James Tucker is the only one who has been there.

It's the place every CIAA basketball player wants to be -- on the floor for the conference tournament final.

Four seasons ago, Tucker was a freshman guard at N.C. Central when the Eagles made a run at the CIAA championship in its first season at the Entertainment and Sports Arena, now known as the RBC Center in Raleigh.

Former coach Greg Jackson's squad upset perennial power Virginia Union -- for the second time in less than two weeks with Tucker running the show -- in the semifinals, then took on a balanced Winston-Salem State team for the title.

WSSU, which was the only team N.C. Central couldn't figure out how to challenge that season, won 63-50 and kept alive that long string of NCCU shortcomings in the CIAA Tournament. In case you're keeping score, they last won it under John McLendon in 1950.

Then Tucker's career was interrupted, by the combination of academic difficulties and the responsibilities of taking care of one of his three children.

The 6-0, 175-pound Tucker, who turned 26 on Wednesday, has seen his basketball career undergo a lot of fits and starts.

He was the scoring machine for Durham High from 1992-95, averaging 30.5 points per game as a freshman to start a run of three conference player-of-the-year awards. But then the Durham Public Schools closed the old school -- albeit with a year's notice, part of a plan to convert the facility into what is now Durham School of the Arts -- and Tucker had to transfer to former rival Hillside.

The on-court success continued there, as he averaged 18.7 points and 4.6 assists for Coach Chet Mebane's 21-5 Hornets.

But Tucker was better on the court than in the classroom, heading to Compton (Calif.) Junior College to try to get his academics in shape.

"Coach Jackson talked to me a couple of times about coming to Central," said Tucker, whose nickname is "Bug." "I wanted to play here because it's close to home and a lot of friends and family could watch me play. Plus, I knew a lot of the guys on the team at the time."

So he got a chance to play for the Eagles in the second semester of the 1999-2000 season and gave a good account of himself.

Tucker started seven of 18 games and averaged 7.2 points with 2.9 assists and 1.7 steals as a freshman.

Next came a two-season hiatus. But then he came back and didn't seem to have missed a beat. Last season, he was part of a sort of "fire and ice" -- with apologies to N.C. State -- point-guard tandem, with steady Michael Noel being the ice and the often electric Tucker the fire.

He averaged 7.3 points and 2.3 assists with nearly one steal a game.

Now with Noel out of eligibility, Tucker will have the ball in his hands much more.

And he is one of the Eagles' tri-captains, along with preseason All-CIAA junior Curtis Knight and David Young, a senior transfer from Xavier.

"I say we have 2½ seniors [including forward Jermond Debro], and Bug is the half," NCCU coach Phil Spence said. "He can play three more semesters, and I told him if he isn't satisfied after this season to come back next spring so he can play in two more CIAA Tournaments.

"I really like his grit and his toughness. He's a great leader for us, and I'm expecting big things from him. And he really finished last season well."

Tucker emphasized that, as he averaged 17 points in the Eagles' two games in the CIAA Tournament.

They lost 99-87 in the semifinals to conference and eventual South Atlantic Regional champion Bowie State.

"This is really a hard-working team and I think a good decision-making team," said Tucker, who is majoring in recreation. "We have a lot of heart. Coach hasn't guaranteed anybody a lot. He just said the guys who work the hardest are the ones who are going to play.

"I know I'll have a whole lot more leadership responsibility this time. He's expecting me to do everything. I'm hoping to average at least 16 points and eight assists and get considered for All-CIAA. I can slash and penetrate, and I'm expecting to score a lot of points that way."

And he said the team's goals should be simple.

"We just have to get better every day," he said. "We've got to play great defense. And we've got to show a lot of guts, determination and willpower."