Tucker F. Neale (born 1972) is an American former college basketball player. He played at

Colgate University Colgate University is a Private university, private college in Hamilton, New York, United States. The Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York ...

between 1992 and 1995, where in just three seasons he set the still-standing school record of 2,075 points. As a

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

in 1994 he was named the Patriot League Player of the Year. A native of

Strongsville, Ohio Strongsville is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and a suburb of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, its population was 46,491. The city's nickname, Crossroads of the Nation, originated from the intersection between the Baltimore a ...

, Neale did not play varsity basketball at Colgate until his

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

season in 1992–93. The Raiders had won only a single digit number of games in 10 of the 11 seasons prior to Neale arriving. During his three-year tenure, he led the most successful stretch in school history, including their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

. With Neale's per-game season scoring averages of 21.9, 26.6, and 23.1, the Raiders finished 18–10, 17–12, and 17–13, respectively. They won their first regular season conference championship in his junior year, then repeated as champions his

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

season. He was named to the

Patriot League The Patriot League is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference comprising primarily leading Private university, private institutions of higher education and two United States service academies based in the Northeastern United ...

all-conference second team as a sophomore and a first team selection in his junior and senior years. In 1995, he was named the Patriot League tournament's MVP, one year after becoming Colgate's first-ever Patriot League Player of the Year. In just 87 career games Neale scored 2,075 points. Through 2020–21 he still owns the highest career scoring average in Patriot League history (23.9). Colgate later retired his jersey number 20, and in 2015 he was named to the Patriot League's 25th Anniversary Team. After college he went undrafted in the

1995 NBA draft The 1995 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1995, at SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It marked the first NBA draft to be held outside the United States and was the first draft for the two Canadian expansion teams that were added for 1995–96 ...

. Neale was invited to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

camp in fall 1995, the year of the

NBA lockout The NBA lockout may refer to any of the four lockouts in the history of the National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the Unit ...

. Instead, he opted to go to Europe and play professional basketball in Germany. He averaged 30 points per game and was named the player of the year. In 1996, he tried out for the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

, but was cut in the just before the season started. Since his playing career, Neale stays involved with the sport. He coaches AAU teams, is the creator of the popular Shot Coach (a device to help players learn how to shoot better), and manages OhioBasketball.com, the largest provider of basketball tournaments in the world. He lives in the

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

area with his wife, Crystal, and their three children: Tre', Kennedi, and Trinidi.

References

External links

College statistics
@ sports-reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Neale, Tucker 1972 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Germany American men's basketball players Colgate Raiders men's basketball players Sportspeople from Strongsville, Ohio Basketball players from Cuyahoga County, Ohio Shooting guards 20th-century American sportsmen