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Tulane Basketball: Mike Dunleavy Sr. fired after 3 years as head coach

By Joey Loose

NEW ORLEANS, LA - NOVEMBER 11: Head coach Mike Dunleavy, Sr. of the Tulane Green Wave reacts during the first half of a game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Smoothie King Center on November 11, 2016 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - NOVEMBER 11: Head coach Mike Dunleavy, Sr. of the Tulane Green Wave reacts during the first half of a game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Smoothie King Center on November 11, 2016 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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Let’s look at the coaching career of Mike Dunleavy while also figuring out what Tulane does with their next hire.

Following three less than successful seasons, Tulane has fired head coach Mike Dunleavy Sr. The former NBA head coach was unable to win games with the Mean Green and the team really bottomed out this past season. He was ranked 165th in our early season head coach rankings, but a lot of that took his NBA experience into account; things did not go well in New Orleans for him.

Prior to his hiring, Dunleavy did not have any experience at the college level since graduating from South Carolina in 1976. He played more than a decade in the NBA after being a 6th round pick by the 76ers, though he was better known for his coaching. After a brief stint with the Milwaukee Bucks as an assistant, he would serve as head coach of the Lakers, Bucks, Trail Blazers, and Clippers, winning 613 games across two decades. He was NBA Coach of the Year with Portland in 1999 and took his first Lakers squad to the NBA Finals in 1991.

Despite these accolades, this success did not translate to the college level. Tulane had recently become members of the AAC and had yet to really compete in the league. Dunleavy inherited a team that went 12-22 in 2016 and didn’t exactly bring growth to the program. After a 6-win debut, the Green Wave won 14 games last season and it looked like they were at least trending in the right direction. However, the wheels fell off the bus this year, with a 4-27 mark and a winless run through AAC play.

Dunleavy’s 24-69 mark was very unsatisfactory and this team really struggled on offense this season. The next coach will inherit the team’s two leading scorers (if they return), but this team needs a new breath of life on offense. Sophomore guard Caleb Daniels (16.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and junior forward Samir Sehic (12.4 ppg, 7.7 rpg) have paced a team that also really struggled with turnovers. Simply put, the bottom caved in on this team and this season and they will need a complete rebuild by the next coach.

One of the early favorites to land the job is former Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy. He knows the local area well and led the Rebels to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances during his run in the SEC. Another name to watch out for is Greg Gary, currently an assistant coach at Purdue. He’s a Tulane alum who has experience as a head coach in Louisiana, spending two seasons at Centenary before they departed D-1 athletics. There will be a slew of names mentioned for this job, including up and coming mid-major coaches and assistants with local ties.

dark. Next. AAC Tournament preview

Dunleavy was solid as an NBA coach but it’s clear that he wasn’t cut out for the collegiate game. The hire was experimental, but Tulane can get things back on track by nailing the next head coaching move. They don’t need to make a huge splash; they just need to get someone who can recruit the area and actually coach the college game. They aren’t about to start dominating the AAC, but Tulane can dig themselves out of the basement if they get the right guy in the head coach’s office.