Tulane Green Wave Star Making Impact Despite Ice Cold Offensive Stretch

Everything was up for grabs on the Tulane Green Wave men’s basketball team entering the 2024-25 campaign.

Head coach Ron Hunter overhauled the team’s roster, resulting in a lot of inexperience. There isn’t a single senior and most of the players who would be making up the rotation didn’t have much playing time at the Division I level.

It would almost certainly lead to some hurdle during the season, which was the case. But, one of the players who emerged early-on was forward Kaleb Banks.

A transfer from the Indiana Hoosiers, he cemented his status as the team’s go-to scorer and No. 1 option offensively.

He was a true three-level scorer, getting it done at the rim, in the mid-range and from 3-point range. Fouling him was a mistake as well as he is a solid free throw shooter.

In the first 17 games of the season, he was lighting up the scoreboard.

Banks scored double figures in all but one game, reaching the 20-point plateau eight times. He poured in a career-high 33 against the Florida State Seminoles, creating a lot of optimism heading into American Athletic Conference play.

Unfortunately, things have been a struggle on the offensive end the last few weeks for the talented forward.

He has scored in single digits four games in a row and five out of the last seven. Scoring opportunities have been tough to come by, as defenses have adjusted to take him out of the game.

Things hit a new low against the Rice Owls as it was the first time this season that Banks failed to score at least one bucket in the game.

Luckily for the Green Wave, they have seen some of their more experienced players, such as Rowan Brumbaugh, Asher Woods and Gregg Glenn III step up their performances.

The trio all scored at least 20 points against Rice, accounting for 65 of Tulane’s 81 points in the victory, courtesy of a Woods buzzer-beater.

If the Green Wave want to accomplish their goal of securing a top four seed for the AAC tournament, they need to find a way to get their No. 1 scoring option back on track.

But, he does deserve some credit for not allowing his offensive woes to negatively impact the rest of his game.

“He (Banks) just needs to see the ball go in a couple times, and once he does that, I think he’ll be fine,” Hunter said via Guerry Smith of NOLA.com. “But the thing that I like is we have always showed up defensively. As long as you keep doing that, you’ll give yourself a chance every night.”

Despite his scoring numbers plummeting, Banks has remained active and engaged on the defensive side of the ball. He has recorded at least one block in six consecutive contests and on three occasions swatted multiple.

Against the Owls, he blocked three shots and pulled down six rebounds, helping control the paint for his team.

His work on the glass has been consistent as well, pulling down at least four rebounds in six out of the last seven games since his scoring numbers dipped.

It has been encouraging to see Banks still have a positive impact on the court. But, if this team is going to reach its full potential, they need him to become an offensive force once again.

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