In those days Duquesne was on top of the college basketball world, with All America players and wonder us win-loss records. Tucker was an All America that the then mostly white NBA couldn't pass up.

It is no wonder that Ricketts and Green were first picks in the NBA drafts in 1955 and 1956, Bill Russell was passed over even though San Franscisco was so call d champs, winning the joke of an NCAA Tournament in 1956. All the best teams went to the NIT, mostly the automatic conference qualifiers and several independents went to the second rate NCAA. A tournament played in campus field houses, no televised vs the NIT in NYC and on tv with the best teams in the land.

I also think Duquesne was the first college team to have all 5 players on the court who were black, in a game. The Pirates later did the 9 black starters in a MLB game, Pittsburgh indeed broke many color barriers in those days.

Adolph Rupp helped guide Tucker to Duquesne.He talked to Dudey and told him  he could not use him
due to Jim Crow and Moore got a great gift in Jim Tucker who probably was the best high school player
in the state of Kentucky that year.
  I cant imagine the world that Jim Tucker lived in and all the racial hatred he dealt   with growing up in
Paris Kentucky. Lots of black folks never got the chance to go to  high school let alone college in a  state
like Kentucky. He would be a great interview as he is one of the few Dukes still alive from that era.He has
to be a high character person  with all the obstacles that  he had to deal with  and overcame to be a All
American,a college graduate and  have a NBA career.
 

Having Lebron  at a Dukes game would be great but Duquesne needs to get Jim Tucker over to Pittsburgh because
its guys like him that did the hard work  ,laid the ground work for Lebron to have all his wealth,success and wonderful
life. Tucker paid the price for others to succeed especially coming out of Kentucky at that time.He might be the
first black athlete from the south to be a All American?
  Come on Duquesne,lets embrace and celebrate someone I thought was probably dead,rarely mentioned or talked about ,its usually Green and Ricketts.This guy is a treasure,it would be great to see the elder Dambrot and Tucker
together at that UC game.Make it happen Dave Harper!!!!!!!!!!!GO BLUFFITES.
 

duq81 wrote:

stew wrote:

Having Lebron  at a Dukes game would be great but Duquesne needs to get Jim Tucker over to Pittsburgh because
its guys like him that did the hard work  ,laid the ground work for Lebron to have all his wealth,success and wonderful
life. Tucker paid the price for others to succeed especially coming out of Kentucky at that time.He might be the
first black athlete from the south to be a All American?
  Come on Duquesne,lets embrace and celebrate someone I thought was probably dead,rarely mentioned or talked about ,its usually Green and Ricketts.This guy is a treasure,it would be great to see the elder Dambrot and Tucker
together at that UC game.Make it happen Dave Harper!!!!!!!!!!!GO BLUFFITES.
 

I like the idea here. Tucker tends to be forgotten because he didn't play on the 1955 team, but the 54 team was the greatest in school history. They spent the entire year in the top 5 of both polls, including being ranked number 1.

Might be tricky since the article says he's suffering from Alzheimer's, but as far as I know it is way overdue.

Maybe the home opener along with Sid Dambrot, Willie Somerset, Norm Nixon, Mike James? Honor Tucker by naming something after him?

And here's an idea: Let's get some bobbleheads going for players with retired numbers.