Sheffield Sharks captain Mike Tuck drops hint about his future before BBL play-offs clash

The 39-year-old forward is preparing for a thirteenth consecutive play-off campaign with Sheffield, having joined the club in 2009, and could play his last game as a professional at Ponds Forge on Sunday.

The Sharks, who finished second in the regular BBL season, have been drawn against Glasgow Rocks in the first round.

“It’s still not like a firm decision I have made yet,” Tuck said of his future ahead of the first leg in Scotland on Friday.

"It’s more so focusing on the task in hand. I’m not going to lie that I haven’t thought about it (Sunday being his last game)...I’m going to say ‘no comment.’”

British-Canadian dual-national Tuck has captained Sheffield since 2012 and was named Most Valuable Player when they beat Leicester to lift the play-off trophy in 2016.

That triumph remains the club’s most-recent silverware and following their highest finish since 2013/14, Tuck and his teammates head into this season’s campaign in good shape.

"We are really excited,” he said.

"As a team, as a collective, everybody is really looking forward to this match-up.

"We are playing really good basketball right now, coach Atiba has got us peaking at the right time.”

Sheffield ended the 2021/22 season with 17 wins and 10 defeats.

They beat Glasgow twice in the BBL Cup this term but were beaten on two of the three occasions the pair met in the Championship.

Their most recent clash on April 17 saw Rocks win the game in the final second thanks to a dramatic buzzer-beater.

“That was a tough loss,” Tuck added.

"I think it’s a good thing for us, it’s still fresh in the mouth, the bad taste stuck in our teeth, we are going to want to right that wrong.

”The best part is that we have seen them enough now that we know what to expect.”

Sheffield hope to be at full strength this weekend, but point guard Antwain Johnson will miss out after having Achilles surgery following a partial tear.

Tuck said: “This team is extremely unique. We have a lot of talent, depth and guys willing to sacrifice themselves to play for each other.”