AUSTIN, Texas (AP)—P.J. Tucker took the pass on the fast break, glided through the layup and went straight to the student section of cheering fans while pointing his index finger in the air.
Tucker was back on the court for the No. 2 Texas Longhorns and having fun again.
“Oh man, it was great,” Tucker said after scoring 18 points in Texas’ season-opening 89-56 win over Southern on Tuesday night in the first round of the Guardians Classic tournament. The game was his official return after missing the final 14 games of last season with grade problems.
“The fans came out and screamed my name,” Tucker said. “I remember last year, having to sit on the sideline, perfectly fit, not hurt or anything, and not being able to do anything about it.”
Texas fans got a double dose of big returns. Sophomore center LaMarcus Aldridge, who missed 15 games last season because of a hip injury, showed off his new, more muscular body with 19 points and 11 rebounds for his second career double-double.
“It feels good, but we have a long season, a long way to go,” Aldridge said.
After getting to hear their names in the pregame introductions again, the duo got off to a quick start, hitting 10 of their first 13 shots. Brad Buckman added 16 points for the Longhorns.
Texas also hit 10 3-pointers. The tournament is using an experimental distance of 20 feet, 9 inches, a foot deeper than normal.
Peter Cipriano had 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead Southern (0-1).
Tucker was declared academically ineligible midway through last season and Texas went 6-8 without their floor leader, losing in the first round of the NCAA tournament. It was the first time the Longhorns didn’t advance to the round of 16 in four years. Aldridge was sidelined for the same stretch of games with his injury.
Tucker quickly made up for lost time, scoring 10 points in the first nine minutes. It was after his second basket when he strutted over to the student section to hear the cheers.
“I don’t take anything for granted any more,” he said. “Every time I step on the court, I try to give them my all.”
His return wasn’t entirely painless, however. Just a few minutes into the game, Tucker stretched for a steal and hit the floor hard. He stayed there for about a minute, grimacing as he grabbed his left shoulder. He was taken off the bench but returned a few minutes later with no apparent problems and said after the game he was fine.
Once back on the court, Tucker’s steal and layup followed by his 3-point play put Texas up 23-13. If he was rusty in any way, it came in the form of four turnovers.
“P.J. still a little bit over-aggressive,” said coach Rick Barnes. “I like him being that way. Some of those turnovers we can take. He’s working harder than he’s ever worked before.”
Aldridge, a 6-foot-10 center who used his time off the court to add 15 pounds of muscle in the weight room, hit eight of his first nine shots and displayed a nifty hook that he used with ease over the much smaller Jaguars. His dunk on a putback of a Tucker miss gave Texas a 32-16 lead with 6:47 left in the first half.
“I did not realize Aldridge was as long as he is. He covers a lot of ground out there. Very tough to defend,” said Southern coach Rob Spivery. “Tonight it was real tough on us because of the size, strength and quickness around the basket.”
Texas led 51-38 with 17 minutes left in the second when a layup by Aldridge sparked a 14-0 run that stretched it to 65-38.
Barnes said Aldridge’s improvement has been so rapid from game to game— when healthy and on the court—that he would have been ready for the NBA after last season if he had not been injured.
“If he hadn’t gotten hurt, we wouldn’t have watched him play tonight,” Barnes said. “I think he’d be in the NBA.”
The Longhorns will play Samford on Wednesday night in the second round of the tournament. The Bulldogs (1-0) beat Sacramento State 52-49 on Tuesday night.
