Chris Tucker – Tucker was the lone member of the 1995 induction class. He was a four year letterwinner for the Lions from 1990-94. He earned second team Basketball Gazette All-American honors as a senior after ranking sixth among the NCAA D-2 leaders in rebounding (11.8 rpg), tying for 22nd in blocked shots (2.0 bpg) and finishing 37th in scoring (21.6 ppg) to become Southern’s first player to be nationally ranked in three stat categories.
Originally from Memphis, Tenn. (Kriby HS), the 6-9 Tucker was named to the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) All-Freshman Team after averaging 5.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game during his rookie season. As a sophomore, he boosted his averages to 10.6 points and 8.3 rebounds while recording 54 blocked shots, second most in a single season at the time.
Tucker became a full time starter his junior year and earned first team All-MIAA laurels after averaging 16.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per contest to help the Lions to their second straight 20-win season and their first MIAA Post-Season Tournament crown and NCAA Tournament berth. As a senior, he was a first team All-MIAA and second team All-Region pick, as well as a two time national and MIAA player of the week selection. He ended his career ranked eighth among the MIAA’s all-time leaders in rebounds with 952. Tucker still holds the MSSU record in career blocked shots with 179, nine more than second place.
Following his career, Tucker received the MSSU Lionbacker Award for Excellence. Given to those student athletes demonstrating academic excellence, team spirit and support of the University. He was also awarded a MSSU Graduation-Enhancement Fifth Year Scholarship, which provides financial assistance to student athletes who have exhausted their eligibility, but need extra time to complete their degrees. Starting in 1995, those scholarships for men’s basketball are named in his memory.
Tucker was attending summer classes at Southern at the time of his accident. He was just 17 days away from completing his final semester of work in his degree in marketing, but was awarded his diploma posthumously.