Hapoel Holon has seen much success over the past half decade having won an Israeli league championship while also featuring in the Basketball Champions League Final Four as well as having gone deep into the continental playoffs as well. A lot of that success was under head coach Guy Goodes who retuned to the team this past offseason after having spent the past campaign with his childhood club Hapoel Haifa.

While in Haifa, Goodes was able to work with a number of players that he felt could take the next step in their careers and one of those was Dakarai Tucker who arrived in Israel back in 2021 where he began to work up the ladder in the second division. After a successful run with Ashkelon and Ramat Gan, Tucker joined the Carmel Reds last year and became a regular contributor under Goodes who took him along to the purples where the shooting guard will now have a chance to play in Europe.

The Sports Rabbi had a chance to sit down with Tucker to look back at his career to date, moving up to Holon and all kinds of other basketball tidbits.

“I’m very excited to join Holon,” Tucker began. “Different team, different atmosphere and different group of guys, so I’m very excited to see how the outcome of the season turns out. The fans have been pretty exciting so far and while we haven’t experienced a full crowd yet a lot of fans came to the open practice and showed us support and love, so that was a great little experience. But I can’t wait to get this whole thing packed out and have the atmosphere going crazy.”

Along with coach Guy Goodes, Marcus Bingham also joined the former Haifa contingent in Hooon which was definitely music to Tucker’s ears, “Unfortunately we didn’t sign back in Haifa, we thought everybody was going to go back to Haifa but then it didn’t pan out to be like that. It was good to come back with Guy, a coach that I know how his system is, what he wants and what you have to do to be on his good side which is to compete, play hard and just play the right way.

“As far as Marcus, me being the older guy he asks me questions, kind of looks up to me and it’s pretty fun taking somebody like that under your wing, especially a new guy coming into Israel and I have been here in my fourth year. I had to teach him the ropes about Israel and he came back for another season. At first he was like ‘No, I don’t want to come back’, but then he realized that Israel is a nice place and he came to a way better team, so he said, ‘I’m coming back’. It’s pretty fun matching up with him again.”

Tucker grew up playing both soccer and basketball in his youth and really preferred hoops because it was indoors, “I just picked it up and made it a living,” he explained.

Just like many basketball players, Dakarai which means ‘happiness’, looked up to his father as he developed as he continued to develop, “My dad was very big on working out everyday and making sure I would stay active. He told me, ‘You’re going to get a scholarship for school, for track or for basketball’, because I used to run a lot. He always pushed me to become a better person each day. He taught me how to just grind and it paid off.”

One of Tucker best friend’s is NBA star Kyle Kuzma who is currently playing with the Washington Wizards, “That’s my brother. Seeing where he was and where he is now is a pretty good sight, to see somebody’s journey take off like that. It’s good to have somebody like that too, gets you better as a player and also off the court it’s great vibes, no negative energy, positive person, wants to get better himself and that just motivated me a little bit more even though he’s younger than me. It motivated me to keep pushing and know the ins and outs of everything. It was pretty fun. 

While playing with the Rio Grande Vipers, Tucker was part of the 2019 G-League Championship Team, That was amazing, probably my best experience. Winning a championship just feels like a whole lot of weight is off your shoulder because you went through a whole season, ups and downs, new teammates, people come in and out, it’s a fun experience. Hands down, that has probably been my favorite season of all time.” 

It was onto Hungary after that for his first season abroad which was followed by his debut campaign in Israel, “Hungary was a little bit different. Each city is very small and quiet, it was definitely something different for me. I came in, the coach brought me in but not even half way through the season he got fired and now I got to deal with a different coach and different system. It was a good learning experience for me, first overseas Europe job. It was a cool experience.

“After Covid I was planning on going back to the G-League, I was playing in the TBT and then coach Shmulik Brenner from Ramat Gan contacted my agent telling me he wants me to come to Israel and I was like, ‘I don’t know’, this was a time that there was Covid and a war going on, and this is all I knew, so I said, I don’t know if I want to do it’. We ended up losing the TBT, I was either going to do G League or go to Israel. Everyone was telling me, ‘Israel is a great place, Israel is a great place’, and I was like, ‘I’ll try it out’. Shmulik Brenner brought me to Ramat Gan in the first year to try to help them go to the first division and win the championship. We lost the championship, that was a hard time for me too. It’s a good process to see where I started and the progress of going all the way to the first division. It’s all a good experience.”

After a short stint with Galil Elyon and a season with Ashkelon, Tucker was slated to play with Maccabi Raanana on their US preseason exhibition tour when the Hamas attacks on Israel occurred on October 7th.

“It was pretty wild. We were sleeping in New York, my roommate Julien (Ducree) was like, ‘Call your people, make sure they’re ok’. I ended up calling a really close friend out here, she sent me all of the videos and told me what’s going on, more people sent me videos and I was like, ‘Oh, Snap! This is getting real’. In the first game against Brooklyn I felt the support for Israel, there were a lot of fans in New York supporting Israel, no one really knew who we were but just with the simple fact of what was going on there was a lot of support for the team and for the country. That was a pretty cool experience, but in the same time it felt like what happened on October 7 had an impact on me as well because I got a lot of close friends, not family but I consider them family, that have to go through something like this.

“I know exactly what’s going on as it goes further back to history – it’s all what happened on October 7 and that’s what people finally realized, they tried to throw it overboard, ‘It’s going on for years’, but I tried to explain to people that Israel is a wonderful place, paradise, good people, great vibes, not what people see on the media in the States, the media tries to portray Israel as a bad place, but it’s really not.”

Tucker wanted to return to Israel and didn’t have any thoughts about staying back in America, “I wanted to come back because I have a really close friend and she was calling me stressed out so I just wanted to make sure that she was good. I wanted to come back, support her and make sure she was ok, so I was trying to find a team in the top league. Teams were telling me, ‘We’re looking for a guard’, ‘We’re looking for a forward, man’, so I told my agent, ‘I’ll play the 4 if I have too’. That’s when he approached Guy Goodes who thought about it and brought me in. He said, ‘this guy’s not a 4 but he can play the 4, the 3 and the 2’ and that’s what happened. Guy brought me in, he liked me, I brought a different type of energy on and off the court, I was a good positive person. I love Israel, it’s an amazing place, so I was like, ‘I have to get back here’. I have my dog here, that’s the most important thing too.”

Once with Hapoel Haifa, Tucker did everything in his power to show Goodes that he was right in invoking him to a deal and that he would be a player who will put it all out on the floor for his team.

“I came in and Guy told me, ‘nothing’s promised, we need you here as an energy guy to come in and do what you have to do’ and it turned out I was something different. I ended up rolling my ankle at practice and sat out for a month or something like that and I came back even hungrier just wanting to play. Things started changing, we started winning games and putting Haifa back on the map a little bit. It was fun being at the bottom, coming out of the dog house and ending out making the playoffs. It didn’t go how we wanted to but just to see we were on the verge of getting relegated to the second division and then being a playoff team was pretty much an accomplishment. I feel like we still won at the end of the day because we were a team that wasn’t looked at or wasn’t even thought of going to the playoffs.”

From Haifa it was over to Holon with Goodes in a move that was in fact quite a surprise for Tucker, “I wasn’t expecting it. I thought I was going to go back to Haifa and then my agent called me and said, ‘We have an offer from Holon. Guy loves you and wants you to be part of the team’. Guy called me and said I fit the atmosphere on and off the court, he said I’ll fit the program perfectly and said this is were I already belong, dealing with the atmosphere of the fans and the type of player I am, a hustle player, ready to grind and to work, a very competitive person and he said, ‘that’s what I need, I rather you come with me than go anywhere else’, so I was like, ‘Let’s get to work’.”

The Holon fanbase is one of the best in the country and Tucker is excited to have the opportunity to play in front of them, “Oh my goodness, nothing I ever experienced before. I was very shocked. I have a friend that works at the airport and she said, ‘We got fans here’, and I was like, ‘No way’. Once I’ve seen that I was like, This is definitely going to be a one for the books.”

Holon will only register four important during the Israeli season while there a4e five that are designed to play with the club which means someone will need to sit one each domestic league game, however, that won’t bother Tucker, “I’ll get motivated every day. I just want to play, do the best I can for the team, play or don’t play I still show support and even if I’m off the court I’m still going to be there and it’s going to feel like I’m on the court, talking on the sideline and helping the guys out. I’m just here to compete, coach knows he has a dawg on the side ready to go, so whenever I’m off that leash is time to go’.”

Tucker won’t have an issue playing in the BCL as five foreign players can feature without an issue and this will be the first time that he will play in a continental competition which is thrilled about, “I’m very excited. It’s something new for me, they got to be ready for a new guy coming in, they’ve never seen me play before, I’ve never played in the Champions League, so it’s going to be a little test for me to see where I’m at, but I’m ready, I’m not shying away from it.”

According to the basketball experts, this season will see a trio of teams battling it out for the league title in Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hapoel Jerusalem and Hapoel Tel Aviv with Hapoel Holon coming in a distant fourth place, but that doesn’t bother Tucker, “Like I said, I’m a competitive person, I’m surrounded by a lot of competitive people and it’s a different type of game when we come against Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi. I feel like we’ll be way more locked in just how we were in Haifa when we played against Hapoel Tel Aviv where we were ready to compete. We got a group of dawgs. That’s all it is when it comes to playing big teams like that, just ready to compete and it’s a dog fight.”

Tucker explained that he has a trio of coaches that have helped him mold into the player he is today, “My high school coach, Dwan Hurt RIP, he passed when I was in college. He was honest, wanted you to compete and just go out there, fight and just play for, he always told us that, ‘It’s bigger than you and I, you’re playing for something bigger than you and I’, and I carried that on all the way to this day. This is always bigger than you and I, playing for the fans, the program and the country. Secondly, Joseph Blair was my G-League coach, we won the championship together. By far one of the funniest coaches, he just created a fun atmosphere for everybody, but as long as you came in and you’re getting your work done he was happy and everybody else was happy, and it was a great experience. Thirdly, of course Guy Goodes, because he gave me an opportunity to actually pick up the game and show myself in the first division. I was sitting home for 2 months and Guy gave me an opportunity and I feel like that really changed my life a lot because I was sitting home stressed and I’m like, ‘I ain’t got a job, nothing’, and then Guy give me an opportunity and I couldn’t thank him more, I’m very appreciative for giving me this opportunity.”

Tucker loves the Israeli life style and he identified two things that he enjoys the most about living in the Holy Land, “The people, I love the energy of the people, they can come off a little rude, but at the end of the day, if you need anything, help, they would go to the end for you. That’s what I love about the Israeli people, they’re very supportive, loving and family orientated. Shabbat is one of my favorite days because we don’t have that in the States where everyone gathers around, eats a meal to just relax and chill, try to put down your phones and escape the outside world. Just worry about being within your family and that’s something that I really enjoy. Secondly, of course the food!”

As for the goals this coming season, Tucker wants to take it one day at a time, “Take it day by day, get better each day and of course win a championship, but to get there everything is focused on taking it day by day, because you can’t sit here and say, ‘That’s the goal, to win a championship’. To get to win a championship you got to get better each day, day by day, take it game in a time and if we do all of that, then everything else will take care of itself and the championship will be handed to us. Take care of business day by day.”

Just like many basketball players, Tucker’s biggest dream is to play in the world’s greatest league, “To make it to the NBA is my biggest dream. I’m getting older and my clock is going down, but who knows, I might get the opportunity to touch the floor one more time. Right now I’m just trying to live out my basketball career, try to reach the highest point of my basketball career that I can and I’m going to keep going till the wheels come off.”