Bologna –
An American with a capital A, whose career with some sacrifice is taking off in an excellent way, Rayjon Tucker is the piece of the midfield Virtus was looking for: hunger, awareness and experience.
The hunger of one whose declared goal is to begin to open his own bulletin board, the never-too-hidden awareness towards an important physique, the lived experience of one who, before appearing among the protagonists by us, had traveled halfway around the world (America and Australia included) tasting here and there even the NBA in Utah, Philadelphia, Denver and Milwaukee.
From Venice, often spread out in the first two positions of the chessboard, he brings non-trivial numbers: 14.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2 assists, mostly built by attacking the iron but not only, as his 191cm and 95kg also give him a lot from distance. He will now be asked to face the Euroleague as a maturity exam, or entrance test, among the continent’s bigs. The 59 he wears on his tank top comes out of deep curves in his life, one of those stories worth telling.
In Philadelphia Tucker had the 9, and what he calls “brother” Terrence Clarke was playing in the NCAA with the 5. That season Clarke would have been drafted to the NBA but fate suddenly took him away in a car accident. From there Rayjon then decided to combine the two numbers, opting for the combination 59, which was the age when the grandfather to whom he was deeply attached passed away. Two figures, two figures to remember.
With them in his heart, today the nearly 27-year-old from Charlotte calls himself a leader, one who brings energy and tries to pass it on to teammates and the public.
