Tulane Green Wave
Overall Rank: #43
Conference Rank: #2 American
Tulane came very close to making another trip to the NCAA Tournament, but had to settle for the WNIT. Once there, the Green Wave knocked off Alabama and Georgia Tech before falling to Florida Gulf Coast in the third round. Tulane hopes to get back to the NCAA Tournament this year, but they have some big holes to fill in the frontcourt. Both center Chinwe Duru and forward Tierra Jones are gone. Coach Lisa Stockton may have to play with a smaller lineup this year and work around sophomore forward Harlyn Wyatt.
2015-16 Record: 23-12, 11-7
2015-16 Postseason: WNIT
Coach: Lisa Stockton
Coach Record: 461-227 at Tulane, 524-254 overall
Key Departed Players (starters in bold)
Chinwe Duru, Center, 7.3 ppg
Tierra Jones, Forward, 7.0 ppg
Taylor Emery, Guard, 6.2 ppg
Key Returning Players (starters in bold)
Kolby Morgan, Junior, Guard, 17.2 ppg
Leslie Vorpahl, Senior Guard, 10.7 ppg
Courtnie Latham, Senior, Guard, 6.8 ppg
Harlyn Wyatt, Sophomore, Forward, 3.6 ppg
Meredith Schulte, Sophomore, Guard, 2.9 ppg
Shakira Harding, Senior, Guard, 2.1 ppg
Tene Thompson, Sophomore, Guard, 1.3 ppg
Caylah Cruickshank, Junior, Guard, 0.9 ppg
Ksenija Madzarevic, Sophomore, Center, 0.3 ppg
Key New Players
Brogan Jones, Freshman, Center
Kayla Manuirirangi, Freshman, Guard
Maddison Wells, Freshman, Forward
Projection
The backcourt is what will make Tulane a contender in the AAC. Kolby Morgan averaged 17.2 points per game last season. She is a dynamic guard who can attack the basket and knock down three-pointers. Point guard Leslie Vorpahl can shoot too and connected on 40.0 percent of her three-point attempts. She also dished out 5.4 assists per game. Fellow starter Courtnie Latham adds even more experience to the perimeter, but she does need to be more consistent with her outside shooting. But it is Morgan and Vorpahl who will lead this team and they are more than capable of taking the Green Wave back to the NCAA Tournament.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 64.4 (158th in nation, 6th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 62.7 (155, 3)
Field-Goal Percentage: 42.1 (75, 3)
Field-Goal Defense: 38.4 (109, 4)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.2 (191, 6)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 33.3 (74, 3)
Free-Throw Percentage: 70.7 (137, 6)
Rebound Margin: -0.8 (193, 7)
Assists Per Game: 13.2 (153, 6)
Turnovers Per Game: 16.1 (186, 6)
