When McDonald’s All American wing Liam McNeeley decommitted from IU early in March, it left the program without a high school commit from the Class of 2024. With All-Big Ten center Kel’el Ware declaring for the NBA draft and CJ Gunn, Payton Sparks and Kaleb Banks hitting the transfer portal, Mike Woodson and his staff needed to pivot to fill roster spots.

Five-star 2024 wing Bryson Tucker has filled the first of those empty roster spots. Indiana lost one McDonald’s All American and picked up another in Tucker. Two years after receiving an offer from the Hoosiers, the Baltimore native announced last week he’d be coming to Bloomington. What will Tucker bring to Indiana?

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Bryson Tucker’s scouting report

Tucker’s athleticism is his most glaring attribute. At 6-6, Tucker projects as one of the — if not the — most athletic wings Woodson has had since taking over the Hoosiers. Tucker is an excellent transition player because of his outstanding athleticism. His quickness and high vertical also make him an extremely effective player away from the ball on offense.

The Athletic’s Tobias Bass described Tucker as “a fluid athlete who does a good job of taking angles to get around defenders to finish at the rim. He gets off the ground quickly and changes directions well in traffic.”

Offensively, Tucker prefers to work in the midrange. In his time at Bishop O'Connell High School in Arlington, Va., Tucker was a master at getting to his spots inside the arc and firing. The way Tucker carves space and operates in the midrange is similar to Jalen Hood-Schifino, who starred for Indiana in 2022-23 before heading to the NBA. Tucker isn’t a natural point guard and ball-handler the way Hood-Schifino was, but expect him to still get his fair share of opportunities to do damage in the 10-17 feet range.

Tucker’s 3-point shot is a work in progress. There are no publicly available stats for Tucker’s 3-point shooting this high school season, but he can be best described as a streaky shooter. Bass claimed Tucker currently “has an average jumper from beyond the arc as his shot does come off flat at times, the further he expands his range.”

On defense, Tucker’s frame and athleticism should come in handy. Most freshmen tend to take time to adjust to the speed and complexity of the college game, so time will tell if Tucker is ready to take on big assignments from the start of his college career. If he can develop defensively, Tucker has the upside to become the best defensive wing Woodson has had since coming to IU.

The addition of Tucker to the Indiana roster raises the question of how he’ll fit next to Indiana forward Mackenzie Mgbako. Mgbako — a 2023 five-star and McDonald’s All American — announced Saturday that he is returning for his sophomore season in Bloomington.

Mgbako was Co-Big Ten Freshman of the Year after averaging 12.2 points per game this season. Mgbako’s playing time came almost exclusively at small forward, as he started all 33 of IU’s games at that position. Tucker projects to also play small forward in college.

Going into the fall, IU’s staff must decide if Tucker and Mgbako should start beside each other at the forward spots, or if the team would be best with Tucker coming off the bench. If Tucker and Mgbako consistently start together, it would be the first time in Woodson’s tenure the Hoosiers don’t regularly play two big men together down low.

Final thoughts

IU still has six open scholarship spots to fill, so it’s too early to guess what role Woodson envisions Tucker playing in 2024-25. Regardless, the Hoosiers needed someone in their incoming freshman class and they accomplished that by drawing Tucker in.

Tucker’s addition could mark a shift in play style from what we’ve seen in Woodson’s first three years. For the fourth spring in a row, Woodson has swooped in late and acquired a high recruit months away from his freshman season.

Tucker will bring his skill and athleticism to campus this summer. IU fans can get a live glimpse of Tucker in the McDonald’s All American game at 9 p.m., Tuesday on ESPN.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: What McDonald's All American Bryson Tucker brings to IU basketball