{{short description|American basketball player}} {{Infobox basketball biography | name = Temple Tucker | image = Temple Tucker - Rice yearbook, 1958.png | image_size = 150px | caption = Tucker's ''Campanile'' yearbook photo in 1958 | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 10 | weight_lb = 205 | birth_date = {{birth date|1936|3|28}} | birth_place = Haskell, Texas, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2024|12|7|1936|3|28}} | death_place = Houston, Texas, U.S. | high_school = Bowie (Bowie, Texas) | college = Rice (1955–1958) | draft_year = 1958 | draft_round = 4 | draft_pick = 29 | draft_team = Philadelphia Warriors | career_position = Center | career_number = 21 | highlights = * Third-team All-American – NEA (1956) * 2× Second-team All-SWC (1956, 1957) }} '''Temple Lafayette Tucker''' (March 28, 1936 – December 7, 2024)<ref name=fincher>{{cite web |url=https://www.fincher.org/fincher/ErnestFinchersDoc |title= Overview of the Fincher Family by Ernest Hilliard Fincher |last= |first= |date=November 7, 1995 |website=|publisher=Fincher.org |access-date=June 18, 2020 |quote=}}</ref><ref name=obituary>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=December 10, 2024 |title=Temple Lafayette Tucker obituary |url=https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/houston-tx/temple-tucker-12120843 |website=DignityMemorial.com |location= |publisher=SCI Shared Resources, LLC |access-date=August 15, 2025}}</ref> was an American basketball player, known for his All-American college career at Rice University in the 1950s. At 6'10", Tucker played the center position.
A native of Bowie, Texas, Tucker starred at Bowie High School, winning four state championships in four years while scoring 2,331 points.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bowie honoree |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/647308065/|newspaper=Fort Worth Star-Telegram |date=January 30, 2004|page=60|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = June 14, 2020}}</ref> He then enrolled at Rice in the fall of 1954.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bowienewsonline.com/2017/07/basketball-hangin-with-temple-tucker/ |title= BASKETBALL: Hangin' with Temple Tucker |last= |first= |date=July 4, 2017 |website=|publisher=Bowie News |access-date=June 14, 2020 |quote=}}</ref> Due to NCAA player eligibility rules of the time, Tucker could not play varsity basketball until his sophomore year in 1955–56.<ref name=riceinstitute>{{cite web |url=https://scholarship.rice.edu/handle/1911/64572 |title= Rice Institute basketball player Temple Tucker |last= |first= |date=1956 |website=|publisher=Rice Digital Scholarship Archive |access-date=June 14, 2020 |quote=}}</ref> He made an immediate impact that season, which saw him average 22.1 points and 12.7 rebounds per game.<ref name=riceinstitute/> The 22.1 scoring average was the second best in school history to that point, while his 12.7 rebounds led the Southwest Conference (SWC) for the season.<ref name=riceinstitute/> In just his first eligible season, Tucker earned a third-team All-American selection by a major All-American voting body of the time (NEA).<ref>{{cite news|title=NEA All-America Team Selections |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/51080628|newspaper=Lubbock Evening Journal|date=March 7, 1956|page=18|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = June 14, 2020}}</ref> He was also named to the All-SWC second team.<ref>{{cite news|title=Only Unanimous Choice is Downs |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/359867086|newspaper=Austin American-Statesman|date=March 2, 1956|page=27|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = June 14, 2020}}</ref>
Despite his drop in production, Tucker's junior season in 1956–57 saw him repeat in leading Rice in points (15.1) and rebounds (10.5) per game.<ref name=riceinstitute/> He earned his second consecutive All-SWC second team honor.<ref>{{cite news|title=3 Mustangs On All-SWC Cage Squad |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/638360144|newspaper=Fort Worth Star-Telegram |date=March 6, 1957|page=18|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = June 14, 2020}}</ref>
During his senior season, Tucker averaged 13.5 points and 8.8 rebounds and was awarded the Billy Wohn Award as the team's most valuable player.<ref name=riceinstitute/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thedraftreview.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5634 |title= Temple Tucker |last= |first= |date=2020 |website=|publisher=TheDraftReview |access-date=June 14, 2020 |quote=}}</ref> For his career, Tucker scored 1,218 points (including a then school single-game record of 43) and grabbed 768 rebounds (then-second in school history behind Gene Schwinger's 810).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/riceowls.com/documents/2019/12/4/2019_20_MBB_FactBook.pdf |format=PDF |title=2019–20 Rice Owls Men's Basketball Media Guide |last= |first= |date=2019 |website= |publisher=Bowie News |access-date=June 14, 2020 |quote= }}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
After his collegiate career ended, Tucker was selected in the 1958 NBA draft by the Philadelphia Warriors in the fourth round (29th overall).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1958.html |title= 1958 NBA Draft |last= |first= |date=2020 |website=basketball-reference.com |publisher=Sports Reference, LLC |access-date=June 14, 2020 |quote=}}</ref> He opted to pursue a career as a life insurance agent instead, where he earned a lifetime membership into the Million Dollar Round Table.<ref name=riceinstitute/>
Tucker died on December 7, 2024 in Houston, Texas.<ref name=obituary/>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tucker, Temple}} Category:1936 births Category:2024 deaths Category:20th-century American sportsmen Category:All-American college men's basketball players Category:American men's basketball players Category:Basketball players from Houston Category:Centers (basketball) Category:Insurance agents Category:People from Bowie, Texas Category:Philadelphia Warriors draft picks Category:Rice Owls men's basketball players