Dave Tucker named to WBCA Hall of Fame

Superior Telegram

Former Superior Cathedral High School standout Dave Tucker is among the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame class of 2016.

Tucker was born in Superior, the 10th child and the seventh son of Joseph and Bridget Tucker. By the time he was in high school, five of his brothers were in the service during World War II.

When his brothers returned from World War II, they had a lot of time on their hands and put up a basketball hoop just one and a half blocks from Tucker’s home. He was about 10 or 11 and played bask etball every chance he could.

In junior high his team won the Superior city basketball championship, and the wins continue to mount up while at Cathedral High School as well.

During high school he also played end on the football team that went undefeated, untied and unscored upon in 1952.

Tucker played guard, center and forward during his high school basketball career, scoring 1,011 points, with just 18 of them coming during his freshman year.

In the 1950s, Catholic schools were not eligible to play in the Wisconsin state tournament, so Superior Cathedral played in the Wisconsin Catholic state tournament.

Under coach Steve Bachand Cathedral lost to Menasha St. Mary’s 69-67 in the state championship game.

In the three state tournament games at West De Pere, Tucker scored 33, 31 and 22 points and was a unanimous choice for the all-tournament team.

At the conclusion of his high school career in 1953, Tucker was named to the Catholic All-American team, in addition to the All-City and All-State Catholic squads.

He was selected to and participated in the North-South basketball game, which was played in Murray, Ky.

Tucker received a full scholarship to the University of Minnesota. In those days, freshmen were not permitted to be on the varsity team, so he started out his Gopher career on the freshmen team.

Shortly after the beginning of his sophomore year, he became a starting forward for the Gophers, a position he held throughout his remaining three years. Tucker led the Gophers in rebounding that season, with a high of 27 against Norte Dame, and remained one of the Gophers’ top rebounders.

After his junior year he was named the team’s Most Valuable Player and selected captain of the Gophers for the 1956-57 season.

As MVP he was the Gophers’ nominee for the Big 10 Most Valuable Player Chicago Tribune Award.

During his junior year he was Minnesota’s second leading scorer with 350 points in 22 games and was given honorable mention honors on the Associated Press All-Big Ten team.

He finished the season by scoring 25 points against Iowa, 27 against Illinois, 16 against Michigan and 28 points along with 18 rebounds in a 95-89 win over Ohio State in the season finale.

Following graduation from Minnesota, he took a position as teacher and basketball coach at Ontonagon (Mich.) High School.

He was named to the Upper Peninsula Hall of Fame and Superior Hall of Fame in 1986. Cathedral’s 1952 undefeated football team was inducted into the Superior Hall of Fame in 2010.

Tucker is married to his high school sweetheart, Jan Connolly, and they have six children: sons Dave, Pat, Tim (deceased) and daughters, Kathy, Mary and Sara. They have 13 grandchildren and six great grandchildren.

The 2016 Hall of Fame Induction will be held Sept. 24 at the Glacier Canyon Lodge of the Wilderness Resort in Wisconsin Dells. Cocktails are at 4:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 5:30 p.m. and program and video.

For more information contact Joan Petitgoue at 608-744-2585 or 608-778-2524 or email joanpetitgoue@icloud.com .

TUCKER TIPS: Tucker scored 489 points (22 ppg) during his senior season at Cathedral. … The Panthers were 20-2 his senior year, with the other loss coming to Superior East, which won a berth in the WIAA state tournament. Tucker was hampered by an eye injury in the loss to the Orientals. … At Minnesota, Tucker averaged 15 points and 14 rebounds in his junior and senior years under the guidance of coach Ozzie Cowles. … While at Ontonagon he coached football, track and baseball in addition to basketball for three years.

WBCA Hall of Fame Class of 2016

High School Coaches

Rob Bosshart, Spring Valley

Rich Cleveland, Madison East

Jewel Henke, Lancaster

Saint Jimenez, Kenosha Tremper

Tom Klawitter, Janesville Parker

Brad Minter, McFarland/Oregon

Jim Myers, Barneveld

Bob Neja, Messmer/West Bend East

Tim Reuter, Pewaukee

Darwin Schramm, Kettle Moraine Lutheran

Terri Schumacher, Oshkosh West/Plymouth

Boy Players

Craig Anderson, Madison La Follette

Brian Garner, Milwaukee Washington

Chris Jones, Milwaukee Hamilton

Trevor Powell, Milwaukee Washington

Kevin Rankin, De Pere Abbott Pennings

David Tucker, Superior Cathedral

Girl Players

Amy (Bauer) Rohrcheib, Durand

Laura (Coenen) Ryan, Neenah

Kathy Hagerstrom, Neenah

Katrina (Hannaford) Christie, Eau Claire Memorial

Dee Dee Pate, Milwaukee Washington

Kelley (Paulus) Baer, La Crosse Central

Assistant Coach

Dick Luther, UW-Waukesha/Waukesha South

Friend

Marvin Fuller, Milwaukee

Jeff Kaleas, Mount Horeb

Rick Riehl, West Bend

Referee

Tom Frieder, Manitowoc