Tulane men's hoops lost five scholarship players to transfer after last year. Here is how they have fared.
1) Sion James (Duke)
STATS: 8.3 points on 52.4 percent shooting and is 20 of 49 on 3-pointers with 4.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists.
COMMENT: There's nothing Tulane could have done about losing James to Duke. He ended up in the perfect situation for him because he is not capable of carrying a team but is a perfect complementary piece on a national championship-caliber roster. He loves his time at Tulane but struggled defensively when he was forced to play center on defense two years ago because Kevin Cross could not defend without fouling and was too valuable offensively to be on the bench. Collin Holloway took over that role last year and struggled as well.
2) Kolby King (Butler)
STATS: 5.4 points on 44.7 percent shooting, 4.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists
COMMENT: Just as he did at Tulane after a strong start in China and early in the 2023-24 season, King fell out of favor at Butler. He's not a point guard and he drifts during games. Butler has been a disappointment this year, and King, who started only four games and has not scored in double figures since Jan. 15, is one of the reasons.
3) Collin Holloway (Samford)
STATS: 8.9 points on 39.9 percent shooting with 5.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists.
COMMENT: I am harsher on Holloway than almost anyone I've ever covered, and it has nothing to do with his personality or work ethic. He is a good dude. It is simply that he has the worst hands of any good player I've seen. He could not catch passes and struggled to latch onto rebounds despite having good instincts on the boards, one of the reasons Tulane's rebounding was horrific last year even when compared to other years under Hunter. He had a good knack for finishing inside, although shot blockers bothered him because of his lack of height and pure athleticism, but those hands killed Tulane. I have not seen any of Samford's games, but I'm pretty sure they did not expect the precipitous drop in his shooting percentage from better than 50 percent when he was at Tulane. He hit 6 of his first 11 3s this year but could not sustain that type of success with his mediocre set shot from beyond the arc and is 21 of 70 since then. He has not scored in double figures since Feb. 1, averaging less than 4 points in his last six games. Samford expects to win the SoCon tourney for the second year in a row but is in third place after running away with the regular season title last season.
4) Jordan Wood (Stetson)
STATS: 12.3 points on 45 percent shooting with 3.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists.
COMMENT: Wood was a mistake pickup last year as a grad transfer from Howard because he could not handle the significant jump in competition, quickly falling out of the rotation and playing in only nine games. He has found his niche at lower-level Stetson, averaging a career high with 51 3s and scoring between 23 and 26 points four times. He would not have been much of a factor if he had stayed at Tulane.
5) Mier Panoam (North Dakota)
STATS: 13.2 points on 46 percent shooting with 5.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists
COMMENT: I was surprised he left because he was at Tulane only one year, had a lot of athletic ability and would have returned to a team nearly bereft of proven experience, but he probably made the right choice. Athletic as heck, he won Tulane's fan day dunk contest last year but was a total non-factor during the season. I'm not sure whether he would have developed or not in a second year, but he certainly has flourished at a lower level, starting every game for North Dakota and having a stretch of 13 games in double figures with a high of 28 at one point. North Dakota is not good, though, with an 11-18 overall record and a 5-9 conference mark.
1) Sion James (Duke)
STATS: 8.3 points on 52.4 percent shooting and is 20 of 49 on 3-pointers with 4.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists.
COMMENT: There's nothing Tulane could have done about losing James to Duke. He ended up in the perfect situation for him because he is not capable of carrying a team but is a perfect complementary piece on a national championship-caliber roster. He loves his time at Tulane but struggled defensively when he was forced to play center on defense two years ago because Kevin Cross could not defend without fouling and was too valuable offensively to be on the bench. Collin Holloway took over that role last year and struggled as well.
2) Kolby King (Butler)
STATS: 5.4 points on 44.7 percent shooting, 4.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists
COMMENT: Just as he did at Tulane after a strong start in China and early in the 2023-24 season, King fell out of favor at Butler. He's not a point guard and he drifts during games. Butler has been a disappointment this year, and King, who started only four games and has not scored in double figures since Jan. 15, is one of the reasons.
3) Collin Holloway (Samford)
STATS: 8.9 points on 39.9 percent shooting with 5.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists.
COMMENT: I am harsher on Holloway than almost anyone I've ever covered, and it has nothing to do with his personality or work ethic. He is a good dude. It is simply that he has the worst hands of any good player I've seen. He could not catch passes and struggled to latch onto rebounds despite having good instincts on the boards, one of the reasons Tulane's rebounding was horrific last year even when compared to other years under Hunter. He had a good knack for finishing inside, although shot blockers bothered him because of his lack of height and pure athleticism, but those hands killed Tulane. I have not seen any of Samford's games, but I'm pretty sure they did not expect the precipitous drop in his shooting percentage from better than 50 percent when he was at Tulane. He hit 6 of his first 11 3s this year but could not sustain that type of success with his mediocre set shot from beyond the arc and is 21 of 70 since then. He has not scored in double figures since Feb. 1, averaging less than 4 points in his last six games. Samford expects to win the SoCon tourney for the second year in a row but is in third place after running away with the regular season title last season.
4) Jordan Wood (Stetson)
STATS: 12.3 points on 45 percent shooting with 3.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists.
COMMENT: Wood was a mistake pickup last year as a grad transfer from Howard because he could not handle the significant jump in competition, quickly falling out of the rotation and playing in only nine games. He has found his niche at lower-level Stetson, averaging a career high with 51 3s and scoring between 23 and 26 points four times. He would not have been much of a factor if he had stayed at Tulane.
5) Mier Panoam (North Dakota)
STATS: 13.2 points on 46 percent shooting with 5.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists
COMMENT: I was surprised he left because he was at Tulane only one year, had a lot of athletic ability and would have returned to a team nearly bereft of proven experience, but he probably made the right choice. Athletic as heck, he won Tulane's fan day dunk contest last year but was a total non-factor during the season. I'm not sure whether he would have developed or not in a second year, but he certainly has flourished at a lower level, starting every game for North Dakota and having a stretch of 13 games in double figures with a high of 28 at one point. North Dakota is not good, though, with an 11-18 overall record and a 5-9 conference mark.
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