Quiet one
Years ago
Tucker's the man: Westover
Melbourne Tigers coach Al Westover believes forward Rashad Tucker will be one of the stars in the 2005-06 Philips Championship.
Westover said fans can expects something special from Tucker this year, who joined the Tigers midway through last season after making his NBL debut in 2003 with the Perth Wildcats.
"Rashad played only a minor role with us last year because he came in late and our line-up was set, but he'll get the chance to start for us this season," said Westover.
"And like (Tucker's Melbourne teammate) Chris Anstey, I think Tucker is shaping as one of the players to watch in the Philips Championship this year. He plays an entertaining brand of ball, he's an NBA-calibre playing in the NBL and I'm confident that he's ready to tear it up."
"Rashad is the fastest forward in the league, he handles the ball on the break and he's pure excitement in the open court. He could even be the best open-court player in the competition."
"We want to give him the ball in the open court as much as possible and let him do his thing, because he has proved that he can take it to the basket and score in this league."
Westover lost more than 1,200 games of experience in the off-season with the departures of Andrew Gaze (retired), Mark Bradtke (Brisbane) and Lanard Copeland (Brisbane), but he expects Tucker will be able to fill in some of the void.
"The other thing about Rashad is that he is a great distributor," said Westover.
"He finds the open man, he has a real feel and instinct for the game, and I think it was only a few years ago at Perth that he had seven triple-doubles (double figures in points, assists and rebounds). No one else in our league has done that."
"Not only he is the most exciting open-court player in the league, he might also be the most versatile player in the league."
The Tigers open their 2005-06 Philips Championship campaign against the Wollongong Hawks on Saturday at The Cage.
