Senior | Forward | 6’6″ | 220 lb. | Fincastle, VA

Chris is one of two Hokie seniors from the state of Virginia, growing up just about 45 miles from the Virginia Tech campus in Fincastle, VA. He graduated from Lord Botetourt High School, where he averaged 22 points and 10 rebounds a game and was 2nd-team AP AA All-State his final year. Chris then played at Fork Union Military Academy for a year in hopes of landing a Division I scholarship. He averaged 11.5 points and seven rebounds in his only season at FUMA.

Tucker decided to walk-on at Virginia Tech after his time at FUMA. Despite not being on scholarship, Chris began playing right away and played in VT’s first game his freshman year. He would only appear in nine games that first season (2003-04), but has appeared in 20 plus games ever since. Tucker saw the most action of his career last year when he appeared in 28 of the 30 games and averaged almost 10 minutes per game. This year, with the addition of Lewis Witcher and the increase play of Cheick Diakite, Chris is only averaging five minutes per game.

Chris has improved greatly since he first joined the Virginia Tech team. Early on, he really did not appear to belong on an ACC court. But now he has improved his defense and rebounding to the point of where he contributes to this team when Tucker gets a chance. He battles on the boards and hits his shots when he takes them (47% from the field, 2/3 on three’s, and 3/4 on FT’s).

Greatest Game: Chris has scored six points on three different occasions – against md-eastern shore his sophomore year, marshall last year, and west florida this year. But his best game was the game at wake forest last year. In that game, the Hokies were without the services of Coleman Collins (visiting his father) and Deron Washington (suspended). VT only had six scholarship guys in uniform. Tech was 0-6 in the ACC. But Tucker stepped up and played a career-high 28 minutes and pulled down a career-high seven rebounds. His contribution helped lead the Hokies to their first ACC victory of the year, 76-70.

Favorite Moment: My best memory of Chris Tucker was the three he hit in the win against unc at home this year. It was one of those plays where you go, “What is he doing???!!!” And then, bam, the shot goes in for three to put the Hokies up by 20 over the #1 team in the nation. The Hokies could do no wrong that day and Chris rode the momentum and helped chip-in.

Stats: