As NBA All-Star Weekend activities raged on in Charlotte, N.C., Houston Rockets forward P.J. Tucker spent time in his hometown of Raleigh about 150 miles away.
Though he wasn’t participating in the festivities, Tucker had his own schedule to attend to with his own fans.
Enloe High School (Raleigh, N.C.) retired his jersey on Friday, along with North Carolina Central men’s basketball coach LeVelle Moton and Indiana Pacers head coach Nate McMillan, according to HBCU Gameday.
“(Enloe High has) never retired anyone’s jersey, and they’ve had a lot of basketball players come through my school,” Tucker said to The Athletic. “It’s an honor.”
Tucker, who graduated in 2003, was named the North Carolina player of the year as a junior, according to Valley of the Suns. He was the first player from the state to grab 30 rebounds in one game — and then achieved that feat again a few nights later.
That was with fierce North Carolina competition.
“In high school, can you imagine playing against another D-I guy (every game)? Someone, some night was gonna school you. It wasn’t any off-nights,” Tucker said to The Athletic.
“North Carolina basketball is like nothing else, man. I can’t even explain it to you in a way for you to understand. Every day, we sold out every game. Our gym was crazy. Everyone loves basketball.”
Though Tucker wasn’t voted an NBA All-Star, there was no love lost on the fans in his hometown.
Y’all it was a busy week here at the ‘Loe! Our Night of #legends was a great way to wrap things up this Friday!! Many thanks to our special guests @LeVelleMoton, PJ Tucker, and Nate McMillan!!! #GTiswhyIBatEnloe pic.twitter.com/hdPM3DHcWB
— Enloe High School (@EnloeMagnetHS) February 17, 2019
McMillan graduated from Enloe in 1982 and Moton in 1992, according to HBCU Gameday.
“For All-Star to be here, and to do this at the same time, it just worked out perfectly,” Tucker said to The Athletic.
