Tulane Green Wave's Seldom-Used Forward Receives Major Praise From Coach

The Tulane Green Wave entered the 2024-25 men’s basketball season with virtually every role up for grabs.

There weren’t many returning players from last year's squad that finished a disappointing 14-17 and in a five-way tie for last place in the American Athletic Conference with a 5-13 record.

Several transfers and freshmen were going to make up a roster that didn’t have a single senior.

Head coach Ron Hunter knew he would have his hands full with such an inexperienced group and it would take time for everything to gel.

One of the intriguing players brought into the program was Tyler Ringgold.

Originally committed to the Texas A&M Aggies out of high school, the Southern Lab (Louisiana) product transferred back home as a redshirt freshman.

Any time a player from a power conference team transfers into Tulane, especially a local product, there will be excitement.

Out of the gate, Ringgold looked like he would be an integral part of the team’s rotation. He scored 10 points in each of the first two games and by Game 2 was inserted into the starting five.

For four straight games, he started. He received double-digit minutes in seven out of the first eight contests as well; the only time he missed he played nine minutes off the bench against the Wyoming Cowboys.

However, after a loss to the Belmont Bruins, where the team’s leading scorer Kaleb Banks was out because of injury, Hunter made some adjustments to his rotation.

One of the players who saw their role reduced drastically was Ringgold.

In the following nine games, he has reached double-digit minutes played only once; Dec. 20, 2024, against Dillard, a local HBCU that plays in the NAIA. Eight minutes is the most playing time he received in a contest since Nov. 27, 2024.

On one occasion, against the UAB Blazers, he didn’t even get onto the court as he was a DNP-Coach’s Decision.

That certainly isn’t what Ringgold was expecting when he committed to the Green Wave, but he has not let it deter him.

Those eight minutes came against the South Florida Bulls in what is arguably the team’s most impressive win of the campaign.

And his performance is one that Hunter made note of with some postgame comments.

“We do not win this game if it wasn’t for Tyler Ringgold,” Hunter said via Guerry Smith of NOLA.com. “We needed some aggressive energy, and when he came in that run was huge for us. It gave us a lift, got the whole bench up and got the arena going.”

Entering the game 2-for-15 on 3-point attempts, he knocked down a corner jumper that sparked a 9-0 Tulane run to respond to a 16-4 run the Bulls had put together to take a 57-48 lead.

He scored his second basket of the game on a putback attempt that tied the game up.

That energy and effort is contagious and something the Green Wave can certainly use more of going forward.

As the team moves along in their AAC schedule, it is certainly possible Ringgold’s playing time starts ticking up as he continues making a positive impact.

It is never easy playing a small reserve role, but he is embracing it and making the most of his opportunities when his number is called.