There is something that just doesn’t add up when you look at Alando Tucker’s Wisconsin career and then you stare up into the Kohl Center rafters. His number 42 jersey deserves to be up there for eternity.
The former Badger star is now back with the team on an interim basis as an assistant coach after his close friend Howard Moore suffered unimaginable tragedy when a car accident took Moore’s wife and daughter this past summer. Nobody, not even Wisconsin’s all-time leading scorer, can fill the shoes of Coach Moore. Tucker has done an admirable job in an impossible circumstance this season.
When you watch Tucker on the sidelines or in pregame warmups you almost wonder if he could still be playing professional basketball. The 6-6 guard looks close to game shape, and he has been scrimmaging with players in practice throughout the year. After five years at Wisconsin (2002-2007), the Illinois native was a late-first round pick of the Phoenix Suns in 2007. The former Badger shooting guard spent time in the NBA Development League, as well as numerous stops overseas. After a decade, his professional career ultimately ended in 2017.
At Wisconsin, Tucker took the Big Ten by storm. He is Wisconsin’s all-time leading scorer with 2,217 career points. After taking a medical redshirt in 2003-04 because of a foot injury, Tucker’s final three years saw the Illinois product start in every game but one. During his 2006-07 senior season, Tucker averaged a career-best 19.9 points per contest and was named an All-American as well as Big Ten Player of the Year. The 6-6 Badger legend had the type of rare, forgotten midrange game that has fallen out of favor in recent years, but made him deadly.
Tucker is not the only Badger legend that should have his jersey retired at the Kohl Center. 15-year NBA veteran Michael Finley, whose scoring record was broken by Tucker, deserves the same honor. Why have the Badgers not honored the two Badger legends? Your guess is as good as mine. It’s time for Wisconsin to right this wrong.