A Tepid Endorsement of the Status Quo

If one can believe the papers, the Tulane Green Wave basketball team played its best game this year and crushed Southern Mississippi far away from the Mardi Gras.

It is clear that Tulane is going to take a hard look at this program in the off-season. The product isn’t good or getting better or attended- and Coach Dickerson has been here awhile. As Katrina recedes into the near distance, a mandate for change could evolve.

That being said, I think Dickerson is going to get another shot at this (ed. note: assuming he is amenable, he was a good ACC assistant and might prefer that gig to this outpost).

First of all, the kids play for him. That is no little thing when the building is empty and the team isn’t very good. The only thing the Green Wave has to play for like years now is each other. And they do.

Frankly, they don’t have any good mid-major conference players- I mean, who exactly is all-League? But they are not a disgrace. They throw the ball up and they compete. They’ve won lots of first round conference tournament games lately- so they’re still competing at the end of busted campaigns year after year. All of this suggests to me that concerning on-court "x's" and "o's", Coach is extracting something like near maximum value.

So, Coach Dave gets both effort and the most possible wins out of the roster. He has a past as an effective recruiter- which is what, if he were fired, Tulane would be looking to add, right? Looking at the horrifying violence that is right at his doorstep, recruiting in the flotsam and jetsam of Katrina, who would do better? Heck, what coach with prospects would even want to try?

I guess I don’t think they’re going to do better than this guy- and the on court product isn’t far from respectable. Add a single good recruiting class and this is probably a plus .500 C-USA product. I look at Coach Dave and see a guy who seems to get the most out of his roster, a guy who kids play for and a guy who can excuse his recruiting failures by pointing at real horrid off court issues. Bring him back.