Tulane Green Wave Basketball Coach Has Stern Warning for Team Ahead of Cancun
Tulane Green Wave head coach Ron Hunter knew that patience would have to be exhibited with his team during the 2024-25 men’s basketball season.
After a disappointing 14-17 record in the 2023-24 campaign and a 10th-place finish in the American Athletic Conference, the roster was overhauled.
There is a lot of excellent talent, but the team is lacking experience.
There are zero seniors on the roster and many of the transfers haven’t had extensive playing time anywhere else yet in their collegiate careers, so Hunter is relying on more freshmen than he ever has in his coaching career.
He knows there will be bumps in the road as time has to be afforded to his players to gain experience so they can develop chemistry and cohesion on the court.
But, there is one thing they have 100% control over; hustle and effort level.
It was an area the head coach was not happy with in their most recent loss to the New Orleans Privateers.
“When you have a young group, it’s about learning experiences,” Hunter said, via Guerry Smith of NOLA.com. “From the very first time I got this group together, I said we’re good enough to beat anybody on our schedule but we also can get our butts beat by anybody. They (the Privateers) just played harder. They got to every loose ball, and we didn’t. They were hungry, and we did not play hungry.”
That had not previously been an issue.
Sure, there were some sloppy sequences and things that needed to be cleaned up from an X’s and O’s perspective, but the Green Wave had always played hard.
They were nearly able to steal a win, overcoming a 12-point deficit with two minutes remaining to force overtime, but the miscues that plagued them during regulation continued in the extra period as Hunter called out his key players for how they performed.
Now, Tulane is heading on the road again to play neutral site games in Mexico.
They are partaking in the Cancun Challenge, with their first opponent being the Wyoming Cowboys out of the Mountain West.
Similarly to the Green Wave, not much is expected of the Cowboys this year.
They were selected ninth out of 11 teams in the MWC, but are 4-1 entering this matchup.
Their schedule has featured some cupcake opponents, but Hunter has sent a stern message to his squad. If they bring a similar level of effort as they did against New Orleans, they will be run out of the gym.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re going to Cancun or you’re playing in New Orleans here at home,” Hunter said. “Your approach to the game has to be a lot better than it was.”
The winner of the Tulane and Wyoming matchup will face the winner of the contest between the Belmont Bruins and Loyola Marymount Lions.
The losers will face off prior to the main event on Wednesday evening.
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.