Anthony Tarke is not your typical rookie. He is older then half the roster of the Detroit Pistons, even though he just got out of college. He has also attended four different schools after graduating high school.
Tarke, a 6-foot-6, 220-pound guard, is definitely not the 18/19-year-old who played one year of college and then went pro. That is the type many NBA teams have favored.
But Tarke earned his spot at the Henry Ford Performance Center, where Pistons training camp opens on September 28.
https://twitter.com/AnthonyTarke/status/1430370764654526465
Tarke took advantage of Detroit resting its top players for the last couple of games of NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. Despite not having Cade Cunningham, Killian Hayes and Saddiq Bey, the Pistons beat the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic.
Tarke stood out especially in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers. He filled the stat sheet with 10 points (making 5 of 6 shots), four rebounds, three blocks, two assists and a steal.
Here is a taste of him in action:
Anthony Tarke tips the shot to force the miss and then finishes with the nice transition drive and bucket pic.twitter.com/IzAaVePRzH
— Aram Cannuscio (@AC__Hoops) August 15, 2021
About a week after summer league ended, Tarke signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Pistons. With all the hullabaloo involving rookies Luka Garza and Jamorko Pickett, Tarke’s signing kind of went under the radar.
Tarke realizes the chance he has, despite all the obstacles that have been in his way, as he told Pressboxonline.com back in July.
"“It’s a blessing,” said Tarke. “It’s like everything in life, though, you have to work hard. That’s the process, work really hard if you want to make your dream a reality.”"
Tarke can do a little bit of everything on the court. In his senior year at Coppin State, he averaged 16.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.9 blocks per game. Tarke was named the Mid-East Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
Besides being an excellent defender, with his size, he can guard players from point guard thru power forward, Tarke was consistent on offense, scoring double figures in 20 of 22 games for Coppin State.
With his defensive prowess and versatility, Tarke will be in contention to make the NBA team. With an Exhibit 10 deal, at the very least, he will be paid more than the typical G-League player if he ends up with the Motor City Cruise.
But Tarke’s journey to Pistons training camp was an interesting and rare path.