Prized Men’s Basketball Transfer Reveals Why He Chose Tulane Green Wave
Tulane Green Wave head coach Ron Hunter knew that he needed to address his team’s need for help in the backcourt ahead of the 2024-25 season.
In 2023-24, the team’s point guard play was not up to par. The team relied on players who weren’t natural point guards, which led to some shaky performances, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
That won’t be an issue any longer, as they were successful in the transfer portal and on the recruiting trail, adding two impact players at the position.
One of them is former Georgetown Hoyas point guard Rowan Brumbaugh, who played in 31 games, starting 20, while playing 22.1 minutes per game as a freshman. His playmaking will be big for the Green Wave, as they finally have someone comfortable initiating offense as a lead guard.
What led Brumbaugh to New Orleans? As shared by Guerry Smith of NOLA.com, the coaching staff and style of play were major factors.
“Brumbaugh said he chose Tulane in part because the entire coaching staff visited him two days after he entered the portal and hit it off with him right away. He also considered the Wave’s playing style a good fit for his game,” wrote Smith.
There are a lot of challenges facing the Green Wave heading into the campaign. There are a ton of new players and only 213 points scored from last season are returning.
Despite the lack of chemistry and cohesion, there is quiet optimism amongst the coaching staff and roster. They played well in an exhibition against Spring Hill College, winning 86-66.
“It’s been really smooth,” Brumbaugh said. “We’re all around the same age, so we don’t have to force our relationships. The coaches have been great. New Orleans is a great city, so I’ve enjoyed it.”
With no seniors on the team, there will assuredly be some bumps in the road. That lack of leadership and experience can be tough to overcome, especially early in the season when kinks will be worked out.
But, this is a roster that has a lot of talent offensively. What will determine their level of success is the defensive side of the ball.
“If we have collective buy-in defensively, we can be really good in this conference and surprise a lot of people,” Brumbaugh said. “I have to be a better defender for one. We’re really talented offensively. We can say how we’re going to be this year and all that, but we’ve just got to go do it at the end of the day.”
Holding Spring College to 33 percent shooting was certainly a good start. After falling woefully short of expectations last season with a veteran-laden squad, hopefully, the young guys can find more success this season.
Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.