Former Cumberland graduate assistant Thurman Tucker returns to the staff as an assistant coach for the 2013-14 campaign.
Tucker most recently served as the head boys’ basketball coach at LaVergne Middle School in LaVergne, Tenn., just outside Nashville, where the Hawks were crowned the 2013 Rutherford County Tournament champions and Area 2 champions. The club was honored by Governor Bill Haslam, state senator Bill Ketron and LaVergne mayor Senna Mosley for excellence in academics and athletics.
He spent the 2011-12 season as the head girls’ basketball coach at LaVergne and founded the Rutherford County Middle School Boys’ and Girls’ All-Star Basketball Games in 2011.
Tucker served as an assistant coach at Cumberland for three seasons starting in 2008-09 and was a member of the staff on the NAIA National Tournament in his first year. The Bulldogs finished the year 25-6 overall, falling to Auburn Montgomery in the first round in Kansas City, Mo.
The following season Brandon Springer was named TranSouth Conference Player of the Year and earned Second Team All-America honors despite struggles on the court for the club, which posted a 12-17 mark. In 2010-11 Cumberland rebounded with an 18-12 mark overall, including 11-5 in TranSouth Conference play.
His roles while at Cumberland previously included assisting in game and practice preparations, recruiting, assisting with academics, scheduling practices and scouting opponents.
He was an assistant head coach at Thurman Francis Junior High in Smyrna, Tenn., in 2007-08, where he was responsible for teaching fundamentals, defense, day-to-day operations and working with post players. He was also the head coach for the Flint (MI) Mustangs 15-under AAU team in 1998 and 1999.
Tucker played football and basketball for one year at Michigan State before transferring to Middle Tennessee to concentrate solely on football. He played three years for the Blue Raiders before suffering an injury.
He received All-City and All-State accolades in both football and basketball at Flint Northwestern High School in Flint, Mich., helping NHS to back-to-back Final Four appearances.
He received his bachelor's in Mass Communications from Middle Tennessee in 1998 and his master’s in Education at Cumberland in 2010. Tucker has been employed as a K-12 Special Education teacher in Rutherford County since 2010 and is presently pursuing his doctorate in Education Administration and Supervision at Middle Tennessee.
Tucker is the nephew of former NBA player Trent Tucker, who won an NBA championship with the Chicago Bulls in 1993.
