Indiana Basketball Player Scouting Report: Bryson Tucker

2024 five-star wing Bryson Tucker made the decision to commit to play for Mike Woodson and Indiana basketball, announcing his decision on Thursday. The commitment came shortly after Tucker went on a on-campus visit the last week of March.

This, as it stands right now, is the lone high school commitment for the Hoosiers with former signee Liam McNeeley opting not to come play for Indiana this upcoming season. With the hole that McNeeley left at the wing position, Tucker was able to slide right in there and fill that void for the 2024 recruiting class for Indiana basketball.

Tucker, a Baltimore, MD, native, is the fourth-straight spring commitment from the Indiana basketball program since Mike Woodson took over as head coach joining Tamar Bates, Malik Reneau and Mackenzie Mgbako, which were all top-30 prospects. The current Indiana basketball head coach has done a fantastic job at landing late commitments in the spring.

Tucker is ranked the No. 20 overall prospect in the 247Sports Composite Rankings. He is the No. 7 small forward in the 2024 class. He joins Jalen Hood-Schifino, Malik Reneau and Mackenzie Mgbako as five-star high school prospects Mike Woodson has landed while being the second straight season Indiana has landed a McDonald’s All-American.

Even though Tucker is a five-star prospect, he has seemingly flown just a tad under the radar due to not really ever playing travel ball that often gets players at his caliber great exposure. He has always been on the radar of Indiana basketball, but was never really ever considered a promising target for the Indiana program to land with the original idea was that he would either be going to Michigan State or opting to play for the NBA G-League Ignite team.

When the NBA G-League Ignite team folded, the reclassifying wing’s college options grew stronger and Indiana basketball was able to apply more pressure in his recruitment. With holes to fill when it came to on-court play as well as the 2024 recruiting class for the Hoosiers, Mike Woodson got aggressive and landed the talented player. He chose Indiana over schools such as Michigan State, Kansas, Duke, and others.

Video Highlights: 2024 Indiana basketball commit Bryson Tucker

Mike Woodson often emphasized that he wants versatility at the perimeter, and that is what the 6-foot-7 five-star wing brings to the Indiana basketball program next season. He brings excellent length, athleticism, and skill at the wing position.

Offensively, he has an overall polished game all-around but really makes his impact using his size and skill on the ball to create jumpers in the lane and score in the paint. While he can be a capable shooter from the outside, he is money when it comes to the mid-range game, very similar in the way Jalen Hood-Schifino was for the Hoosiers when he was in Bloomington.

He is a smart player that can very problematic for the defense with his IQ, size, and ability to score at all three levels. His ability to change pace in mid-stride with very few dribbles is something that really stands out in his game, as well.

On the defensive end of the floor, he is another versatile defender coming into Mike Woodson’s system. He has the size, frame, and athletic ability to guard both the perimeter and post. As we saw often with Mackenzie Mgbako last season, the way Tucker will be used on defense will be similar to Mgbako depending on certain matchups.

“Simply put, Bryson Tucker is a basketball player,” On3’s Jamie Shaw wrote. “He has great size to go with a natural basketball IQ. Nothing in his game seems to ever be rushed, he plays at his own pace. He understands change of pace and he makes good decisions with the ball. Tucker has good length, and he is a good athlete. He can make shots with a confident pull-up. Tucker’s dad, Byron, is 6-10 and scored over 1,000 points at NC State/George Mason. He has a great work ethic and is one to continue watching as a five-star.”

Indiana basketball came into this offseason with a lot of holes to fill, especially increasing the depth of the wing position. While Tucker is not a player that is going to solve all the problem when it comes to shooting and wing play, it is a step in the right direction with the amount of talent he has on the floor. If Mackenzie Mgbake confirms to come back to Indiana, the addition of Tucker should by default slide Mgabko to his more natural, stretch-four position.

To simplify what I am meaning, the addition of Tucker makes Indiana’s starting unit much more balanced and not as ‘top-heavy’ as it was last season.

There is still some areas that Tucker needs to continue to fine-tune, but with Mike Woodson as his coach and his ability to develop players the caliber of Tucker, there is so much upside to what he can bring to the Indiana basketball program next season.

This was a strong, last-minute pickup for Indiana basketball as they look to continue to build it’s roster next season.

SEE ALSO: Indiana Basketball Transfer Tracker: Who’s leaving? Who’s coming? Other names to monitor

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