1. Derek Alan Rucker was born on October 2,1966 and is an American-Australian former professional basketball player who starred in the Australian National Basketball League for 15 seasons.
15 Facts About Derek Rucker
1. 2.
Derek Rucker accepted a basketball scholarship to attend Davidson College and quickly established himself as a player and leader by starting from his freshman year onwards.
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Derek Rucker led the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament his sophomore season and finished at Davidson as the 3rd all-time leading scorer and all-time assists and steals leader.
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Derek Rucker was one of the most dynamic and exciting players in the history of the NBL and won the league's coveted Most Valuable Player award with the Brisbane Bullets in 1990.
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Derek Rucker began his career with Brisbane and played for the Newcastle Falcons, Townsville Suns and West Sydney Razorbacks before returning to the Bullets to finish his career.
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Derek Rucker finished his NBL career in the top ten all-time in several statistical categories: scoring, assists, steals and three-point field goals made.
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Derek Rucker finished in the top five in MVP voting four times in a six-year span.
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Derek Rucker appeared in two championship series and was a two-time All-Star Game MVP.
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Derek Rucker played an aggressive, attacking offensive game using a combination of skilled moves with the ball.
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Derek Rucker was a match-winning point guard who scored heavily while amassing high assist totals throughout his career.
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Derek Rucker is the son of former NFL standout Reggie Derek Rucker and Carole Gooch, and has two younger brothers.
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Derek Rucker worked for numerous media entities in Australia during and after his playing career including Fox Sports, Channel 9, Radio 2UE Sydney, B105FM Brisbane and Brisbane's Courier Mail.
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Derek Rucker co-hosted the national NBL weekly recap show in with Stephanie Brantz on Australia's Channel 9 network.
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Derek Rucker later ran a high-end sports tour in the United States called D-Ruck's Dream USA Sports Getaway.
15.
On May 23,2014, Derek Rucker joined the Gladstone Port City Power of the Queensland Basketball League for a one-game stint.