The Curious Case of Cliff Tucker
by Ben Broman on Dec 2, 2009 4:41 PM EST
in Basketball
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PrintRemember when Cliff Tucker was getting solid playing time last year, then inexplicably disappeared for about a month? At the time, it was asserted that he was in Gary Williams' metaphorical doghouse, for reasons unknown. It got so bad that he only got a minute of PT against Boston College.
Well, the same thing happened yesterday, albeit on a smaller scale. After receiving about 15 minutes a game in Maui (even more before then) he didn't see the floor yesterday. He was dressed and, presumably, healthy. He definitely wasn't suspended, at least not officially.
"Coach's decision," said Gary Williams.
Looks like the doghouse again for Cliff.
We'll know more if we see it turn into a pattern, but leaving Tucker on the bench was a quizzical decision. The three starting guards all topped 30 minutes, and Maryland had a total of 7 measly bench points, which is Tucker's specialty.
Actually, Tucker's entire stay in College Park has been a bit quizzical. He's inconsistent and runs hot and cold, but when he's hot, he's blazing (see UNC game last year). I have no idea if Gary takes issue with the way he practices or plays or his inconsistency, but you'd figure it would at least be worth a shot in a game when the offense was as stagnant as it got at times yesterday.
When Maryland toppled UNC last year, Tucker played a main role. When they beat Wake Forest and Michigan State, however, he was almost invisible. He won't be a necessity against Villanova, but it would be nice to have another five points off the bench. Here's hoping he gets it together.
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Cliff
This really intrigues me. The fact that no one knows is what’s really driving me mad. When Cliff is hot, he really gets the momentum going and can be a viable threat from outside. The fact that he didn’t play at all lends me to believe it is either sickness, injury, academics, or Gary’s doghouse and not his actual playing ability. Maybe he just isn’t putting forth his best effort in practice and Gary is thus benching him. However, if that were the case you would think he would be trying harder by now seeing as he is always in the doghouse. He has his moments of athletic brilliance (ie. see Maui when he had that great spin move to the hoop).
He definitely hasn’t had any more “d’oh” moments than anyone else and probably has a lot less than some others. Bowie has been playing poorly as of late and is still seeing minutes, although less than usual. Everyone knows we are unstable at best on offense and are going to need his shot against Villanova. Cliff does tend to look lost at times off the ball and isn’t our best defender but he does have quick hands and can at the very least throw up a fast jumper or drive the lane when asked.
According to Cliff:
“i missed a practice this weekend cuz i was sick so i think thats why i didnt play.but i still dont get any respect.so im done bein nice and i have to earn some”
Got a source for that?
What does “done bein nice and i have to earn some” mean? Earn some respect? I hope that means showing up to practice and working hard, and if you are sick telling a coach ahead of time like an adutl if you’ll be late.
he posted it on his facebook earlier this morning
by Tanner Steidel on Dec 3, 2009 1:41 AM EST up reply actions
Cliff quote
Honestly that wouldn’t surprise me if it were true. But I would also like to see a source. I was a student at MD and went to just about every game sitting in the front row and when you’re that close during warm-ups and can hear some chatter and such you get an idea of what the players are like off the court or what they’re mentality is like. Maybe I’m completely wrong here but Cliff always struck me as a Braxton type (see video of Braxton and Cliff at the end of that FSU game where we lost). If this is in fact true, he needs to man-up and be a responsible team player. Practice hard and earn your time. Take the game seriously like everyone else on the team. But who knows, maybe I’m completely wrong. Hopefully I am. I would hate to think anyone on the team is lazy in any basketball aspect whatsoever.
More liability than asset right now
I have always liked Cliff’s athlecticism and scoring ability. Until he recently started shooting a little fadeaway from 3-pt range, I thought he had the best jump shot on the team. I thought he could be instant offense for us coming off the bench for either Sean, Eric, or Grevis. Plus he can get steals and is a decent rebounder. However, the guy just doesn’t play position defense. Opposing players get by him with ease. I don’t know if he knows how to play defense with his feet like beating a guy to spot and taking a charge. He is athlectic enough that he can sometimes catch up to them from behind and block shots. It looks good to the crowd when he can do it, but it is not good basketball. It hurts team defense. Usually the guy getting past him scores or drops it off to a teammate that scores. Sometimes another Terp picks up a foul in the process. Cliff’s poor defense hurt us in Maui more than his offense helped. Until he becomes a more complete player, he shouldn’t get much playing time.
Insightful...
I always appreciate the rare fan insight that looks past the numbers (and isn’t based on something you saw someone do once or twice). I tend to agree with you…Tucker only really seems comfortable in a run-and-gun game (hence the big outbursts against UNC), and apparently has never learned to play the halfcourt game on either end, but especially on D where he takes too many risks. Look at some of the Indiana kids, especially Watford…as soon as the game slowed down and we slowed their transition game, they didn’t know what to do. That’s a pretty common freshman thing, but unfortunately Cliff seems to still be stuck in that rut. It’s too bad, he has talent…I just hope he puts in the hard work needed to be an asset. He should be playing a key role right now and frankly, we will probably need a lot more from him next year.
agreed
ive always found cliff to be incredibly slow on defense. on offense, he always looks great, on and off the ball. he gets more open layups then anyone else on the team, just because of his movement off the ball. hes a huge liability defensively, however.
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