NEW YORK — With St. John’s assistant Matt Abdelmassih and Villanova assistant Kyle Neptune watching Thursday night at St. Raymond’s High School, Jordan Tucker’s junior season came to a close.
It was a rough night for the 6-foot-7 Tucker, who was battling a right shoulder injury that kept him out of practice for most of the week. He finished with seven points as Archbishop Stepinac fell to Holy Cross 77-60 in the second round of the CHSAA playoffs.
Tucker did not start the game. Stepinac head coach Patrick Massaroni said it was because of a “team discipline issue.” Tucker said he was benched because of the missed practice time he suffered after the injury.
“It definitely disrupted what we normally do,” Massaroni said. “We’re trying to build a program and build a culture, and we can’t have that happen.”
He practiced on Tuesday and Wednesday and said he felt confident coming into Thursday night’s matchup, but it just didn’t translate.
“I was in a sling all week,” Tucker said. “I just got out of it on Sunday. It’s just tight right now. I still have to get rehab. I’m not 100 percent.”
Tucker holds offerse from numerous schools, including St. John’s, Villanova, Syracuse, UConn, Arizona, Kansas. He said Kentucky, Duke and UNC have also shown interest, but have not offered.
Tucker said he’s been following St. John’s recruiting class, which features ESPN Top 100 recruit Shamorie Ponds.
“I’ve been keeping a lookout on them to try to see who I can play with to help me and who I can help,” Tucker said. “It’s where I’m from, so there will always be an interest. They’ll always be on my top list.”
Tucker said he plans to visit the other New York school, Syracuse, in the spring.
“I tried to get up to Syracuse, but I had practice,” he said. “Especially with them, they’ve been recruiting me since my freshman year, and I haven’t been to the campus once. It’s hard. I have a lot of interest in them. I don’t want them to feel like I don’t have any interest in them.”
Tucker’s teammate, Aundre Hyatt, finished with 23 points after going 5-for-5 from behind the arc in the first half. Hyatt said he didn’t know about Tucker’s injury, but knew he had to score more once his teammate started to struggle.
The 6 foot-5 sophomore has received offers from Iona, St. John’s and Yale. He has received interest from Indiana, VCU, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, to name a few.
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