Mike Tuck overwhelmed by reaction as he breaks Sheffield Sharks points record

The Sheffield Sharks captain became the club’s all-time leading BBL points scorer on 4,254 with a three-pointer in their 70-65 win at Surrey Scorchers.

It is a milestone he has been slowly closing in on all season; slowly because at age 38 he does not get as many minutes on the court as his much younger team-mates.

The pursuit had been playing on his mind, to the point where he admitted he was unable to relax on Friday night when the Sky Sports cameras were at Ponds Forge for Sharks’ game with Bristol Flyers in which they expected Tuck would break the record.

So he was a relieved man on Sunday when he finally surpassed Todd Cauthorn’s 5,252 points in a Sharks jersey – and then taken aback at the reaction.

“I was feeling the love on social media on Sunday, it was pretty cool,” he said of the goodwill towards him. “Obviously I knew how many points I needed, I knew my team-mates were aware, but I didn’t know if the rest of the gym knew.

“I started the game a bit antsy, I missed my first and second shots and then finally I got a nice little put-back in for two points and it’s like ‘okay, I’m only two points away now’.

“Then a couple of minutes later I had a pick-and-pop three from the top of the key and I swished it in, and finally I’d done it.

“It was a little bit overhwelming for me. The announcer at Surrey Scorchers announced it in front of the crowd, and it speaks volumes when you’re an away player getting cheers from the home crowd.

“Then in the car ride on the way home we were listening to the Cheshire game on the radio and they were even talking about it there.

“It was something that was celebrated across the league and I was definitely feeling the love across the BBL on Sunday night.”

The three-pointer offered a perfect symmetry, Tuck having scored a three-pointer against the then-Guildford Heat back in December 2009.

“I’d missed my moment on Friday, I’m still kicking myself that I didn’t get it on Sky,” he said.

“I would have loved to have got it at home in front of the Sky cameras, but it wasn’t meant to be.

“But it’s nice to have gone full circle, two of the biggest points of my career are three-pointers down in Surrey.”

Tuck, who is also recognisable due to his work as a pundit on Sky’s NBA and BBL coverage, joked: “I’m relieved everyone will stop asking me about it. In terms of career wise, I’m just grateful to the Sheffield Sharks for letting a skinny kid from Canada stick around on their team for this long and giving me the opportunity to do what I love.

“I never would have thought when I first showed up in Sheffield that 13 seasons later I’d be the all-time leading record point scorer.”