Tucker finds a home
Anthony Tucker’s search for a new basketball home will take him to his home state.
The sophomore guard who left the Hawkeye program last month is expected to transfer to NCAA Division II power Winona State according to Golden Sports.net.
Tucker visited the campus in Winona, Minn., during the last weekend in February, attending the Warriors’ final regular-season home game against St. Cloud State.
Winona earned an at-large berth in this year’s NCAA Division II field after falling to Southwest Minnesota State in the second round of the Northern Sun Conference tourney over the weekend. The program won Division II national titles in 2006 and 2008 and also reached the D-II title game in 2007.
This year’s team is currently 20-9 and has just one senior in its line-up, leading scorer David Johnson, a first-team all-league pick who averages 19.1 points.
A move to Winona would reunite Tucker with a former high school teammate, Evansville transfer Curt Erickson. Former Iowa State player Clayton Vette is also on the Winona State roster, averaging just under 9 points per game this season.
Tucker, named Minnesota’s Mr. Basketball in 2008 after leading Minnetonka to the Class AAAA state championship, averaged 11.9 points in 11 games for Iowa this season before being suspended following his second arrest in 13 months on public intoxication charges on Dec. 20.
He was reinstated on Jan. 25 and was allowed to begin practices but did not appear in any more games for the Hawkeyes. He asked for and was granted a release from his scholarship following a meeting with coach Todd Lickliter on Feb. 11.
