University of Arkansas at Little Rock redshirt juniors Rayjon Tucker and Deondre Burns are scheduled to graduate this summer and transfer, UALR men's Coach Darrell Walker confirmed Wednesday.
Tucker, a 6-5 guard/forward, was UALR's leading scorer at 20.3 points per game and led the Sun Belt Conference with 36.6 minutes played per game last season, his only year as a Trojan.
A Charlotte, N.C., native, Tucker became the fifth UALR player to score 600 points in a season. Tucker finished with 610 points -- the fourth-most in UALR history -- and finished fifth in field goal percentage (49.1 percent) in Sun Belt play.
Rumors of Tucker's pending transfer began to swirl around UALR's regular-season finale March 9, which is about the time the Trojans learned of Tucker's departure, Walker said.
"We had a good discussion," Walker said. "I told him I'm going to help him in any way I can, and I meant that. He's earned that right."
Tucker, who can defend four positions on the floor, came to UALR after two seasons at Florida Gulf Coast and did not play in 2017-18 because of the NCAA's transfer rules.
"He's going to get interest," Walker said. "If it was the other way around, I'd probably be making phone calls myself.
"But I'm at peace with it. I have no problem with it. I think when a player graduates, he has the right to want to be a grad transfer. It's really out of every coach's control in America."
The loss of Tucker and Burns means the Trojans (10-21, 5-13 Sun Belt) will lose two of their top four scorers from Walker's first season.
Burns, of Yazoo City, Miss., averaged 10.0 points in 25 total games (4 starts) as Walker's most trusted reserve.
"I'm still recruiting, still building my team, still building the program," Walker said.
Burns had the longest tenure of all Trojans players in 2018-19. A 6-2 guard, Burns experienced three different coaching changes in his four years at UALR and will soon play under a fourth coach upon his transfer.
"I would also like to thank Coach Chris Beard, Coach Wes Flanigan and Coach Darrell Walker for all believing in me and giving me a chance to be [a part] of their organization," Burns posted on Twitter.
"However, I made my decision to graduate transfer and for my last season in hopes of a memorable last ride."
Sports on 03/21/2019