Head coach Rick Barnes adamantly refused to comment on Sunday on the eligibility of the sophomore after much speculation has surfaced regarding his possible failure to meet academic requirements.
"I won’t talk anything about that situation," said Barnes. "I can’t."
Whether Tucker will be eligible or not once the school year starts on Tuesday, Texas officials confirmed that Tucker is able to play in Monday's home contest against No. 6 Oklahoma State.
If Tucker should miss the remainder of the season, Texas players are confident in their ability to fill the void.
"He is a very vital part of this team, and he has great leadership," said G Daniel Gibson. "But if he wasn’t able to play, it would be an opportunity for someone to step up and be that kind of player."
"We work pretty hard to where, if a couple players go down, we don’t miss too much," added Gibson.
Forward Jason Klotz agreed with Gibson.
"If something were to happen, we would come together as a team," said Klotz.
"As a group, we need to understand what our goals are and focus on Oklahoma State," Klotz added.
[IT subscribers, click here for more discussion of Tucker's status.]