Demon Deacons add juco commit

In the past, Wake Forest has not typically taken many players from the junior college ranks. However, with their desperate need for a shooting guard who can score from the outside, the Demon Deacons have landed a player from Lon Morris Junior College in Jacksonville, Texas.

6-foot-4 shooting guard Konner Tucker has had quite an interesting recruitment. Coming out of Paschal High School in Fort Worth, Texas, the talented shooting guard did not have the kind of offers he thought he deserved.

"Coming out of high school I knew that I could play in a higher division; I felt like I got overlooked and that I was good enough to play at a high-major program" said Tucker, who held offers from Northwestern St., UC-Riverside, and St. Bonaventure in high school.

Because of his dissatisfaction with his offer list, Tucker enrolled at Lon Morris Junior College to try and get more recognition from college recruiters. After averaging nearly 17 points a game, it paid off.

"I had committed to the University of Kentucky back in March" Tucker explained. "But, when Gillespie was fired and they brought in the new coaching staff, I just didn't feel comfortable so I backed out. I had other offers from Cal, Marquette, Cincinnati, and a few others."

It was also at about this time that Wake Forest started getting involved with the talented sharpshooter.

"I started hearing from Wake at the end of my season, around the regional tournament" Tucker said. "They called my coach at Lon Morris, and asked if I had any interest in Wake Forest and we went from there. I got an offer from them about a week and a half ago when James Johnson left and a spot opened up."

After he received the offer, Tucker planned a visit to Winston-Salem to check out the Deacs firsthand. He was on campus earlier this week.

"I visited Thursday. Coach [Dino] Gaudio and Coach [Pat] Kelsey picked me up from the airport. I got to meet the team. I really enjoyed the visit, and so I committed yesterday."

Tucker, who still has three years of eligibility left, explained to Deacons Illustrated what he will bring to Wake Forest's squad.

"In high school I played point guard, but I'm really a scorer" he explained. "I'll be playing more as an off-guard. I work a lot on my shooting and scoring, and I can shoot well from outside. That's definitely one reason why they are bringing me in."

Tucker will be moving to campus this summer and will enroll at Wake Forest this fall.

Deacons Illustrated is the premier site for Wake Forest recruiting and athletics information.