Key Tulane Green Wave Players Facing Increasing Injury Concerns on Hardwood

Several key Tulane Green Wave players are dealing with injuries that has the coaching staff concerned.

Jan 11, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Tulane Green Wave head coach Ron Hunter reacts during the first half against the Florida Atlantic Owls at Avron B. Fogelman Arena in Devlin Fieldhouse. / Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

The Tulane Green Wave’s trip to paradise for the Cancun Challenge ended up being a disaster for the program.

They are heading back to New Orleans riding a three-game losing streak that began last week when they lost to the New Orleans Privateers 93-87 in overtime. Overcoming a 12-point deficit in the last two minutes, they fell just short in the extra frame.

In their first game of the tournament against the Wyoming Cowboys, they suffered another excruciating defeat. They blew a 16-point second-half lead and lost on a 3-pointer with 9.6 seconds remaining.

Things didn’t get any better against the Belmont Bruins, who blew Tulane out of the water, 89-66. The Green Wave were playing without their leading scorer Kaleb Banks in that contest, and head coach Ron Hunter is concerned about his availability moving forward.

“We have to get back and have an MRI and cross our fingers,” Hunter said, via Guerry Smith of NOLA.com. “We don’t want to play this year without that guy. We’re a different team when he plays.”

Banks, an Indiana Hoosiers transfer, landed hard on his hip when attempting a layup against the Cowboys on Tuesday. He was able to finish that game but was not healthy enough to play the following night.

He is averaging 16.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, all of which lead the squad.

Unfortunately, he isn’t the only player who will undergo testing for an injury once the team gets back home.

Point guard Rowan Brumbaugh, who transferred into the program from the Georgetown Hoyas, has been playing through an ankle injury. He will undergo an MRI to assess the level of severity.

Averaging 12.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game, his loss would be difficult to overcome. The only other point guard on the roster is freshman KJ Greene.

Backup center Percy Daniels was so banged up, that he managed to play only two minutes against the Bruins. The frontcourt was already dealing with Gregg Glenn III’s head injury after getting elbowed multiple times against the Furman Paladins a few games ago.

Hunter has already been tinkering with his lineups as he tries to find the right combinations. With so many new faces, it was going to take time to develop chemistry and cohesion and land upon the right five-player groupings.

But, these injuries are going to make things even more difficult. If their best players are sidelined for any amount of time, snapping this losing streak is going to be a challenge.