The basketball program going forward

[speckled trout]

Tulane men’s basketball had the most talented roster and arguably the best coach in 20 years and still did not sniff any postseason.

What is the winning formula for us? Most good high school talent will turn us down. The players who sign here and have success will transfer out.

Portal players are never here long enough to build quality depth. They will also depart just as quickly as they will come.

I like Ron Hunter but this next year is critical to prove that the program is actually moving forward and last season wasn’t a waste.

Are we just spinning our wheels indefinitely?

[GretnaGrn]

Generally speaking, basketball is the easiest major sport to fix. You need far fewer players than football or baseball, and you have more than enough full schollys. We also have a robust NIL program. Transfers go both ways, and it's the nature of college basketball everywhere these days, not just for us.

Can it be fixed at Tulane, to a level where we're making the postseason? Absolutely. Hunter inherited a mess; there's a lot I don't like about how he's done things, but we're inarguably at a better place now than when he arrived (faint praise though that is). I just don't know if he's the person to get us over that hump, though; I question whether his gimmicky defense works at this level, whether any system that takes time to learn can work consitently in the transfer portal era, and whether he can keep reloading. That's a very different question from whether anyone can succeed here. FAU is in the final four; they don't have a single institutional resource that we don't. Not. One. I would strongly suspect that we have some (NIL, at a guess) that are actually superior. It can be done. Whether Hunter is the one to do it remains to be seen.

Regardless of who it is, though, all of us older folks will have to get used to the idea that teams being built the way we remember--high school recruiting and players staying 4 years--is probably a thing of the past everywhere. It's a new era, for better or for worse, and it's not going back. This is true for everyone, not just Tulane.

[wavedom]

We do have an NIL program but I think many are getting carried away with how robust it is. Plus top football players are going to come first. When someone like Cook leaves he is most likely looking for a P5 school that will have a truly robust NIL program.

[ml wave]

Most good high school talent will turn us down. The players who sign here and have success will transfer out.

Portal players are never here long enough to build quality depth. They will also depart just as quickly as they will come.

I like Ron Hunter but this next year is critical to prove that the program is actually moving forward and last season wasn’t a waste.

You present these things as if they were facts but I don't know that any of them are actually true. There's no reason we can't get good high school players. We have kept successful players here before...just because one player is in the portal (hasn't even left yet!) doesn't mean the world is ending.

[washwave]

Everything pointed out as a problem about transfers and high school kids is the same for every team in college basketball. The world has changed and the good coaches will adapt. We'll find out how good Hunter is at adapting, but there's no reason that we can't be as successful as most other schools (especially those in our conference).

[purplehaz3]

We do have an NIL program but I think many are getting carried away with how robust it is. Plus top football players are going to come first. When someone like Cook leaves he is most likely looking for a P5 school that will have a truly robust NIL program.

There's over $1 million (closer to $1.5million) available in NIL money at Tulane. We need more but that's ahead of most schools in the conference. That would be enough to cut an SMU-type deal with the players in Football and Basketball.

[PeteRasche]

We'll find out how good Hunter is at adapting...

I think in legalese that would qualify as "asked and answered".

...there's no reason that we can't be as successful as most other schools (especially those in our conference).

No reason except, you know, the first part of your comment above.

[waverider]

If the CUSA schools coming in can be as good as they are then there’s no reason we can’t. Unfortunately we may need a quick fix for next season if we lose anyone else or we will be back to 5th place or worse.

Losing two postseason teams and replacing them with 4, including a Final Four, NIT champ and runner up and the coveted CBI champ.

[wavedom]

We do have an NIL program but I think many are getting carried away with how robust it is. Plus top football players are going to come first. When someone like Cook leaves he is most likely looking for a P5 school that will have a truly robust NIL program.

There's over $1 million (closer to $1.5million) available in NIL money at Tulane. We need more but that's ahead of most schools in the conference. That would be enough to cut an SMU-type deal with the players in Football and Basketball.

Please provide the link to that? Also money has to have been being paid in the last two seasons so how much is left? Most importantly we're not competing with our conference mates when our good players look to transfer, they are looking at P5's

[speckled trout]

Most good high school talent will turn us down. The players who sign here and have success will transfer out.

Portal players are never here long enough to build quality depth. They will also depart just as quickly as they will come.

I like Ron Hunter but this next year is critical to prove that the program is actually moving forward and last season wasn’t a waste.

You present these things as if they were facts but I don't know that any of them are actually true. There's no reason we can't get good high school players. We have kept successful players here before...just because one player is in the portal (hasn't even left yet!) doesn't mean the world is ending.

My post isn’t about the player leaving that everyone pretty much knew was going to leave.

Tulane hasn’t made it to the NCAA tournament in nearly 30 years or the NIT in over 20 years. This is indicative of a lack of talent flowing through the program.

[PeteRasche]

Most good high school talent will turn us down. The players who sign here and have success will transfer out.

Portal players are never here long enough to build quality depth. They will also depart just as quickly as they will come.

I like Ron Hunter but this next year is critical to prove that the program is actually moving forward and last season wasn’t a waste.

You present these things as if they were facts but I don't know that any of them are actually true. There's no reason we can't get good high school players. We have kept successful players here before...just because one player is in the portal (hasn't even left yet!) doesn't mean the world is ending.

My post isn’t about the player leaving that everyone pretty much knew was going to leave.

Tulane hasn’t made it to the NCAA tournament in nearly 30 years or the NIT in over 20 years. This is indicative of a lack of talent flowing through the program.

Which is a result of coach(ing/es).

[gerryb323]

Most good high school talent will turn us down. The players who sign here and have success will transfer out.

Portal players are never here long enough to build quality depth. They will also depart just as quickly as they will come.

I like Ron Hunter but this next year is critical to prove that the program is actually moving forward and last season wasn’t a waste.

You present these things as if they were facts but I don't know that any of them are actually true. There's no reason we can't get good high school players. We have kept successful players here before...just because one player is in the portal (hasn't even left yet!) doesn't mean the world is ending.

My post isn’t about the player leaving that everyone pretty much knew was going to leave.

Tulane hasn’t made it to the NCAA tournament in nearly 30 years or the NIT in over 20 years. This is indicative of a lack of talent flowing through the program.

Which is a result of coach(ing/es).

[nolasilver]

Joining the pac 12 (or any p5) would certainly help . . .

Hunter maybe can pull off a quick rebuild with portal, but more likely will need 2 years before we can contend again.

[waverider]

Joining the pac 12 (or any p5) would certainly help . . .

Hunter maybe can pull off a quick rebuild with portal, but more likely will need 2 years before we can contend again.

We may find out just how good of a portal recruiter he is.

The coaching hire could also play a role in landing a player or two that will help us improve.

[tjtlja]

Hunter will need probably 6-7 guys from the portal. Who are we recruiting and do we have any commitments? The quietness at this point in time may not be a big deal. But I do wonder what type of reception he getting and how many quality players are still in the portal. It is April tomorrow and we have one high school player signed. The window for securing good players is narrowing. Maybe they have some commitments already and will probably announce them all at once. I hope.

[purplehaz3]

It’s mind boggling that everyone is freaking out over losing Cook. Forbes likely will come back since he isn’t a top 100 rated prospect for the draft. Cross has not entered the portal so he’s probably back. Sion James is coming back. We can replace Cook. We need 2-3 quality guys from the portal which will not be difficult. Can we get another Cook? I’m not sure. But we can certainly get enough talent (in addition to the talent we already have) to compete for a championship in the AAC.

[PeteRasche]

But we can certainly get enough talent (in addition to the talent we already have) to compete for a championship in the AAC.

With the same coaches, against the team that beat us by 40 in the AAC tourney, and the team in the Final Four, and the NIT finalists? Ah, but all the rest are so much weaker, right? (don't mention that we lost to Tulsa, ECU, and Wichita State and they're still in the league...)

Cool, so we bring back Forbes, Cross, and James, and add some other talent, even of the same level as those three. We're still playing match-up zone exclusively. All the new guys won't know how to play it and Hunter himself has said it takes until basically January at the earliest until new guys grasp it well enough for it to not have breakdowns, so we're losing games in November and December that kill any at-large chances. We're still letting the opponent dribble the clock away unguarded at half court, while down 5 with a minute left, so you know we're losing some conference games we shouldn't. We still won't have a true inside presence because Hunter has stated he does not recruit them. And we still won't rebound because Hunter has said that doesn't matter in his scheme. So... explain to me again, how are we competing for the AAC?

[Poseidon]

It’s mind boggling that everyone is freaking out over losing Cook. Forbes likely will come back since he isn’t a top 100 rated prospect for the draft. Cross has not entered the portal so he’s probably back. Sion James is coming back. We can replace Cook. We need 2-3 quality guys from the portal which will not be difficult. Can we get another Cook? I’m not sure. But we can certainly get enough talent (in addition to the talent we already have) to compete for a championship in the AAC.

I'm with you. I still think the chemistry of the team can get better. Cook was good, maybe he comes back, but we can still get two lesser players in the portal that will give us better overall results.

[visualmagic]

It’s mind boggling that everyone is freaking out over losing Cook. Forbes likely will come back since he isn’t a top 100 rated prospect for the draft. Cross has not entered the portal so he’s probably back. Sion James is coming back. We can replace Cook. We need 2-3 quality guys from the portal which will not be difficult. Can we get another Cook? I’m not sure. But we can certainly get enough talent (in addition to the talent we already have) to compete for a championship in the AAC.

How is it Mind boggling that people are freaking out over losing one of the 3 good players on the roster?

[G-wave]

When 4 players played almost 40 min a game and the rest rode the bench it is time to panic.

[nolasilver]

Freaking out - over losing a first team all conference player who brought us to relevance two years ago. That is hard to replace

Now that’s not to say hunter Can’t do it again. We have SOME nil $$ and he is a good recruiter.

I do wonder- what’s the number for cook in the portal ? $50k $100k ?

[PeteRasche]

Now that’s not to say hunter Can’t do it again.

Oh, I have no doubt he can do it again.

Wait... by "it"... did you mean not finishing in the top two of the league and not making any postseason tourneys?

[tjtlja]

Freaking out - over losing a first team all conference player who brought us to relevance two years ago. That is hard to replace

Now that’s not to say hunter Can’t do it again. We have SOME nil $$ and he is a good recruiter.

I do wonder- what’s the number for cook in the portal ? $50k $100k ?

He is a very average recruiter. We don’t have an abundance of talent. He missed a golden opportunity this past year to really put something special together and really whiffed. No bench, no height. We will see if things change very soon.

[PeteRasche]

No bench, no height. We will see if things change very soon.

Considering he has no interest in a bench or height...
With regards to Hunter changing, I'm not gonna repost the gif of Kitty, you can scroll up and see it.

[nolasilver]

Now that’s not to say hunter Can’t do it again.

Oh, I have no doubt he can do it again.

Wait... by "it"... did you mean not finishing in the top two of the league and not making any postseason tourneys?

I got a good chuckle from your response. Sadly even in that case, it was our best result in two decades+