Anthony Tucker has officially asked for his release from his Iowa scholarship, and Todd Lickliter has granted it to him. Here's the official word from the Gazette:
When Tucker was suspended Dec. 20 just hours after a second public intoxication arrest, it appeared likely he was off the team. Today, nearly two months later, Tucker asked for – and received – his scholarship release from Iowa. He no longer is listed on Iowa’s men’s basketball roster.
But just hours after he scored 17 points in a win against Drake on Dec. 19, Tucker was arrested for public intoxication again after a dispute with a taxi cabdriver. According to the police complaint, Tucker accused the cabdriver of taking his cell phone and allegedly was beating on the side of the cab. The cabdriver locked his car doors and called police.
The police report described Tucker with bloodshot, watery eyes, slurred speech and a strong smell of alcohol. Tucker swayed when he spoke and "had trouble forming logical, understandable sentences and repeated himself frequently." Tucker pleaded guilty to the charge on Dec. 28.
The timing of this release is somewhat curious, however. Tucker had returned to practices a few weeks ago, and had begun dressing with the team again. If there was some indication that Tucker wouldn't actually play again this season, it wasn't being actively conveyed to people outside the team. Well, until now, anyway.
In terms of the larger picture, the real measure of the impact Tucker's departure has on the team is to see who's replacing him. In this case, it's probably a sophomore John Lickliter and true freshmen Ben Brust and Devyn Marble. Obviously, it's too early to know how Brust and Marble will perform once they make the jump to the college level, but still... woof.
Really, we're just getting back where we started, where Iowa's depending on freshman guards while all the experience bleeds away. We understand that Tucker was obviously a "special situation," to put it nicely. But the exodus is getting old.