Ummm…this isn’t good, especially for a team already lacking in depth:

Forward Jamil Tucker is taking an indefinite leave of absence from the Virginia men’s basketball team to focus on personal matters UVa head coach Tony Bennett announced on Wednesday (Nov. 11).

Tucker, a 6-9 senior from Gary, Ind., will not play in games or practice with the team during his leave of absence.

“Jamil has some things he has to deal with at this time,” Bennett said. “This leave of absence will give him time to deal with these matters.”

Tucker has a nice jump shot, but I always got the sense that Dave Leitao never quite knew how to use him. His skill set is somewhat unique for a player of his size. Of course, Tucker never wowed anyone on the defensive end, and isn’t a strong rebounder. That wouldn’t seem to make him a top priority in the Tony Bennett system, but what do I know? I haven’t been to a single practice this year.

Anyway, I don’t have any idea what the issue is, or when (whether?) Tucker will be back.

UPDATE: As noted by Ben from Dear Old UVa, in a comment below, I’m not quite correct about Tucker’s rebounding ability. He’s actually not a bad defensive rebounder at all, which I discovered after actually looking at his stats. Novel concept, huh?

That’s what I get for relying on memory/impression. I’m afraid my SABR membership card is going to be revoked.

Anyway, Ben has an excellent post on the subject here. I join him in wishing Tucker the best of luck, no matter where this leads.