Tulane Basketball Coach Hunter Sees Bright Skies Ahead

In preseason voting by coaches of the American Conference, the Tulane Green Wave men's basketball team is ranked third in preseason standings, while guards Rowan Brumbaugh and Asher Woods have been named to the All-Conference first and second teams, respectively. Brumbaugh topped it off by being named the American Conference preseason player of the year.

Optimism from Hunter

Men's basketball head coach Ron Hunter opened his press conference with some positive notes regarding the past few weeks. "I feel like I've got my old self back. It's been a while since I've woken up three or four days in a row with a smile on my face."

"Waking up smiling more... the last three or four months (has) been a lot," he said after being asked to elaborate. "Just the last few weeks, just waking up and being happy. Excited to go coach these guys. I just feel like I'm more back to myself again with that."

Still Trying to Put the Pieces Together

Hunter also had some interesting remarks regarding how the team was coming together in his opening statement. "We've got an exciting team that we can't wait to put on the floor, once we've figured out who and what we are. We're getting close to that, but we don't quite know, right now."

While explaining that process, he mentions, "(When) we came through the summer, we knew exactly how we were gonna play and who was gonna play, [but] when you lose a part that we lost with Gregg (Glenn, who died in a swimming accident over the Summer), you know we got to change our identity just a little bit. I've got an idea of what I want, but sometimes as a coach, it's so much as what you want, but what fits the personality... some of the changes are not with them but with me."

Regarding the leadership role, there is an unfortunate void with the loss of Gregg. Hunter talked about a private dinner he had with his captains. "You might have to do some things outside your box in regards to communication. We laugh because Gregg Glenn dominated our timeouts. So now that has to be an Asher (Woods) or it has to be Percy (Daniels)."

Hunter had high praise for one piece of the Tulane puzzle, sophomore forward Tyler Ringgold. "I think the guy that, quietly, has gotten better every practice has been Tyler Ringgold. Tyler has really gotten a lot better, (he) understands our systems. I think that Tyler is one of those guys (that will be) a big key in what we do."

Strong Pieces to the Puzzle

The Green Wave enter this year with two All-Conference players in Rowan Brumbaugh and Asher Woods. Along with these two, the Green Wave have been able to keep several of their best players from last year, "[It's] extremely helpful, you've got to use your experience," Hunter had to say.

Hunter said he wants to see preseason player of the year Rowan Brumbaugh continue to improve, "In every aspect of his game, defensively, rebounding; I want him to dominate the game not just with the ball, but without the ball. He's got a long way to go to reach his potential. If he gets to his peak, he can play at the next level."

"I don't think there's a team on our schedule that's got a better back-court than we have," Hunter said. "I wouldn't trade my back-court for anyone right now," but he also feels they could get even better. "That's what they (have) to work on, they (have) to be talented enough on the defensive end."

Green Wave Stars' Humble Words

When hearing the confidence head coach Ron Hunter has about his back-court, it's easy to get lost in that confidence and underperform. That doesn't seem to be the case with this back-court as Brumbaugh says, "It's nice to have a coach that has a lot of confidence in you, but at the end of the day if you don't go out and do it, it doesn't mean anything." Asher followed up with, "With that confidence comes a lot of responsibility and accountability. [Rowan and I] wouldn't have it any other way."

All-Conference Brumbaugh also didn't feel as though last year's team went as far as it should have. "I think it starts with me just being a better leader. Gregg was a big leader for us last year, and losing him [makes it] a completely different dynamic." He added, "It takes ultimate buy-in; we all committed to play for coach Hunter. We gotta buy-in or it could get rough."

Regarding Gregg's passing, players were asked how long it took to get into the right headspace, Brumbaugh said, "I don't know if we're back in the right head space yet. I think it's just going to be an ongoing thing that we deal with."

Forward Scotty Middleton was asked about the excitement he felt with the current team that they have, "I'm definitely excited. I think that this team has a lot of versatility... I believe that we can go really far, I just think that we have to be disciplined every day and just withhold that standard every day."

The Green Wave face off against Centenary College in an exhibition game this Tuesday at 6:30pm in Fogelman Arena.