Q&A with Coach Dunleavy on End of Season Reflections

[GreenPuddleSplash]

http://www.nola.com/tulane/index.ssf/20 ... river_home

Some good questions asked so read the article, but here are 3 of the reoccurring concerns I saw from bball related posts.

How excited are you about the future of the program?

MD: I'm very excited about it. I think we have a good group of kids that are working hard, we have some new guys coming in that sat out (after transferring here) in Jordan Cornish and Samir Sehic and we're going to keep building. I understand the reality, it's going to take three to four years, as far as getting full recruiting in and getting everybody to where you have guys that have been in the system.

What do you think about some of the players that will be coming back from last year's team?

MD: We have three starters coming back in Cam Reynolds, Melvin Frazier and Ray Ona Embo. Ray had a great year and those other two guys played at a high level. Cam was the Most Improved Player in the league, Melvin led the league in steals and his individual skill got a lot better from the start of the year to the end of the year.

What are you expecting to get next year from St. Patrick's (New Jersey) big men Bul Ajang and Buay Koka?

MD: I've seen them play multiple times this year and both guys play really hard. That's the first requirement for us, that you have good work ethic. They have good hands, they can score around the basket, they make free throws. Obviously, Buay Koka is 7-foot tall, so we expect him to help us protect the rim some. Bul Ajang is 6-10 and skilled, but we haven't brought young big guys into our program yet, so it will be interesting to see how they adjust to a change in the speed of game. But my expectations for them down the road is that they'll be terrific additions for our program.

[GreenLantern]

He's got me convinced that we're trending positively. I know a lot of folks on this forum disagree. I'm wrong a lot. My wife reminds me of this often.

I'm disappointed that we did not hang onto Harris. My intuition tells me there were a lot of issues at play there.

[mbawavefan12]

He's got me convinced that we're trending positively. I know a lot of folks on this forum disagree. I'm wrong a lot. My wife reminds me of this often.

I'm disappointed that we did not hang onto Harris. My intuition tells me there were a lot of issues at play there.

I am convinced.

[msdos]

I understand the reality, it's going to take three to four years,

my joy is palatable

[DfromCT]

The big guys he refers to averaged a combined 7.5 points per game this past season. Yes, they played on a team that's probably more talented than the one their joining, but I think they're projects more than a surefire offensive threat. He nods in that direction when he says "my expectations for them down the road is that they'll be terrific additions for our program".

He's not expecting great things for a few more years. That's disconcerting. Mike White would have had us in the NCAA tournament by year 3.

[mbawavefan12]

The big guys he refers to averaged a combined 7.5 points per game this past season. Yes, they played on a team that's probably more talented than the one their joining, but I think they're projects more than a surefire offensive threat. He nods in that direction when he says "my expectations for them down the road is that they'll be terrific additions for our program".

He's not expecting great things for a few more years. That's disconcerting. Mike White would have had us in the NCAA tournament by year 3.

White would never take the job.

Ya the bigs r disconcerting but all they need to do is play D for 1-2 years.

[nawlinspete]

Hope I'm wrong, but Dunleavy sounds too content with traveling, "teaching", and sticking around as long as possible as opposed to winning. Scary similarities to a horrible coach named Scelfo.

[JerseyWave]

Coach Dunleavy says all the right things in the interview, he enjoyed coaching, teaching, meeting high school coaches, living in New Orleans. I just hope he didn't enjoy a 6 win season.

[DfromCT]

The big guys he refers to averaged a combined 7.5 points per game this past season. Yes, they played on a team that's probably more talented than the one their joining, but I think they're projects more than a surefire offensive threat. He nods in that direction when he says "my expectations for them down the road is that they'll be terrific additions for our program".

He's not expecting great things for a few more years. That's disconcerting. Mike White would have had us in the NCAA tournament by year 3.

White would never take the job.

Ya the bigs r disconcerting but all they need to do is play D for 1-2 years.

Easy to say now, but when his previous top job was at La Tech, it's hard to say what he would have done had he gotten the offer prior to getting an offer from Florida. He grew up here for crying out loud. His first steps on a basketball court were at Fogelman.

[Jaxwave]

Hope I'm wrong, but Dunleavy sounds too content with traveling, "teaching", and sticking around as long as possible as opposed to winning. Scary similarities to a horrible coach named Scelfo.

I'm 64 and recently retired, in good shape, exercise, lawn work, basically active. I could no more keep up the schedule of a college coach if I wanted to. It is a young man's game. The exceptions are the very successful guys who have made a name for themselves and can have younger assistants do a lot of the heavy lifting on a day to day basis.
I too am worried that Coach Dunleavy took this job to "enjoy" his last year's before retirement while making good money in a great city where he has close ties. I won't go so far as to compare him to the "retired while on the job" Toledo, I'm very concerned he will succumb to the Tulane burn out, i.e., lose motivation to put in the hard work when he comes to the realization that to recruit and sell Tulane athletics to the degree that a major turnaround can happen is nearly impossible with the limited resources available and low perception of Tulane athletics.

[kingcole]

If the Vandy transfer is as good as they say we only need rebounding and D from the FR. As far developing big men I thought we got a lot out of R Smith who I thought was limited on talent.

[DfromCT]

If the Vandy transfer is as good as they say we only need rebounding and D from the FR. As far developing big men I thought we got a lot out of R Smith who I thought was limited on talent.

Your refering to Semir Sehic, and this is directly from his bio:

At Vanderbilt: Played in 22 games as a freshman in 2015-16 ... Averaged 1.2 points and 1.4 rebounds per game ...Tied career high with three points against LSU ... Also scored three points against St. John's and at Purdue.

Kinda tough to say that he's going to light it up for Tulane. I'm more impressed with the 6'6" guard from UNLV.

[winwave]

If the Vandy transfer is as good as they say we only need rebounding and D from the FR. As far developing big men I thought we got a lot out of R Smith who I thought was limited on talent.

Your refering to Semir Sehic, and this is directly from his bio:

At Vanderbilt: Played in 22 games as a freshman in 2015-16 ... Averaged 1.2 points and 1.4 rebounds per game ...Tied career high with three points against LSU ... Also scored three points against St. John's and at Purdue.

Kinda tough to say that he's going to light it up for Tulane. I'm more impressed with the 6'6" guard from UNLV.

Who averaged 6 points a game.

Neither was impressive in their first stops. Hopefully we'll see the type of player development we saw with Reynolds,Frazier and Smith.

[nawlinspete]

Actually U of Nevada, not UNLV....