Wisconsin's Alando Tucker isn't into counting points. But counting games, that's a different story.
In the wake of scoring his 2,000th career point with an early jumper against Iowa, Tucker was reserved in his statements on the achievement. However, when asked about his chances to break Michael Finley's all-time UW scoring record, Tucker was quick to comment.
"Well, if we count up how many games we have to the Final Four, I'm counting that definitely, I definitely have a chance," Tucker said with a grin. "That's what I'm thinking about, counting every game in the Big Ten tournament and the championship game."
With a 17-foot jumper from the right wing early in the first half, Tucker became just the second Badger to eclipse the 2,000-point barrier and the 24th in Big Ten history.
"To be a 2,000-point scorer in this league at this level, that's not easy to do," said Iowa head coach and 2,000-point club member Steve Alford (2,438, Indiana 1984-87). "That's a very difficult task to do over a college career, to get over 2,000 points in this league, with the way teams defend in this league."
Tucker was given a standing ovation following the achievement.
Since first putting on a Wisconsin jersey in November of 2002, Tucker has treated UW fans to jaw-dropping performances and astonishing feats of athleticism. From his 18 rebound, 24-point performance in only his eighth game, to recording his 2,000th career points on Saturday, the undersized post-demon has been a big thorn in Big Ten opponents' sides.
"He scores in ways from 10 feet and in (ways) that I haven't seen too many guys do," UW head coach Bo Ryan said.
"He's very talented, he can beat you in the post, he can beat you on the bounce, he can shoot the jump shot, he gets to the free throw line, he stays out of foul trouble," Alford said. "He does a lot of special things."
The special talents of Tucker have his teammates openly campaigning for Tucker to be named National Player of the Year and to receive the Wooden Award.
"To have probably the best player in college basketball on your team is a luxury," senior guard Kammron Taylor said.
"It's nice to be playing with the National Player of the Year," echoed junior forward Brian Butch.
Even the usually reserved Ryan hinted at Tucker's chances of becoming the first UW player to win the Wooden Award.
"He's earned everything that's coming his way," Ryan said. "And he's not done yet."
It's been a long road for Wisconsin forward Alando Tucker.
Coming from a dangerous neighborhood in Lockport, Ill., Tucker has developed from a 6-foot-5 athletic marvel with a knack for rebounding, to becoming an offensive force only 127 points shy of breaking the UW all-time scoring mark.
"He's been through a lot, even before he got to Wisconsin," Taylor said. "Just to see somebody that can persevere through everything that he's been through [is inspiring]."
"I look back at every game I played, and it's tough," Tucker said. "It's very tough, especially like Coach Alford said, in the Big Ten. This team is special. It's been a hard road for me to achieve that."
Tucker even had to face a little challenge in scoring the bucket to give him his 2,000th and 2,001st points.
"I was trying to make a move to the basket and I remember [Iowa guard] Tyler Smith, when I tried to make a move toward the basket, he actually said 'nuh-uh,'" Tucker recalled. "I just looked at him and was like, 'What up? I'll just take what you give me.'"
Tucker and his teammates also reflected on how fitting it was that Tucker's milestone was part of another Wisconsin victory, expressing that the fifth-year senior's legacy will be defined just as much for winning as for scoring.
"[The points] were all trying to help his team win," Ryan said. "When can you think of a time when he got so selfish that it was about something else? Not with him."
"It will be great to look back on this and see it was with another W," Tucker said. "It woulda really sucked if we had lost."
