Tulane basketball coach Ron Hunter had seen enough.
Or, more accurately, he had not seen enough bodies in all the empty seats during the Green Wave’s home game against Southern on Saturday, and he called out the fans after the 105-81 victory.
“We have a really good team,” he said. “It’s OK to come and support these kids. I knows there’s a lot going on and I live in football world, but one of the best teams in the country is playing here at Tulane in the city of New Orleans, and I want people to understand that.”
The attendance was 1,407 — counting a decent contingent from Southern — in an arena with a capacity around 4,000. Forward Kevin Cross had just completed his second consecutive triple-double, becoming the first player to accomplish that feat against Division I opponents in 15 years and only the second to score 20 or more points in both ends of a triple-double since assists became an official statistic in 1984.
Hunter knew the students were out of town on Christmas break and would be gone for another three weeks. But when Tulane (8-2) entertains George Mason (9-2) at 1 p.m. Friday, he wants a bigger audience that recognizes the accomplishments of Cross, Jaylen Forbes and Sion James, a trio that has been together since 2020-21.
“We’ve got a great team (George Mason) coming in here, and I want the people of Tulane to understand that,” he said. “We’ve got a good team. It’s been a long time (coming). They (the Wave) had a lot of years of bad basketball. I’m trying not to get on a roll here, but I think it’s important that we support these kids. These kids bust their butts. Don’t come to support me. I could care less, but I do care about these kids, and these are seniors and this is the last time they are going to be in this building playing. Students, alumni, whatever it is, you’ve got to come and support these kids.”
Hunter, who inherited a program that had gone 0-18 in the AAC in 2018-19, guided Tulane to its first winning conference record (10-8) since 2006-07 in his third year. The Wave improved to 12-6 last season for its best conference winning percentage since 1996-97, and although 3,621 packed Devlin Fieldhouse for a game against No. 1 Houston in January, the attendance surpassed 2,000 only two other times.
The high mark for six nonconference home dates this season was 1,689 for the opener against Nicholls State.
Tulane leads the nation in field goal percentage (.536), is third in scoring (91.7) and has erupted for 105 or more points in consecutive games for the first time since 1972-73.
When Cross arrived at the practice facility on Thursday, Hunter opened the door for him and bowed, saying “I know where my bread is buttered.” In the midst of his historic triple-doubles, Cross also had a career-high six steals against Furman and hit three must-make free throws to send the game into overtime with four-10ths of a second left, set his career high for blocked shots with four against Southern and hit 15 of 19 shots from the floor in the two games.
“The guy’s unreal, and we’ve always known that,” James said. “That’s not new information.”
Forbes, Tulane’s all-time leader in 3-pointers (242), emerged from an early-season slump with three straight 3-pointers in double overtime against Furman and remained hot against Southern, draining six of 11 3s.
“Because of what Kevin is doing, we’re really not talking about that,” Hunter said. “He’s really scoring. He’s back to his normal self now.”
All five Tulane starters average double figures. Top reserve Tre’ Williams, whom Hunter said would play Friday after missing the Southern game with a shoulder issue, can join them if he scores 12 against George Mason.
Hunter’s message is simple — these guys deserve more appreciation.
“The exciting part is I don’t think we’re playing our best,” he said. “This is an older team. I remember when this team was one of the youngest in the country. Now we’ve gotten a little older, and I like this team. I really do. That’s why I’m passionate about people coming to watch them play. If you stop going to games, then you miss the opportunity to see great players.”