It has been decades since Tulane Basketball has been more than a basketball afterthought. Enter new coach Ron Hunter and everyone is rejuvenated. Here’s a preview for this season.
When it comes to pedigrees in college basketball, some have them and some don’t, and Tulane Basketball would fall into the latter category. They haven’t participated in postseason hoops since 2014, haven’t been to the NIT since 2000, and the NCAA tournament since 1995. When you go that without any kind of success, and coaching changes haven’t done the trick, it is time to bring someone in that can not only rebuild the team but rejuvenate the program.
On March 26th they hired the man they believe can do just that, Ron Hunter, who had been at Georgia State since 2011 and had some NCAA Tournament success with the Panthers. To put things in perspective when it comes to the Green Wave basketball program, Hunter’s 374 wins he accumulated at both IUPUI and Georgia State makes him the winningest coach to ever lead the program. Anyone who has ever seen Hunter on TV or social media knows he has the temperament to create excitement in New Orleans that doesn’t involve beads and the nightlife.
Hunter replaces former NBA head coach Mike Dunleavy, Sr and there is a feeling that the 2019-20 season is the beginning of a new era in Tulane basketball. Hunter’s first season in New Orleans may not result in postseason play, but any positive steps towards the school’s glory days under Perry Clark and will show the fanbase and administrators alike that they made the right choice when they hired Hunter. This season is the most anticipated one in the Big Easy in nearly a quarter-century.