2020–21 Tulane Green Wave men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Tulane Green Wave men's basketball team represents Tulane University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Green Wave, led by second-year head coach Ron Hunter, play their home games at Devlin Fieldhouse in New Orleans, Louisiana as seventh-year members of the American Athletic Conference.

2020–21 Tulane Green Wave men's basketball
Conference	American Athletic Conference
2020–21 record	7–7 (2–7 AAC)
Head coach	Ron Hunter (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	Ray McCallum Claude Pardue Kevin Johnson
Home arena	Devlin Fieldhouse

2020–21 American Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 5 Houston	10	–	2		.833			16	–	2		.889
Wichita State	7	–	2		.778			11	–	4		.733
Memphis	8	–	3		.727			12	–	6		.667
SMU	6	–	4		.600			10	–	4		.714
Tulsa	6	–	6		.500			9	–	8		.529
South Florida	3	–	3		.500			7	–	5		.583
Cincinnati	3	–	4		.429			5	–	7		.417
Temple	3	–	7		.300			4	–	7		.364
UCF	3	–	8		.273			5	–	9		.357
East Carolina	2	–	7		.222			8	–	7		.533
Tulane	2	–	7		.222			7	–	7		.500
† 2021 AAC Tournament winner As of February 7, 2021; Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The Green Wave 12–18, 4–14 in AAC play to finish in 12th place. They entered as the No. 12 seed in the AAC Tournament, which was ultimately cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Charlie Russell Jr.	0	G/F	6'7"	190	Freshman	New Orleans, LA	Transferred to UMass Lowell[1]
K. J. Lawson	1	G/F	6'7"	215	Graduate Student	Memphis, TN	Completed college eligibility[lower-alpha 1]
Ray Ona Embo	3	G	6'5"	195	RS Junior	Lognes, France	Left team (mid-season)[2]
TeShuan Hightower	5	G	6'5"	190	Junior	Lithonia, GA	Dismissed from team[3]
Kevin Zhang	12	F	6'10"	220	Sophomore	Shenyang, China	Play professionally[4]
Nic Thomas	14	G	6'1"	185	Graduate Student	Arlington, TX	Completed college eligibility[lower-alpha 1]
Grant Quinn	15	G	6'5"	200	RS Junior	Lewisville, TX	Walk-on; did not return
Christion Thompson	25	G	6'4"	215	Graduate Student	Gonzales, LA	Completed college eligibility[lower-alpha 1]
Cameron Galic	32	G	6'6"	205	Junior	Bethesda, MD	Walk-on; did not return

1. Lawson, Thomas, and Thompson were all graduate transfers in the 2019–20 season, with Lawson having graduated from Kansas, Thomas from Norfolk State, and Thompson from Rhode Island.

Incoming Transfers

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Ryan Murphy	G	6'2"	185	Graduate Student	Calabasas, CA	Transferred from Pittsburgh after graduating. Will have one year of eligibility beginning immediately.[5]
Oton Jankovic	F	6'10"	212	Sophomore	Zagreb, Croatia	Transferred from Vanderbilt. Jankovic was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility.[6] Will have three years of remaining eligibility.[7]
Gabe Watson	G	6'2"	192	Junior	Jackson, MS	Transferred from Southern Miss. Watson was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility.[8] Will have two years of remaining eligibility.[9]
Jaylen Forbes	G	6'4"	186	Sophomore	Florence, MS	Transferred from Alabama. Forbes was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.[10][11]
Kevin Cross	F	6'8"	240	Sophomore	Little Rock, AR	Transferred from Nebraska. Cross was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.[12][11]

2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Jadan Coleman SG	Madison, AL	Bob Jones High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	155 lb (70 kg)	Nov 15, 2018
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Sion James PG	Buford, GA	Lanier High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sep 1, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:   247Sports: 131
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 14 April 2020.

Tulane will also add Preferred Walk-on Ben Callahan-Gold, a 6'7" swingman from Northfield Mount Hermon School. Ben is the son of comedian Judy Gold.[13]

Preseason

AAC preseason media poll

On October 28, The American released the preseason Poll and other preseason awards[14]

Coaches Poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Houston	99 (2)
2	Memphis	90 (2)
3	SMU	80
4	Cincinnati	77
5	South Florida	61
6	Tulsa	50
7	Wichita State	44
8	UCF	37
9	East Carolina	34
10	Temple	18
11	Tulane	15

Roster

2020–21 Tulane Green Wave men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Gabe Watson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 192 lb (87 kg) Jr St. Joseph Southern Miss Jackson, MS G 1 Sion James 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Lanier Buford, GA G 2 Jordan Walker 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) RS Jr The Patrick School Seton Hall Port Washington, NY F 3 Tylan Pope 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Fr Franklinton Franklinton, LA F 4 Nobal Days 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Racine Park Racine, WI F 5 Kevin Cross 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So Mills HS Nebraska Little Rock, AR F 10 Oton Jankovic 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Montverde Academy Vanderbilt Zagreb, Croatia F 11 Ibrahim Ali 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) RS So Maumelle Arkansas Lagos, Nigeria G 12 Jadan Coleman 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Fr Bob Jones Madison, AL C 13 Buay Koka 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Jr The Patrick School Nasir, South Sudan G 23 R. J. McGee 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So TaylorMade Academy Chicago, IL G 24 Ryan Murphy 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) GS Calabasas Pittsburgh Calabasas, CA G 25 Jaylen Forbes 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 186 lb (84 kg) So Florence HS Alabama Florence, MS G 32 Ben Callahan-Gold (W) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Northfield Mount Hermon New York, NY G 34 Alec Zaccardo (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Jr Lincoln-Sudbury Regional MassBay CC Boston, MA	Head coach Ron Hunter (Miami (OH)) Assistant coach(es) Ray McCallum (Ball State) Claude Pardue (Emory) Kevin Johnson (Texas–Pan American) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: June 29, 2020

Schedule and results

COVID-19 impact

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Green Wave's schedule is subject to change, including the cancellation or postponement of individual games, the cancellation of the entire season, or games played either with minimal fans or without fans in attendance and just essential personnel.

• The game @ UCF scheduled for Dec 30th was moved to Feb 12th due to COVID-19 issues.[15]

• The games vs. Temple originally scheduled for Jan 6th was moved to Jan 16th due to positive COVID-19 tests in the Temple program.[16]

• The game vs. Cincinnati originally scheduled for Jan 16th was moved to Feb 26th due to positive COVID-19 tests in the Cincinnati program.[17]

• The game vs. SMU scheduled for Jan 20th was postponed due to COVID-19 issues in the Tulane program.[18]

• The game @ Tulsa scheduled for Jan 23rd was postponed due to COVID-19 issues in the Tulane program.[19]

• The game @ South Florida scheduled for February 13 was moved to February 14 due to COVID–19 issues.[20]

• The game vs. Tulsa scheduled for Feb 10th was moved to Tulsa.[21]

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 27, 2020 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		Lamar Tulane Classic	W 66–57	1–0	15 – Forbes	7 – Forbes	4 – Walker	Devlin Fieldhouse (100) New Orleans, LA
November 29, 2020* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		Lipscomb Tulane Classic	W 68–66	2–0	16 – Tied	8 – McGee	6 – Walker	Devlin Fieldhouse (100) New Orleans, LA
December 9, 2020* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Southern Miss	W 58–38	3–0	15 – McGee	11 – McGee	6 – Walker	Devlin Fieldhouse (100) New Orleans, LA
December 12, 2020* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		Arkansas–Pine Bluff	W 67–56	4–0	16 – Forbes	9 – Forbes	3 – Walker	Devlin Fieldhouse (100) New Orleans, LA
December 16, 2020 8:00 p.m., ESPN2		Memphis	L 74–80	4–1 (0–1)	18 – Watson	5 – Tied	4 – Walker	Devlin Fieldhouse (100) New Orleans, LA
December 19, 2020* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		Grambling State	W 77–65	5–1	21 – Forbes	6 – Tied	5 – Tied	Devlin Fieldhouse (100) New Orleans, LA
December 22, 2020 2:30 p.m., ESPN+		at East Carolina	L 58–68	5–2 (0–2)	16 – Forbes	7 – McGee	4 – Watson	Williams Arena (65) Greenville, NC
January 2, 2020 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		East Carolina	W 60–56	6–2 (1–2)	20 – Forbes	7 – Cross	2 – Watson	Devlin Fieldhouse (100) New Orleans, LA
January 9, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPNU		at No. 11 Houston	L 50–71	6–3 (1–3)	13 – Walker	6 – Pope	3 – Watson	Fertitta Center (1,859) Houston, TX
January 16, 2020 12:00 p.m., ESPN+		Temple previously scheduled for Jan. 6	L 57–65	6–4 (1–4)	14 – Forbes	5 – Tied	4 – James	Devlin Fieldhouse (100) New Orleans, LA
January 20, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		SMU	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues[22]					Devlin Fieldhouse  New Orleans, LA
January 23, 2020 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Tulsa	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues[23]					Reynolds Center  Tulsa, OK
January 28, 2020 8:00 p.m., ESPN		Houston	L 60–83	6–5 (1–5)	16 – Walker	9 – Cross	4 – Walker	Devlin Fieldhouse  New Orleans, LA
January 31, 2020 11:00 a.m., ESPN+		at Temple	W 81–64	7–5 (2–5)	23 – Forbes	13 – Pope	8 – Walker	Liacouras Center  Philadelphia, PA
February 3, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Wichita State	L 67–75	7–6 (2–6)	23 – Walker	8 – Pope	4 – Walker	Charles Koch Arena  Wichita, KS
February 7, 2020 11:00 a.m., ESPN+		Cincinnati	L 61–64	7–7 (2–7)	15 – Forbes	9 – Pope	4 – Walker	Devlin Fieldhouse  New Orleans, LA
February 10, 2020 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Tulsa						Reynolds Center  Tulsa, OK
February 12, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at UCF previously scheduled for Dec. 30						Addition Financial Arena  Orlando, FL
February 14, 2021 1:00 pm, ESPNU		at South Florida previously scheduled for Feb. 13						Yuengling Center  Tampa, FL
February 17, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at SMU						Moody Coliseum  University Park, TX
February 20, 2020 1:00 p.m., ESPNU		UCF						Devlin Fieldhouse  New Orleans, LA
February 24, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Memphis						FedEx Forum  Memphis, TN
February 26, 2020 TBD, TBD		at Cincinnati previously scheduled for Jan. 16						Fifth Third Arena  Cincinnati, OH
March 3, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Wichita State						Devlin Fieldhouse  New Orleans, LA
March 6, 2020 8:30 p.m., ESPNU		South Florida						Devlin Fieldhouse  New Orleans, LA
AAC Tournament
March 11–14, 2021 TBD		vs.						Dickies Arena  Fort Worth, TX
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

References

1. Langone, Matt (27 Apr 2020). "Notebook: UMass Lowell's Noel testing NBA draft waters". lowellsun.com. Lowell Sun. Retrieved 30 Apr 2020.
2. Smith, Guerry [@Guersmith] (1 Dec 2019). "#Tulane guard Ray Ona Embo has left the team and returned to France, coach Ron Hunter said after Sunday's win over Southern. Backing up Jordan Walker, Ona Embo was averaging 5.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 21.8 minutes" (Tweet). Retrieved 14 Apr 2020 – via Twitter.
3. Schlabach, Mark (26 Apr 2020). "Tulane guard Teshaun Hightower charged with murder in Georgia". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved 26 Apr 2020.
4. Zacher, Benjamin (27 Oct 2020). "Tulane Basketball: 2020-21 season preview for the Green Wave". bustingbrackets.com. Retrieved 1 Dec 2020. Zhang left the program to play professionally in China.
5. Vukovcan, Mike (2 Apr 2020). "Former Pitt Guard Ryan Murphy Decides On Tulane". pittsburghsportsnow.com. Retrieved 18 Apr 2020.
6. "Men's Basketball Transfer Oton Jankovic Granted Immediate Eligibility". tulanegreenwave.com. Tulane Athletics. 19 Oct 2020. Retrieved 1 Dec 2020.
7. "Men's Basketball Adds Vanderbilt Transfer Oton Jankovic". tulanegreenwave.com. Tulane Athletics. 17 Apr 2020. Retrieved 21 Apr 2020.
8. @GoodmanHoops (24 Aug 2020). "Tulane has received a waiver for Gabe Watson to play this season, Ron Hunter told @Stadium. Tulane now with three transfer waivers. Watson transferred in from Southern Miss" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
9. Rothstein, Jon [@JonRothstein] (18 Apr 2020). "Source: Southern Miss transfer Gabe Watson has committed to Tulane" (Tweet). Retrieved 18 Apr 2020 – via Twitter.
10. "Tulane Men's Basketball Adds Alabama Transfer Jaylen Forbes". wgno.com. WGNO. 22 Apr 2020. Retrieved 30 Apr 2020.
11. Goodman, Jeff [@GoodmanHoops] (19 Aug 2020). "Tulane got waivers for Jalen Forbes (Alabama) and Kevin Cross (Nebraska), Ron Hunter told @Stadium. Both eligible for this season" (Tweet). Retrieved 21 Aug 2020 – via Twitter.
12. Rothstein, Jon [@JonRothstein] (1 May 2020). "Source: Nebraska transfer Kevin Cross has committed to Tulane" (Tweet). Retrieved 1 May 2020 – via Twitter.
13. Burack, Emily. "Judy Gold's son will be playing Div. I college basketball, and Ben Stiller is cheering him on". jta.org. Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 25 Jun 2020.
14. "Houston Tabbed as 2020-21 American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Favorite". theAmerican.org. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
15. "Tulane-UCF Game Scheduled for Dec. 30 Postponed". theamerican.org. 30 Dec 2020.
16. "The American Announces Changes to Men's Basketball Schedule". theamerican.org. 14 Jan 2021.
17. "The American Announces Changes to Men's Basketball Schedule". theamerican.org. 14 Jan 2020.
18. "Tulane-UCF Game Scheduled for Dec. 30 Postponed". theamerican.org. 18 Jan 2021.
19. "Tulane-Tulsa Game Scheduled for Jan. 23 Postponed". theamerican.org. 22 Jan 2021.
20. "The American Announces Men's Basketball Schedule Changes". theamerican.org. 27 Jan 2021.
21. "The American Announces Men's Basketball Schedule Changes". theamerican.org. 3 Feb 2021.
22. "Tulane-UCF Game Scheduled for Dec. 30 Postponed". theamerican.org. 18 Jan 2021.
23. "Tulane-Tulsa Game Scheduled for Jan. 23 Postponed". theamerican.org. 22 Jan 2021.