PHOENIX -- It's fitting that while the Northeast remains blanketed in snow, Washington Bullets forward Anthony Tucker is here on an all-expenses-paid weekend -- courtesy of the NBA -- enjoying the desert sun.
It's fitting because Tucker might be the only player in the league who got his ticket to the big time thanks to a stretch of warm weather.
Tucker's journey began last July during the string of 100-degree days that hit the Washington area. As the Bullets prepared in their sweatbox of a practice facility at Bowie State for the New York summer league, players began dropping like flies, and a call was put out for some bodies.
"Basically I was there to give guys rest during practice because it was so hot," Tucker said. "They told me up front that I was not on their summer league team."
Guess what? Tucker was on that summer league team. And among the free agents invited to the veterans camp. And on the roster for the season opener at USAir Arena.
Today, Tucker is an NBA All-Star. A rookie all-star, that is, joining Bullets teammate Juwan Howard in tonight's Rookie Game. The two are among 16 first-year players who were selected for the game by a panel of media members who regularly cover the NBA.
Tucker and Phoenix Suns guard Trevor Ruffin will be the only undrafted players to appear in this year's game.
"I was happy and excited when they told me I was picked," said Tucker, 25, the oldest player selected for the game. "But more than anything, I was surprised. I mean, I was undrafted. And I didn't average a whole lot of points."
But Tucker played. It was a combination of injuries and the holdout of Howard that led to his making the team. When the Bullets found themselves short-handed, Tucker found himself garnering quite a few minutes.
He has played as many as 39 minutes in a game this season, and his season high is 18 points, which he had in Tuesday night's loss to the Detroit Pistons.
"With the injuries that we've had, it's a case where the guys on the bench have had to step up and produce," Bullets coach Jim Lynam said in the weeks after Chris Webber went down with his shoulder injury, when Tucker's minutes increased.
"Let's be honest -- Tuck shouldn't be playing 30-35 minutes a game. But the guy has taken advantage of his opportunity, and he has produced."
Tucker actually got a spot in the starting lineup before Howard, the No. 5 pick of last year's draft. That's not bad for a guy who, after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee three years ago, figured he would continue his recovery this season in a lesser league.
"I wanted to go overseas or play in the CBA," Tucker said. "I thought the CBA would be the best place for me because of the competition, and I wanted to see how much my leg had gotten back -- and how far I'd be away from maybe getting into the NBA."
It was assumed the NBA would be a sure thing for Tucker when he came out of Washington's McKinley Tech in 1987. A high school All-American, Tucker was the target of a recruiting battle won by John Thompson and Georgetown.
But Tucker would play at Georgetown for just one season, averaging 4.9 points in 28 games before transferring to Wake Forest.
"Being at home was hard for me," Tucker said of Georgetown. "I had so many friends coming up to school that I couldn't get my work done. I liked Georgetown, I liked Coach Thompson. We had good players and we were going to be highly ranked. I wanted to be a part of that."
Instead, Tucker wound up being a role player at Wake Forest, playing in the shadow of Rodney Rogers, now a forward with the Denver Nuggets.
"It wasn't a problem," Tucker said. "We had great players in Rodney and Chris King. They asked me to fulfill a role and I did. I felt I could have done more, but who was I to argue? I wanted to do exactly what it took for us to win."
It wasn't enough to get him a serious look from the NBA, so Tucker went to Germany. During a game there in 1992, Tucker was planting to jump for a rebound when another player ran into his leg.
Doctors there said the injury was a sprain, and Tucker played again. But when the swelling in his leg didn't go down, he returned to the United States, where he was told he had torn the ligament.
"I missed a whole year," Tucker said. "After three months I couldn't go to rehab because I couldn't afford it, so I started going to health spas. It's a grueling process to get back to where you were before."
Judging from where he is this weekend, it's safe to say that Tucker is close.
"It's not physical for me now, it's mental," Tucker said. "Sometimes I think about it when I go up in a crowd and have a quick flash. But I'm almost where I used to be physically."
This weekend he's somewhere he never imagined he would be seven months ago, when he was merely a practice player.
"No one knows who Anthony Tucker is, and that's fine with me," he said. "I'm a free agent, I've been out of school for a couple of years, who should know me? I'm just happy that all my hard work has paid off."
WHERE: America West Arena, Phoenix
WHEN: Tomorrow, 6 p.m.
TV: CHS. 11, 4