Bryson Tucker lit it up coming off the bench in Indiana's 90-55 win over Eastern Illinois, scoring 12 points, while also grabbing six rebounds and assisting once in his 20 minutes of play.
After Indiana's bench only scored eight points against SIUE, many could've assumed that Indiana's bench production will be similar to last season's, but that was not the case in Tucker's performance against Eastern Illinois.
Indiana scored 27 points as a bench, a drastic improvement compared to the eight seen on Wednesday, and that's mostly thanks to Tucker, as he provided the spark the bench, and Indiana as a whole, needed to get this win over EIU.
Tucker attributed this success to just always being ready, saying that the biggest key for him is , "just making the most out of my minutes. Like I come in, I know what I'm in there for, to score, play defense. So I just make the most of that and just stay focused."
Tucker definitely did make the most of his minutes in this one as, while he scored just two in his 15 minutes against SIUE, the freshman increased that six times in his 20 minutes against EIU.
Tucker was the first one off the bench for IU in what was a bit of a surprise with fifth-year guard Trey Galloway, but that just goes to show the confidence Mike Woodson has in Tucker, even with the freshman only scoring two against SIUE.
While Tucker didn't contribute much in the first half, scoring zero points and grabbing two rebounds, this didn't stop Tucker from having an incredible second half.
Tucker sat the first five minutes after the break, but was then on the floor for the rest of the game and scored 12, rebounded four times and assisted one, all the while not turning the ball over.
One of Tuckers biggest strengths is his mid range game, as he made two in this one against EIU, saying "I mean, if you can't get to the rim if they close it up, just stopping popping right is just right there every time. Most times if you just stop you're usually going to be open, because they are used to people just driving all the way. So if you stop they're still running while you're in the air. We work on that a lot and I just stay focused and try to hit them each time I shoot them."
The mid range may seem like a lost art, but Tucker might be bringing it back and, as a freshman, that may just show how smart of a player he is.
In addition to these midrange jumpers, Tucker also converted an alley-oop right after the under eight timeout, sending Assembly Hall into a frenzy and putting an exclamation mark on what was an incredible half from the Hoosiers.
This type of performance has surely made many notice Tucker's strengths, but fellow Hoosier Malik Reneau has known about Tucker's game since he stepped foot on campus.
Reneau said postgame "As you can see, Bryson is super talented, able to shoot, shoots at a high clip, dribble pull-ups, catch and shoot. He is able to do a little bit of everything. Rip drives, attack close outs. He's athletic. Getting lobs and stuff like that."
This is great praise from a proven veteran in Reneau, making his comments mean a little more because he knows what it takes to grow in this Indiana program.
Reneau also mentioned that Tucker "has the whole game and it's very easy to work around tuck and other guys that are capable of doing a lot of things on the court. It just opens up everything because he doesn't have to limit himself to doing one thing. He is able to rip, drive, shoot, able to pull up. So it's a lot of stuff that tuck has in his bag that just opens up a lot for us on the court."
Tucker really does have an all-around type of game, and he showed it here against Eastern Illinois, as he made shots, caught lobs and played great defense.
This was a "coming out party" of sorts for Tucker, as the two points he scored against SIUE were improved dramatically against EIU. Tucker showed that he can be a leader as well, scoring the most points in the second half for both sides, while also playing the last 14 minutes of the ballgame.
This is something that Hoosier fans hope will translate to the rest of the season but, for now, Tucker's performance against EIU was sensational, leading IU to a 90-55 win and a 2-0 start to the season.
–––––
Like this content? Join the conversation on TheHoosier.com's premium message boards and subscribe today!
– Follow TheHoosier on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!
– Subscribe to TheHoosier on YouTube for more content
– Interact with fellow fans on TheHoosier's Premium Football Board and Premium Hoops Board
