They had the first basketball interviews today since the day Tulane lost in the AAC tourney, and there is a lot of news. For one, Mari Jordan was back at practice after missing Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (the Wave did not practice Thursday), and Ron Hunter said Jordan had taken his name out of the portal. Second, Kam Williams committed to Kentucky, an indication of how high his reputation is. Third, Rowan Brumbaugh, who is more of an open book than any player I have ever covered, refused to commit to returning next year. Here is his full interview today, where he was brutally honest about everything he was asked.
On Mari Jordan being back and how significant that is:
"It's great news. Obviously he was a big part of this year, but at the end of the day we gotta go do it. We came in fourth place in the conference, like, that's cool and all, but we have a lot of stuff to do. Just having one player, we have to continue to build a good culture."
On the significance of the College Basketball Crown:
"I mean it's tough because we don't have a full roster. It's almost like a bowl game. It's a great idea. It should be fun, but going into next year I wouldn't expect this tournament to represent anything honestly."
On if he is over what happened against Memphis:
"Yeah, I'm over that. It's God's will at the end of the day. It's something to learn from. We'll be back."
On how comfortable he is with staying next year:
"I haven't made an official decision or anything like that, but I love it here. It's a great system. It works for me. It works for the team, so I just hope we can get some more guys."
On the deciding factors of staying or leaving:
"I love it here. There's nothing more from a people perspective, basketball school perspective. Honestly it would be more of a financial thing at the end of the day. When you look back five years from now, do you regret not taking a big opportunity? That's where I'm at for me. I'm always going to be an open book. I love it here. There's nothing more Tulane can do now at the end of the day."
On how much team needs to improve to get to NCAA tournament:
"A ton. You had one year of decent success, but we still came in fourth place in the American Conference. I don't even know if it was a top-10 conference this year (it was 11th), so we had success, but now is the time of year where everyone is told how good they are and people are told they are way better than they are. We literally came in fourth place in conference. We aren't that good. We don't have to keep getting so hyped up. We have tons of work to do. I'm just excited to get back in the gym. I love just working out and stuff because at the end of the day you have to guard the dude in front of you. You have to beat the team in front of you. It doesn't matter how much money you make, what school you go to, who thinks you're so good, who told you you're so good because you're not. I'm under an audience of one, and that's God."
On Mari Jordan being back and how significant that is:
"It's great news. Obviously he was a big part of this year, but at the end of the day we gotta go do it. We came in fourth place in the conference, like, that's cool and all, but we have a lot of stuff to do. Just having one player, we have to continue to build a good culture."
On the significance of the College Basketball Crown:
"I mean it's tough because we don't have a full roster. It's almost like a bowl game. It's a great idea. It should be fun, but going into next year I wouldn't expect this tournament to represent anything honestly."
On if he is over what happened against Memphis:
"Yeah, I'm over that. It's God's will at the end of the day. It's something to learn from. We'll be back."
On how comfortable he is with staying next year:
"I haven't made an official decision or anything like that, but I love it here. It's a great system. It works for me. It works for the team, so I just hope we can get some more guys."
On the deciding factors of staying or leaving:
"I love it here. There's nothing more from a people perspective, basketball school perspective. Honestly it would be more of a financial thing at the end of the day. When you look back five years from now, do you regret not taking a big opportunity? That's where I'm at for me. I'm always going to be an open book. I love it here. There's nothing more Tulane can do now at the end of the day."
On how much team needs to improve to get to NCAA tournament:
"A ton. You had one year of decent success, but we still came in fourth place in the American Conference. I don't even know if it was a top-10 conference this year (it was 11th), so we had success, but now is the time of year where everyone is told how good they are and people are told they are way better than they are. We literally came in fourth place in conference. We aren't that good. We don't have to keep getting so hyped up. We have tons of work to do. I'm just excited to get back in the gym. I love just working out and stuff because at the end of the day you have to guard the dude in front of you. You have to beat the team in front of you. It doesn't matter how much money you make, what school you go to, who thinks you're so good, who told you you're so good because you're not. I'm under an audience of one, and that's God."
