Former Maryland basketball player killed in car accident
By admin - 2018-05-29 16:20:45

Former University of Maryland basketball player Cliff Tucker died Monday after a one-vehicle car accident in Texas, according to the Baltimore Sun.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said in a news release that Tucker was one of three people killed on Interstate 10 around 11 a.m. Monday when the van he was driving rolled over after the tread on the right rear tire separated. Four others were injured in the crash, the DPS reported. The 29-year-old El Paso native was reportedly traveling to his hometown from San Antonio when the crash occurred.

Former Maryland coach Gary Williams told the Sun that Tucker was the definition of an ACC guard.

“Cliff could play, he was a legit guard in the ACC, and the ACC was really good that year,” Williams said of the 6-foot-6, 205-pound Tucker.  “He was one of those guys that when you coached them, he’d do stuff to make you mad, I think he did it on purpose. But you couldn’t stay mad at him. He had that smile. He had a genuine great sense of humor, and I think he was popular with the other players.”

Tucker played in 131 career games for Maryland from 2007-2011 and helped lead the Terps to the NCAA tournament in 2009 and 2010. As a senior in 2010-11, the final season of Williams’ 22-year coaching career, Tucker averaged a career-high 9.6 points in a little over 22 minutes a game. He led the team with 41 made three-pointers as a senior.