NCAA Basketball: Top 1st-year head coaching performances so far in 2019-20
By Erik Mauro
3. Ron Hunter – Tulane
Nothing that Tulane has done this year has jumped off the page, and that just shows how bad this team really was before Hunter took over. The long-time Georgia State head coach took the Panthers to three NCAA tournaments, upsetting 3-seed Baylor in his first appearance in 2015.
The Green Wave made waves (sorry) when they hired him after yet another Tournament appearance by the Panthers last season.
Last season, Tulane was 4-27 and didn’t win a road game. Hunter has the Green Wave at 10-8 with two road wins over Temple and Southern Miss. The Wave played Memphis close, only losing by 11. Let’s face it, only losing by 11 to a nationally ranked opponent is close when you won four games the year before.
One good win the Green Wave have is over Cincinnati, who have been a mainstay in the Tournament for the past decade or so. The Green Wave will compete and they may sneak up on a few teams, which is all you can ask for in a first year.
The schedule in the American is always sneaky tough, they still play at Houston, at Wichita State, at UCF, Memphis, and UCONN. Tulane likely won’t have a winning record, but they are going to compete and Hunter has already had decent success in his first year given the state of the program.
Teshaun Hightower and Kansas transfer KJ Lawson lead the Green Wave, Lawson averaging 14 PPG and Hightower at 16.3. Christion Thompson adds 12.6 PPG and also leads the team in rebounds and steals. Nobal Days leads the team in blocks coming off the bench.
The talent for the Wave isn’t too high-end but there is a lot of depth and players that know how to do their jobs and understand their roles, which is a staple of Ron Hunter teams. They will not beat themselves, and the American is about to find that out.