Where Tulane Basketball Stands

In previous decades, the Tulane basketball programs were considered the real winners of the major sports programs in Uptown. People can rattle off the Green Wave teams that have made it to tournament championships and beyond. There are some rumblings amongst the fan base for those programs. Let's address that.

Our weekly Green Wave Report focuses on basketball and where baseball stands. You can view that at 4:00 p.m. Monday on our YouTube Channel.

Tulane Men's Basketball

There was only one player Ron Hunter could rely on this season on a day-in, day-out basis. Rowan Brumbaugh. The pre-season American Conference player of the year did it all: field goals, free throws, assists, steals, rebounds, you name it. Unfortunately, little assistance could be found on a consistent basis on the Tulane roster.

It was heart-breaking what this team lost, both on the court and in their hearts, when Gregg Glenn III died in the Summer of '25 in a swimming accident. That made Hunter and his coaches shift people into positions they were not prepared to play. All that aside, the Green Wave finished with a winning record, the third time in Hunter's seven seasons at Fogelman.

What Needs to Change: a big man presence, an NIL guru, is Hunter Sticking Around

The eternal optimist, it seems like Hunter thinks he has THE big man every year, and every time it's not exactly what the pre-season notes have promised. Tulane needs a true big man/men who are athletic and have an arm span that will help with Hunter's matchup zone defense (yes, we said zone, because that's what it really is, Ron...)

Everybody knew who would have the ball in his hands when the game was on the line this year. We would not be surprised if some big school swoops in and takes Rowan Brumbaugh away, enticed by money and the chance to improve his NBA stock. Thus we believe Tulane should make the move and hire someone who can lead the way for Hunter in the NIL minefields on a full time basis. That won't save Brumbaugh from possibly moving on from Fogelman, but it would allow Hunter the chance to do what he was hired to do: coach.

According to sources, Hunter is going to stick around for at least another year. Even with the probable absence of his star guard, Brumbaugh, he loves what he loves to do: coach. After this year of tragedy, we find that amazing. Hunter has worked into many a conversation this year with us that he has been coaching for 40-years. In our experience, you start mentioning the length of your stay in a profession when you are starting to think about hanging up the accoutrement associated with said profession. Will Hunter stick around more than a year? From what we hear, that is completely up to him.

Tulane Women's Basketball

Coach Ashley Langford brought in eight new faces, including freshmen. Unfortunately, by the time the season had come to a close, only nine players on the beginning of the year roster were in uniform due to injuries that ransacked the Green Wave. Not making excuses. Just the facts. Among those new faces, we saw a pair of frosh who truly could take things to the next level

Mecailin Marshall was good enough to be named Freshman of the Year in the American Conference. The first year from Lubbock was second on the team in scoring, averaging 10.5-points per game, hitting a scorching 84% of her free throws. She drives to the basket fearlessly, and, as the year wore on, she learned how to take a foul and get to the free throw line.

Shiloh Kimpson was forced to start at the point guard position starting on February 19th after starter Kendall Sneed injured her knee. The freshman from Little Elm, Texas, in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, grew exponentially over the last few games. Quick, ready to push things up the floor, Kimpson had to learn on the fly, but came ready to do so.

Two things that need to change for next year: turnovers and rebounds.

Langford's troops averaged over 17-turnovers a game, way too many to make in a contest. Point guard Sneed led the team with 77 total for the year, and she missed the last five games of the season. Ball protection needs to be a priority for the Green Wave.

You might be surprised here, but Tulane outrebounded their opponents by a slim eight rebounds on the year. However, out of the 12-hundred collective boards, only 389 of them were on the offensive glass. That is not an acceptable number. Forwards Dyllan Hanna and Amira Mabry had the size to make a difference there, but it wasn't enough. The Green Wave need aggressive, physical players in the front court.

American Conference Tournament

The American needs to move their basketball tournament out of Birmingham. Sorry, but B'ham is not tops on most folks' "I wanna visit there as soon as I can" list.

Worse than that, when the home team, UAB, took the court in Legacy Arena for their one and only game in the tournament, you could hear echoes throughout the cavernous venue. Try as they might the ESPN cameras could not hide the lack of attendance for what was essentially a home game for the Blazers. The American doesn't need a 17-thousand seat arena to house its tournament. What it DOES need, though, is a crowd.

Move the games to Memphis. The Tigers averaged almost 10-thousand fans a game this year. Even if Memphis is not in the tournament, you've got Graceland, bar-b-que, and a not-at-all bad city to visit.

Someone suggested Fogelman. Nah. Tulane averaged 13-hundred fans per game. That will not bode well for other teams when they come to town. Yes, New Orleans is a world-class city, but there would need to be an almost-guaranteed attendance at the games. Besides that, Fogelman would have to have four locker rooms available at all times. That might be a problem for the over 100-year old venue.

Move the American tourney to Memphis.