The Complete Package: Versatility, Humility Boost Tucker Onto Olympic Roster

Quite possibly the only hindrance to Jannah Tucker’s overall basketball makeup is that her last name falls pretty far down in the alphabet.

It makes things remarkably tense when you’re waiting for your name to be called to see if you made a team—especially when that team is one that competes with a USA logo on its jersey.

However, after a four day period of intense competition, daily cut downs and even a slightly pulled hamstring, Tucker was able to breathe an enormous sigh of relief when her name was the tenth of 12 called, earning her a spot on USA Basketball’s Under 16 Olympic squad.

Tucker, who bested over 100 other girls from across the country to make the team, will be traveling to Mérida, Mexico for the 2011 FIBA Americas U16 Championship on June 13.

“It was nerve racking, but it was a relief when they called my name,” said Tucker, a standout performer for New Town, as well as her AAU Philadelphia Belles squad.

“I was very excited. I think I finally just exhaled—everyone was holding their breath. Just to hear it, you just kind of envision everything that’s going to happen later on. The hard work finally paid off.”

Initially, Tucker was unsure of her status come the final cut down period because she was forced to miss the final trial day with that pulled muscle. However, she performed so well on the court and conducted herself so well off it, in the first three days, the officials picking the team had seemingly already made up their collective minds.

“I think they liked the little things such as the defense and the leadership and they also kind of look at how you interact, if you are polite, if you are tamed per say, or if you sit in the front row, if you’re goofing off,” Tucker said.

A do-it-all type player for New Town, Tucker quickly had to adjust to a setting where she was no longer far and away the best player on the court, but instead, one of many talented athletes competing for twelve highly coveted spots.

However, rather than focus on showcasing her own game and trying to do too much, the six-foot sophomore conducted herself the only way she knows how—like a team player, out there to make everyone else around her better, something that caught on quickly with the committee that chose the squad.

“My definition of maturity is that it’s when you think more of others than yourself. She definitely carries herself well,” Carol Callan, the Women’s National Team Director, said of Tucker. “She was able to be a good teammate while still showing what she can do individually.

“She was the complete puzzle that we are looking for. From my conversations with her and her interactions with other players, it showed what kind of person as well as a player she is.”

On top of her maturity and humility, Tucker impressed the selection committee with her versatility as an athlete, something she’s always prided herself on.

Having played organized basketball since age five, there is nothing she can’t do on the court. A gifted ball-handler, tough enough to take the ball inside and absorb contact, while skilled enough to consistently knock down jump shots from the outside, Tucker provides a nightmare matchup for any team. 

Still, putting her own game on the back burner, Tucker realizes how her varying skill-set only further helps her teammates.

“It’s hard to be stopped if you aren’t one-dimensional, but it helps your team, as well,” Tucker said. “If I was just a shooter I wouldn’t be able to distribute the ball. Or if I could just drive, I wouldn’t have people key on me [to shoot] and be able to pass it into the post. I think it really helps your team.”

Now back at school—where she takes a mixture of challenging AP and GT courses—Tucker is back to performing the “student” part of the phrase “student-athlete.” After being whisked away to Colorado Springs, CO, for the trials, she is catching up on her finals, while enjoying the congratulatory support from teachers and classmates, something she is, not surprisingly, very appreciate of.

However, whether it’s USA Basketball’s directors and coaches or New Town High School’s teachers and administrators, Tucker is leaving her mark as a competitive and mature, young adult.

“Jannah is very driven and I know whatever she is involved in in her life she will be successful because she is self-motivated and has wonderful parents backing her and supporting her,” New Town principal Sam Mustipher said. “She is going to do great things in life. The way I look at it is, the USA Junior Olympic team is lucky to have such a wonderful student-athlete and person that Jannah is.”