Bryson Tucker eyes the rim, bends his knees and sends his orange-and-yellow-striped basketball circulating toward the rim.
Tucker’s gray shirt is laced in sweat. He dons black shorts with white and red stripes on the sides, leading down to his low-cut white socks and black shoes with green bottoms. He stands at the right elbow, a few feet in front of the free throw line.
It’s 7:28 p.m. on March 23, 2012, and Tucker, then just five years old, is putting up shots on his family’s blue-and-red backyard basketball court in Bowie, Maryland.
This is the court where Tucker’s basketball journey began.
When he was four, Tucker watched his older brother, Braxton, work out with his dad, Byron, a standout at George Mason University in the early 1990s. Byron called out to his wife, Tina, requesting she take Bryson off the court — but Bryson had no interest in leaving.
“He just wanted to stay,” Tina said. “He didn’t know what he was doing, but he just gravitated to it. He wanted to do what his older brother was doing.”
Bryson Tucker, then just five years old, shoots baskets in his backyard March 28, 2012, in Bowie, Maryland. Tucker has since grown to 6-foot-6, 180 pounds as a 17 year old.
Bryson’s early exposure to basketball bred a player far above his peers from an early age.
When he was five, he entered a local boys and girls club game and approached the opposing team’s tallest player. Unfazed and unafraid, Bryson wanted the toughest defensive assignment.
Byron evaluated, gathered his thoughts and looked over at Tina, opening his mouth and firing a sentence that stood up to the test of time.
“I think we’ve got something special,” Byron said.
Byron coached Bryson through eighth grade. Byron, a 6-foot-10 forward in his playing days, taught Bryson the value of playing up a level of competition. He placed an emphasis on fundamentals, giving Bryson a skill set more mature than others his age.
The same proved true away from the court.
During barbecues, Bryson often ate with Byron and Byron’s friends, opting to absorb the information and wisdom provided as opposed to sitting with the other children.
He didn’t get a cell phone until he was 13. In a generation dominated by social media, Bryson stayed away for as long as he could. Rather than rushing into it because it seemed the cool thing to do, he wanted to understand the nuances of it.
Even now, with his status as a 5-star recruit and Indiana men’s basketball commit, Bryson’s Instagram page shows only 11 posts in the past two-plus years. Two of the posts are ads for Under Armour. He has 11 total words in his captions.
Bryson, Tina said, has always been a caring and giving person who others gravitate toward — even with his reserved nature.
“People look at him and say, ‘Oh, he’s so quiet,’” Tina said. “He’s an introvert with extrovert tendencies. He'll read the room — he evaluates before he starts doing anything. He wants to understand, and once he does, he navigates.”
***
Bryson Tucker sits behind his silver computer, body covered in a white T-shirt, eyes glancing at the top right corner of his screen while his right hand covers a white mouse. Blue walls encapsulate the room around him. A sofa chair sits behind his right shoulder and in between two windows.
It’s just shy of 6 p.m. on May 26, 2021, and Tucker is in a hotel room, working through a final paper for his English class that Tina will eventually proofread.
Tina grabbed her phone and snapped a picture of her son, who offered a one-word response: Why?
“Nobody would believe a young man representing his country, when his teammates are out having fun, would be sitting in his room finishing a paper,” Tina said. “He can compartmentalize what he needs to do.”
Bryson has been an honor roll student since sixth grade, meandering around his basketball schedule to simultaneously focus on his education — and become a poster child for student athletes around the country.
“He’s a model for those young boys and girls,” Tina said. “He’s an elite player, and yet, when it comes to his grades and schoolwork, he’s still doing what he needs to do.”
But his path to high school graduation hasn’t always been straightforward.
After his sophomore season, Bryson transferred from Bowie’s Mount Saint Joseph High School to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. IMG is widely regarded as one of the premier prep programs in the country, and Bryson, after averaging north of 22 points per game as a sophomore, fit the bill as a rising star.
Yet roughly one year after joining IMG, Bryson left.
The same family foundation that helped spark his hoops career suddenly took an equally important role in his personal life.
In a span of three months, Byron’s father and mother grew ill and Tina lost her 103-year-old grandfather, who was very close to Bryson. It became too much to deal with from nearly 1,000 miles south.
“It was weighing on Bryson very hard,” Byron said. “I was my parents’ main caretaker, and he could see how it weighed on me.”
Tina’s family lived in the Bowie area, and in a time of heartbreak, capitalizing on this support system emerged as the best option — for everyone.
“It was very, very tough,” Tina said. “I wanted him to have that support. It was very much a coming home. It was where you felt that support and understanding, because so many people were going through the same thing.”
In July 2023, Bryson called Bishop O’Connell High School head coach Joe Wootten to gauge his interest on a potential pairing.
The Tucker family has extensive ties to Wootten, who scrimmaged against Byron during their high school days in the Washington, D.C., area. Everybody knows everybody in the region, Byron said, and he and Wootten were acquainted.
O’Connell has a strong track record of success; it’s won over 500 games in the past 25 years, and Wootten dubbed it a great school in a great league.
The Washington Catholic Athletic Conference has produced numerous NBA players, including 2017 No. 1 overall draft pick Markelle Fultz, 10-year veteran Jerami Grant and former Indiana standout Victor Oladipo.
“It’s kind of like the Big Ten,” Wootten said. “It’s brutal. The eighth-place team can beat the best team any given night. Our league is very similar to that.”
A few weeks after their first phone call, Bryson committed. Wootten said he was fired up — and Bryson validated this excitement, earning an invitation to the McDonald’s All-American Game while being named an honorable mention to the 2024 Naismith Trophy High School All-American team.
But for Wootten, Bryson’s story starts with the same intangibles he showed in the hotel room and backyard barbecues.
“Phenomenal kid,” Wootten said. “Humble. Smiles for everybody. He’s a very good student and respectful — everybody at O’Connell loved him. It was a joy to have him.”
***
The double team came right as Tucker crossed halfcourt. It was too late.
Tucker donned a white jersey with a blue No. 32 and O’Connell’s block-O logo painted on his chest. His shorts were white with blue markings on the side. He sported a sleeve on his left forearm and lower left leg.
He sliced past one defender, dribbled around another and watched his midrange pull-up jumper roll around the rim and through the net. His feet stayed planted for two seconds, his eyes moving from teammate to teammate.
It’s Dec. 29, 2023, and Tucker had just accomplished a feat Wootten hasn’t seen in 25 years at O’Connell — scoring on 12 straight possessions.
There was a midrange pull-up from the right baseline. A fake spin-turned-drive that led to a left-handed lay-in. A fadeaway jumper from the right block. A one-legged fadeaway from the free throw line. No matter what North Crowley High School threw at him, it didn’t matter.
“He’d get to his spots, and they couldn’t stop him,” Wootten said.
Led by Tucker, O’Connell edged North Crowley, 58-52, in the semifinals of the Beach Ball Classic, which O’Connell ultimately won with a 77-74 victory in double overtime the next day. Tucker was the tournament’s MVP. North Crowley proceeded to finish the year with a 32-4 record.
Wootten had only one season with the 6-foot-6, 180-pound Tucker, but that performance sticks with him. After all, it was an accomplishment he wasn’t sure he’d ever witness.
Sparked by the ‘big boy ball’ mentality Byron instilled in him, Bryson boasts a diverse skill set that put him among the nation’s most skilled high school scorers — and will be on display in Bloomington this fall.
“He knows where he has his certain spots,” Wootten said. “Runs the floor well. Big, strong body. Very high IQ.”
Byron said he’s seen the most progress from Bryson in the summer months, when he plays in the Kenner League, a pro-am division featuring several of the top players in the D.C., area — Bryson once played against former NBA guard Quinn Cook.
These environments enable Bryson to show more of his repertoire, Byron said, as opposed to the structured nature of high school basketball where players fit into certain roles to help their team win — which is ultimately Bryson’s top priority.
“He’s a very good player, but he’s not a, ‘Look at me,’ guy,” Wootten said. “He’s about winning.”
Still, Bryson’s skill set separates him, and Byron, be it as his father or coach, knows it better than anyone.
“It’s all the way around,” Byron said. “His IQ, physicality, shooting abilities, post-up game — a lot of things people haven’t seen at the high school game.”
Most criticisms of Bryson’s game center around his shooting. Scouting reports often include notions of his athleticism and intelligence, but rarely does his outside game draw praise.
When Bryson officially committed to the Hoosiers on March 28, questions arose about whether he’d help a team devoid of shooters.
Wootten said he thinks Bryson is a “very good” shooter. Byron took it a step further, arguing concerns about Bryson’s shot are nitpicking because he does so many other things well.
“Bryson shoots just as well as the top shooters in the class,” Byron said. “Bryson is a good shooter. That’s just a narrative.”
The narrative, Byron said, is not only unfounded, but also just recently became prominent.
“Last year, they didn’t say he wasn’t a good shooter. His sophomore year, they didn’t say he wasn’t a good shooter. His freshman year, they didn’t say he wasn’t a good shooter,” Byron said. “How does that happen? You’ll never see anywhere that says he wasn’t a good shooter.”
Bryson’s high school career, while not always simple, ended with a 5-star ranking from the 247sports composite and Rivals. He twice competed in the National Basketball Players Association Top 100 and Under Armour Elite camps, along with appearances in events held by NBA stars Stephen Curry and Jayson Tatum.
Albeit winding, this arduous path led Bryson to Bloomington — and his father feels the personal battles, school changes and tough competition only made him better suited for collegiate success.
“It helped prepare him for this,” Byron said.
***
The Tucker’s visited Bloomington on March 26, two days before Bryson became a Hoosier. At the time of the trip, Michigan State and the University of Kansas were both considered factors in his recruitment.
After a day full of tours, photos and a private workout alongside freshman guard Gabe Cupps, several Indiana coaches and players treated the Tucker family to dinner. Bryson and Byron already knew everyone at the table, but the meal served as Tina’s introduction.
The scenes from that Tuesday night in Bloomington left Tina content with handing over her son to Indiana head coach Mike Woodson and staff.
“I didn’t feel like we were visitors,” Tina said. “I felt like we were an extension of the IU family. When we were at dinner and there was joking going on and Bryson was included, there was a level of comfortability. It was as if we were old family members coming back. Everybody we met was so genuine, authentic and open to answering every question we had.”
Tina entered the visit focused on the environment Bryson would be entering. She now feels reassured he’ll find as much success off the court as on it, carrying his academic success from his hotel room English papers to classrooms across campus.
“That level of comfortability, that family feel and watching his interactions with everybody on the team — I need to know your eyes and ears are open to whatever he needs,” Tina said. “It’s not him as a basketball player, it’s him as a student-athlete. He has always succeeded not just as a basketball player, but he’s been a stellar student. When I look at the academic side, that’s when he takes everything he’s learned on the basketball court.”
Bryson noted Indiana’s pro-style coaching staff and the culture he witnessed during his visit as key factors in his commitment to the Hoosiers. He said there’s a mutual understanding between where he wants to go and how the coaches can help him get there.
Byron, like any father, wants Bryson to get his degree — and thinks he’ll get at least one during his time in Bloomington.
“Coach Woodson will help Bryson achieve his master's degree in basketball,” Byron said.
Woodson needs little introduction; he was a four-year standout as a player at Indiana before spending 11 seasons on a plethora of NBA rosters. He entered coaching thereafter, including two separate stints as a head coach.
Byron knew all of this before the Hoosiers came knocking. He also knew Woodson’s NBA background was ideal for Bryson’s future. Byron left the visit thinking Woodson lived up to the hype.
“His straightforwardness, honesty, history — he has a strong resume,” Byron said. “He said Bryson’s a player and he sees him doing well at Indiana. It was no fluff. He’ll earn everything he gets.”
Whether it’s the right to guard the tallest player in a youth game or getting a good grade on schoolwork, the youngest Tucker has earned his way to stardom from a young age. He’ll aim to continue doing so this fall in the cream and crimson.
And yet, the on-court accolades do little justice to the person who’s matured from a family-owned backyard basketball court in Bowie to the 17,222 seats, five banners and decades of Hoosier history littered throughout Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, where he’ll live out one dream while striving toward another.
“I’m very, very proud,” Byron said. “He’s an excellent student, very humble and achieved what he set out to do.”
Follow reporters Will Foley (@foles24) and Matt Press (@MattPress23) and columnist Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball offseason.
