University of North Carolina Athletics
Know Your Opponent: Tulane
November 10, 2016 | Men's Basketball
Tulane (TulaneGreenWave.com)
Location: New Orleans, La.
Rankings: Tulane - No. 228 KenPom, NR AP; UNC - No. 5 KenPom, No. 6 AP
Records: Tulane - 0-0; UNC - 0-0
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): Carolina leads 14-1 (UNC 96, Tulane 72, Dec. 16, 2015, Smith Center)
Carolina opens its season away from Chapel Hill for the sixth time in the Roy Williams era when the Tar Heels travel to New Orleans to take on Tulane Friday night at the Smoothie King Center. While the home-and-home with the Green Wave was scheduled when former Tar Heel Shammond Williams was on the Tulane staff, former head coach Ed Conroy was fired in the offseason and Shammond joined Rick Stansbury's staff at Western Kentucky.
Enter Mike Dunleavy. The longtime NBA coach and executive is making his return to college basketball after nearly four decades in pro ball. The South Carolina alumnus played parts of 11 seasons in the NBA before coaching stints with Milwaukee, Portland and both Los Angeles teams. He coached the Lakers to the 1991 NBA Finals and won NBA Coach of the Year honors in 1999 with the Trailblazers.
What does that mean for Tulane? Off the court, it means the program gets an immediate shot in the arm in terms of stature and publicity. And while the 62-year-old Dunleavy is not a traditional hire for a rebuilding program, his ties to the international scouting world from his time as a GM could help Tulane get better fast. What it means on the court - specifically for the 2016-17 Green Wave - is a little murkier.
Tulane returns 56 percent of its possession-minutes (explained here, but basically a fancy way of saying experience) from last year's team that went 12-22 and 3-15 in the American. While 56 percent may not seem like a lot, it ranks well above the average in the AAC, which is the nation's second-youngest conference, and would be right in the middle of the pack in the ACC. Carolina, by the way, returns 66 percent of its possession-minutes, third-most in the league.
Offensive woes plagued Tulane in 2015-16. The Green Wave ranked No. 301 nationally in Ken Pomeroy's offensive efficiency due almost entirely to bad shooting - 30 percent from 3 (334th nationally), 45 percent from 2 (308th) and 68 percent from the line (263rd). There was some reason for optimism in the team's only exhibition, however, as Tulane made 10 of 19 three-point attempts in an 80-58 win over Loyola New Orleans.
Leading scorer Louis Dabney (graduation) and top big man Dylan Osetkowski (transfer to Texas) are gone, but senior guard Malik Morgan is back and figures to be the top offensive threat for Dunleavy's team. Morgan averaged 12 points and five boards last season and is by far the team's best returning outside shooter. The former LSU transfer went for 18 and 8 (with six assists) and made all four of his 3s in the exhibition. He'll be joined in the backcourt by sophomore Melvin Frazier, who started nine games last year and had a team-high 20 points against Loyola.
The loss of Osetkowski to Texas is a big one, as the 6-8 forward led the Green Wave in rebounding and was one of the American's top performers on the defensive glass. In his absence, 6-11 senior Ryan Smith and 6-9 sophomore Blake Paul will be the team's top options down low. Both bigs played about 11 minutes per game last year, so there is plenty of room to improve on the front line.
BONUS HISTORICAL NUGGET(S)
Carolina and Tulane were relatively frequent opponents in the 1960s and '70s, but last year's meeting was just the second of the last 30 years. The teams played each other on three straight days in late December 1927 and in 1976 got together for the longest game in UNC history, a 113-106 Tar Heel victory at the Superdome that took four overtimes.
In November of 1982, the reigning NCAA champion Tar Heels were on the verge of an 0-3 start when Tulane visited Carmichael Auditorium. Down two late in regulation, sophomore Michael Jordan made this shot at the buzzer to force the first of three overtimes. Carolina would eventually win 70-68.
