40 points (on 15-of-25 shooting, including 4-of-4 three-pointers) in a 109–102 win over Bakersfield on December 14, and 32 points in a 100–97 victory over Anaheim on December 15.

Tucker was recalled by the Suns on December 18.

On January 11, 2008, he was reassigned to Albuquerque, and recalled ten days later.

His performances include a team-high 33 points and 10 rebounds in a 123–117 win over Austin on January 12, 39 points in a 92–91 win over Rio Grande Valley on January 13, a game-high 26 points (on 11-of-19 field goals) in a 98–81 loss to Colorado on January 15, and a game-high 29 points in a 104–84 loss to Dakota on January 19.

He was assigned a third time on March 13, 2008.

In 21 total games (19 starts), he averaged 27.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists.

Tucker's performances in his third assignment include scoring a Thunderbirds season-high 42 points in a 116–100 victory over Los Angeles on March 16, a 38-point effort in a 119–104 win over Tulsa on March 20, 33 points (including 14 in the final quarter) in a 114–108 win over Tulsa on March 21, 38 points in a 119–115 loss to Rio Grande Valley on March 30, and 34 points in a 118–112 victory over Tulsa on April 5.

His last team was the Hapoel Eilat of the Israeli Premier League in 2017, before going into retirement.

In 2018, he was inducted to UW Athletic's Hall of Fame for his accomplishments in basketball.

In 2019, he became the interim assistant coach for his alma mater's men's basketball team at the University of Wisconsin, a position he held until April 2021.

Tucker attended Lockport Township High School in Lockport, Illinois.

He averaged 21.6 points and seven rebounds per game as a junior.

He was one of only two juniors to be named to the Herald News AA all-area team.

As a senior Tucker earned all-state honors averaging 22.2 points while hauling in 7.7 rebounds and dishing 5.7 assists per game.

He scored 35 points against Joliet Township, the number one ranked team in the state.

After seeing drugs and gang violence from up close throughout his childhood, Tucker and his older brother Antonio made a pact to stay clean and away from substances such as drug, tobacco, and alcohol, as well as tattoos.