Tucker Opens Up Recruiting

Rodney Tucker, a 6-8, 230 pound power forward from Tallahassee C.C. in Tallahassee, Fla., decided to reopen his recruitment last week after Steve Robinson was fired at Florida State.

JUCO Junction/Rivalshoops.com caught up with first-year Tallahassee Head Coach Eddie Barnes earlier this week, and he told us that Cincinnati, Auburn, Tennessee, Miami and Georgia Tech are among the most interested parties.

Tucker attended Florida State for two years, but only played one season at the ACC school. He was involved in a highly publicized sexual assault case at FSU, but said he planned on returning to the school after a year at TCC.

Of course, Tucker never signed a national letter of intent to attend Florida State back in the fall, so he was committed to the school in voice only (not binding). As a result, he is free to throw his recruitment wide open, though Barnes suspects he'll remain in the deep south.

"Rodney said he wants to stay somewhere in the Southeast," Barnes said. "Cincinnati might be the furthest north that he would go."

A native of Stone Mountain, Ga., Tucker averaged 15 points and eight rebounds this season for TCC, which finished second in the Panhandle Conference and reached the state tournament in Marianna earlier this month.

Barnes said he expects Tucker to definitely visit both Auburn and Cincinnati in the coming weeks. However, one might put an asterisk next to Cincy if Bob Huggins leaves the Bearcat program for West Virginia. JUCO Junction spoke to Coach Barnes on Monday before the Huggins to WVU rumors began to gain steam in media circles.

"He is going to narrow his list down and take five visits," Barnes said. "I think a lot will depend on what schools come through here in the near future."

Of course, Tucker could still opt to return to Florida State. The advantage to doing that would be that Tucker wouldn't have to graduate from Tallahassee to go back there. If he picks another school, he would be regarded as a 4-2-4 transfer, meaning he'll need an associates degree to move on.

With Leonard Hamilton getting the job in Tallahassee earlier this week, it's likely that he could make a pitch to Tucker to keep him in the capital city for two more years.

Whatever the case, we'll keep you posted, so stay tuned.