Athletic Tucker, point guard Long officially Eagles
Two words kept coming up when FGCU men’s basketball coach Joe Dooley described Rayjon Tucker.
Athletic. Athleticsm.
Tucker, a 6-foot-5, 180-pound wing from Charlotte, N.C., signed with the Eagles on Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period, which ends next week.
Joining Tucker as a signee was guard Elijah Long, a 6-footer from Canada.
Both guards verbally committed to FGCU earlier this fall.
Tucker is rated the 39th best senior small forward in the nation and fourth best recruit overall in North Carolina by ESPN. He committed to FGCU after his visit on Sept. 24.
With Auburn, Boston College, Clemson, VCU, Virginia Tech and others courting Tucker, he is the best signee on paper FGCU has ever made straight out of high school.
“I’m confident he’ll play right away,” Dooley said. “He has sheer athletic ability. I think (his ceiling) is very high. His athleticism is terrific and once his skills catch up to his athleticism, he’ll be an all-around player.”
Dooley said FGCU built a relationship with Tucker and his family for more than 18 months.
Dooley sees him being interchangeable between point guard, shooting guard and small forward because of his versatility.
“He can play in transition, he can play above the rim and he potentially can be a great defender once he gets stronger,” he said.
Canada has produced a number of NBA players, such as Steve Nash, Andrew Wiggins, Tristan Thompson, Anthony Bennett, Kelly Olynyk, Andrew Nicholson, Joel Anthony and Robert Sacre.
Long played for the same Toronto-area travel team that produced Wiggins, Thompson and others.
“Elijah was on one of the Canadian teams we saw when we went up to Canada,” Dooley said. “We stayed in touch. Players at his school are drilled very well in the skills.”
While he thinks Long shoots well enough to play the 2-guard, Dooley sees him primarily as a point guard. FGCU will face uncertainty at the position after Brett Comer graduates after this season.
Auburn transfer Brian Greene Jr., a redshirt-sophomore, will be a primary backup at both guard spots this year but fills more of a combo-guard role than pure point guard.
And true freshman point guard Zach Johnson, a Miami-Norland product that Dooley has praised, is redshirting this year with an undisclosed health issue that may jeopardize his playing career.
“You need more than one point guard in a program,” Dooley said. “We’ll see how it plays out.”
FGCU has two more scholarships available for 2015 graduates. Dooley said he definitely wants a front-court player and is looking for more depth but hasn’t anticipated using both scholarships.
FGCU signees
Baseball: Nick Blasucci-SS, Ryan Shinn-P/OF, Philip Sieli-RHP, Jake Smith-INF
Men’s basketball: Rayjon Tucker-Guard, Elijah Long-Guard
• Softball: Kelsie Packard-RHP, Riley Randolph-LHP
Swimming: Katie Latham, Alexis Simpson, Ashley Wright
Volleyball: Maggie Rick-S, Elisa Aldrich-MH, Amanda Carroll-OH