The NCAA granted immediate eligibility to transfers Jaylen Forbes and Kevin Cross, which Tulane desperately needed with the offseason loss of Teshaun Hightower (murder charge) and grad transfer Ryan Murphy (going pro overseas or somewhere).
Forbes, a 6-5, 4-star shooing guard and top-100 national recruit who did not do a whole lot at Alabama as a freshman, figures to step in as a starter in the backcourt along with point guard Jordan Walker and probably freshman Sion James, although R.J. McGee is a possibility.
Cross, a 6-8, 240-pound forward, gives Tulane much needed bulk. He was pretty good as a freshman for a bad Nebraska team, averaging 7.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 18.3 minutes while starting twice. He almost certainly will start in the front court along with Nobal Days.
This was a team that was a virtual lock for last place without those guys becoming eligible, having lost its three best players from a last-place team plus Kevin Zhang. Now there is some hope. Ron Hunter is a good coach and he has a good staff, so it will be interesting to see what Tulane looks like if there is a season.
Unless former Southern Miss leading scorer Gabe Watson or Vandy transfer Oton Jankovic become eligible immediately, too, which is doubtful, this team still lacks numbers. The only other scholarship players are Tylan Pope, Ibby Ali (whose health is in question), freshman Jadan Coleman, who needs some time to development, and big man Buay Koka, whose future was in question before the recent departures. That's a total of 10 players.
By the way, Hightower no longer is listed as even being on last year's roster, although his stats are still available on the stats page.
Forbes, a 6-5, 4-star shooing guard and top-100 national recruit who did not do a whole lot at Alabama as a freshman, figures to step in as a starter in the backcourt along with point guard Jordan Walker and probably freshman Sion James, although R.J. McGee is a possibility.
Cross, a 6-8, 240-pound forward, gives Tulane much needed bulk. He was pretty good as a freshman for a bad Nebraska team, averaging 7.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 18.3 minutes while starting twice. He almost certainly will start in the front court along with Nobal Days.
This was a team that was a virtual lock for last place without those guys becoming eligible, having lost its three best players from a last-place team plus Kevin Zhang. Now there is some hope. Ron Hunter is a good coach and he has a good staff, so it will be interesting to see what Tulane looks like if there is a season.
Unless former Southern Miss leading scorer Gabe Watson or Vandy transfer Oton Jankovic become eligible immediately, too, which is doubtful, this team still lacks numbers. The only other scholarship players are Tylan Pope, Ibby Ali (whose health is in question), freshman Jadan Coleman, who needs some time to development, and big man Buay Koka, whose future was in question before the recent departures. That's a total of 10 players.
By the way, Hightower no longer is listed as even being on last year's roster, although his stats are still available on the stats page.