With uncertainty swirling around the start of college basketball while the coronavirus pandemic rages on, sophomore forward Nobal Days offered some hopeful words before Tulane’s opener.
“We’ve been watching football and thinking if they can play games with about a 300-man staff and make it through that, I’m always optimistic about us,” he said. “We’ve done pretty good with keeping our numbers down, so I’m not really worried about it. I haven’t really been paying it too much mind other than doing what we have to do to stay on the floor.”
Tulane will be on the floor for a game for the first time in 264 days on Friday at 1 p.m, facing Lamar at home to kick off year No. 2 under coach Ron Hunter with no fans in attendance due to COVID-19 restrictions. The Green Wave will play again on Sunday against Lipscomb as the sport, which ended abruptly last March just as the American Athletic Conference tournament was supposed to begin, tries to follow in college football’s footsteps.
With the exception of a canceled opener against Southeastern Louisiana and the home finale against Memphis that has been delayed by a week—neither of which was caused by Tulane—the football team has played every game without any disruptions.
Essentially quarantined together since arriving on campus in June, the basketball team is ready to do its part in guaranteeing as smooth a season as possible.
“I’m always trying to find a positive out of a negative, and that’s what we’ve been able to do with COVID,” Hunter said. “This summer we turned into a positive deal because of the chemistry we were able to build. The difference between now and a year ago is just the chemistry of these kids.”
Days agreed. Those long summer days when no one knew what would happen proved beneficial for a group with two regulars returning—he and junior point guard Jordan Walker—and six new scholarship players.
“We bonded off the court,” Days said. “There was so much confusion with COVID that we couldn’t really get on the floor that much, so we just got to hang out with people. It was good for us with a new set of faces. There are a lot of different personalities on the team, so we had to take time to learn who we were playing with.”
One of those new faces, junior Southern Miss transfer guard Gabe Watson, compared the experience to a roller coaster. There were plenty of ups and downs before everyone became comfortable.
“The bond is getting stronger and stronger every day,” he said. “The bond off the court has picked up on the court, too, We know each other’s strengths and we know what each other likes and doesn’t like on and off the court. The chemistry has built up pretty quickly.”
Although the learning curve will be steep for a scholarship roster with zero seniors, three juniors, six sophomores and three freshmen, Hunter likes the long amount of time these guys will be together. He learned the hard way what can happen with a roster full of one-year grad transfers last season.
“When you are a grad transfer, you know you are only here about seven months,” he said. “These kids know they are going to be here three, maybe four years, so the buy-in is a lot easier.”
Managing a season already fraught with cancellations and postponements across the country could be more difficult, but the Wave is excited to try.
Tulane has five non-conference games and three AAC contests before the end of December, with 17 more league matchups set for January, February and early March.
“We’re just happy to be playing anyone right now,” Hunter said. “I’m hoping that we can get all these games in. Knock on wood, let’s keep hoping we get these negative tests.”
Lagniappe
Lamar, coached by former UNO coach Tic Price (1994-97), lost its opener to 17th-ranked Houston 89-45 on Wednesday. The Cardinals were picked fifth in the Southland Conference preseason poll. … This is the first meeting between Hunter and Price. … Hunter’s teams have won seven straight season openers.
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November 27, 2020 at 02:54AM
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Tulane men's hoops team hoping for smooth a season as possible amid the coronavrius pandemic - NOLA.com
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