The No. 2-ranked Tucker Tigers (16-4, 6-1 Region 4) take a 12-game winning streak into Tuesday’s game against Arabia Mountain. On Friday night they will host Decatur, which handed Tucker its only region loss, a one-point setback on Jan. 8.
Veteran coach James Hartry has fielded a team with many of the ingredients needed to reach the postseason and make some noise.
“It’s been a fun year,” Hartry said. “These guys have bought in. It’s just a matter of which group shows up. If they show up, we’ve got a chance every night. But on the nights when they’re head is in the sky … you’ve got to stay humble.”
The Tigers are currently tied with Decatur (12-7, 4-1) for first place in the highly competitive Region 4 race. King (3-2, 14-5), Arabia Mountain (2-3, 12-7) and Lithonia (2-3, 6-12) are the other contenders. Decatur’s loss came against Lithonia. Tucker will host the region tournament on Feb. 12, 14 and 16.
Tucker’s leading player is Josiah Lawson, a 6-foot-7 senior who averages 25 points and 12 rebounds. Lawson also carries a 4.3 GPA – academics is always important to Hartry – and has offers by most Ivy League schools, as well as strong regional academic schools like Furman and Morehouse. Lawson has a chance to be the school’s valedictorian – an award that no Tucker athlete has ever accomplished.
“He’s pretty special,” Hartry said. “He’s just so solid and so consistent. He could start the offense or even get on the low block and receive it.”
Lawson scored 28 points and had eight rebounds in a tight 57-56 win over King on Friday that saw the lead change hands three times in the final 24 seconds. Lawson was honored before the team for reaching the 1,000-point milestone and becoming just the 61st DeKalb County player to reach 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in his career.
The point guard is Khayri Dunn, a 6-1 senior who Hartry said, “keeps everything in flow.” Dunn, a left-hander, gets in don the classroom, too, and carries a 3.7 GPA. Dunn scored 15 points against King and made the winning bucket with 3.5 seconds remaining.
Tucker has a big man in the middle in sturdy 6-foot-8 senior Jamar Graham, who was the football team’s quarterback. Graham is hard to move down on the blocks and is adept as a rebounder and shot blocker.
The other two starters are sophomore guard Jakobe Williams and 6-3 senior Corde Neyland, who Hartry describes as his “X factor.”
Hartry is entering his 24th season as head coach at Tucker, has a 464-200 record, and ranks third all-time in victories. He has guided 18 teams to the state playoffs, including two trips to the final and the 2007 Class 4A state championship.
It’s been a good year for Hartry. He was inducted into the Clark Atlanta Hall of Fame in October. He helped lead the Panthers to the SIAC regular-season championship in 1981 and finish second in the conference tournament. Hartry played three seasons at Clark.
“I’ve received a lot of honors over the years such as region and state coach of the year, teacher of the year, but to be recognized for the Hall of Fame at the college I graduated from might just be the best yet,” Hartry said. “I had a pretty good career at Clark, but maybe the work I’ve done coaching and teach for the last 45 years played a role in getting the honor.”
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