By Dick Goss
dgoss@stmedianetwork.com
JOLIET — Joliet Catholic basketball fans will be making
fewer trips to the eye doctor to have their glasses adjusted. No more seeing in triplicate.
In a sense, Wednesday’s national letter-of-intent signing ceremony at the school qualified as a last hurrah
for the Tucker triplets. Now, it is on to the next level.
Breion began the college parade
earlier, when he signed to play football at St. Francis of Ft. Wayne, Ind. Brequan Tucker will not be far away, however, as
he signed Wednesday to play basketball at the same school.
Breshion, who
quarterbacked the football team in the fall and is a two-time Herald-News all-area selection in basketball, will be flying
solo as he continues his basketball career at NCAA Division II Wayne State College in Wayne, Neb.
The other Joliet Catholic signing was softball shortstop
Tori Johnson, who will attend University of St. Francis right here in Joliet. All three signees received
academic and athletic scholarships.
“I’m going to miss
those guys,” Breshion said of attending a school away from his brothers. “We had a lot of fun times. We all played
on the same high school basketball team. “But at the same time, I want to experience some new
things.”
Breshion, who plans to major in business management, said he
was in touch with Wayne State representatives “back and forth since Christmas break. They were always one of my top
options. When it came time to visit, I really liked it. Coach (Paul) Combs said he wanted me there bad.”
Breshion, recruited as a point guard, his position at Joliet Catholic, knows how challenging
Division II ball can be. “But I have always worked hard, and I think my skills, athleticism, speed and strength will
help me be able to compete.”
So will more of those one-on-ones with Breion.
“He gets up in my face when we play,” said Breshion, who
averaged more than 18 points as a junior, 17 as a senior. “He helped me so much in high school, getting me used to dealing
with contact.”
While Breion prepares to play cornerback at St. Francis,
Brequan knows he has his work cut out as he joins what has been one of the NAIA’s most successful programs.
“I can be a point guard or a combo guard there,” he said. “Even
though Breshion was our point guard here, I had a chance to bring the ball up the floor a lot. “I’ll
work this summer on all my weaknesses.”
Regardless of which position he
plays, Brequan, who said he will major in business administration or marketing, is a shooter. But if things do not go well,
he will have Breion right there for him.
“Oh, yeah, I always get a lot
of criticism from him, especially all those years we played pickup games all summer,” Brequan said.
But will the brothers room together? “That is debatable,” Brequan said with a smile. “We’ll
see.”
Brequan said St. Francis originally was not atop his list. “But
I went there Monday and they liked my game and made me a nice offer. I’ll have a chance to achieve there.”
Hilltoppers coach Jeff Budz said Brequan “will be successful in college because
of his work ethic and attitude. And Breshion is one of those kids who will do anything to win a game. He will succeed because
of his great determination.”
Both Brequan and Breshion participated in
Friday night’s East Suburban Catholic all-star game against the Chicago Catholic Blue.
Johnson, a three-year starter in softball, was a little different
than the Tuckers in that she never planned to go out-of-state.
“I didn’t expect it to be this close to home, but I live on campus,” she said. “I am looking
forward to it.”
The plan is for her
to continue playing shortstop at USF. She has not decided on a major.
Johnson currently has something else on her mind. The Angels softball team
is off to a 10-1 start, and she would like nothing better than to help coach Dave Douglas’ squad achieve one of its
most successful seasons ever
