3Q In: Pelicans Are Not Contenders

Ethen Meyers • March 2, 2023

        If you asked me when I wrote the first and second installment of this series if the 3/4 review would be they are not, compared to are they? I would have assumed a lot went wrong. Frankly, that feels mostly accurate. A lot has gone wrong. Excuses and excuses is what I have but I am writing this from a positive mind frame despite the Pelicans being outright frustrating to watch sometimes, they still hold a lot of upside with nothing but youth from the staff to the players. The Pelicans may not be contenders, and that happening this year required a lot to go right. We were #1 at one point and now risk missing the play in but all at the same time are only a few losses back in the loss column from 4th place. It has been a wild and confusing season, time to dive in and just point out one big positive, one negative, and one big concern.


        The youth. As I stated in the intro, this squad is still young. While not the youngest, if you remove Uncle GT from the count we drop in the youngest of young guns in the NBA. Zion is still only 22 and somehow got better despite not playing competitive basketball for what felt like a decade. Jose, Trey, and Herb are all under 25 and came from the same draft year and just 2nd year players. We have the pieces to build long term success, and I know a lot of folks were angry that we did not make a major move at the trade deadline but a part of me figured we would not. This is still not a destination city for NBA super stars, but I feel with time it will become one under the current leadership. The frustrating part is what appears to be a quick retract leash on the young guys. Temple getting time over Trey last year, Graham and Richardson getting a clear nod over guys we have seen grind out their playing time. I don't have a rhyme or reason for this, but I can say I have faith that long term, Willie Green will figure it out because he is the 5th youngest head coach in the association sitting at 41. I was one who gave up on Monty Williams early, and he comes from that tree, I am much more willing to see Willie Green work it out over swapping head coaches every other year.


        The energy. Man oh man the energy. What happened to it? We went from Zion breaking an unwritten rule and the team looking like they were best friends forever to... this. The guys just look defeated. We come out flat and feels like we are walking while everyone else is running. Even worse, we have made even the worst deficits into games time and time again. If the energy was there from tip, this team would be the same team we saw earlier in the season. This brings me to my point, the age while a positive, is also a negative. If you listen to Antonio Daniels talk about "young" teams and how you can discourage them. This seems to happen with the Pelicans. We seem to allow the moment to own us and not own the moment. Some folks say "Zion" some folks blame Willie. I am not sure who or what to blame, but this team is nearly identical to the team that knocked out the current GOAT LeBron and gave the championship winning Suns a run for their money in the first round.


        The issue. This is a theory, purely and 100% nothing but speculation. I want to really consider what happened in the shift and guys walking instead of running. My theory? Potential trouble in paradise with the Zion and Ingram deadly duo. Again, and I need to stress, this is SPECULATION, but I crave answers. I crave knowing what is going on and this year something is definitely going on. Last year Ingram knew this was his team for that time. Ingram is not a hugely vocal guy but we saw him come out of shell last year and become a young leader budding into his position. Start of the season, BI still had that "look". Then Ingram missed 27 straight games. In a bulk of those games Zion retook the league by storm nearly averaging 30PPG. Treated like the next super start, loved by fans far and wide not just in New Orleans. All of a sudden it looked like Zion's team, all of a sudden the KD rumors came back up. If I was Branon Ingram, and I am not, but if I was, I would certainly feel some type of way. People have short term memory in regards to success. The world of sports is a "what have you done for me.... lately?" world. It is the reason we watch sports. We want that thrill of our favorite team or our favorite player carrying "us" to a win. Zion did that, Zion did it really well. I can't help but think that without Zion everyone looked at Ingram and he carried us. Now people got a small taste of Zion and again, if I was Ingram, I would feel some type of way. He is young and it is easy to feel like people forgot what you did for them or how good you are. By no means do I believe if this is the issue would break up the duo, but I have attempted to think of every other possibility and not many of them make sense. This one hardly does, but I just can't help but feel the "energy" will return when the dynamics are worked out. I think BI and Zion can be an insane pairing for the future of the Pelicans and the future of the NBA, but with what feels like 2 total games played, it will take time.  The team is still looking to Ingram, but is he looking back?


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ULM falls late to UAB

By Dusty Thibodeaux • September 13, 2026
ULM falls to 0-2 on the season
Tulane Green Wave football victory poster with players, 24–13 final score, and “Battle for the Beads” title

Tulane Green Wave vs South Alabama Jaguars Review

By Patrick Harkness • September 13, 2026
South Alabama- 24 @ Tulane Green Wave- 28 First win of the Will Hall era, a home-opener grind, and a reminder that this team can make a play when it has to. South Alabama jumped out 10-0. Tulane answered with two Johnnie Daniels short-yardage TDs to lead 14-10 at the half, then spent the second half trading haymakers. The lead changed on the last five touchdowns. Kadin Semonza’s 14-yard back-shoulder fade to Destyn Hill with 1:17 left won it. The defense then forced a three-and-out. Victory formation. 1-1. What they did well: Jaylin Lucas was the difference. Eleven carries, 214 yards, 19.5 yards per carry, an American Conference record for a qualifying load and the first 200-yard rushing game in Yulman Stadium history. He had 117 yards on five first-half touches, including a 55-yard burst that set up Daniels. His first touch of the second half was an 80-yard untouched sprint around the right side after two blocks opened a lane. That is not complementary football. That is a one-man field-flipper keeping a sloppy night from becoming a second straight loss. The big-play passing game showed up when the Wave needed it. Hill’s 61-yard catch-and-run to the 3 sparked the first scoring drive. On the winner, Semonza hit Garrett Mmahat for 13 on third-and-1, then found his brother Cash “Money” Semonza for 36 down the sideline to the 20, then dropped the fade to Hill in the corner. First career start for Semonza with Tulane (14-of-22, 212 yards, 1 TD). No pick’s. Composed on the two-minute drill. That is the version of this offense that can hang with better teams. Daniels did the dirty work: Two TDs on six carries and 8 yards. Red-zone finishing was not the problem (Perfect). Neither was ball security, zero turnovers. William Hudlow’s punting (46-yard average, including a 55-yarder that flipped field position) was a quiet plus. And Hall’s postgame was fair: the players never wavered. They made the plays late. That matters more in Week 2 of a new staff than a clean box score. Local flavor helped: Lucas (Terrebonne/Karr) and Hill (Karr) produced the two biggest moments of the night in front of a Mardi Gras-uniform crowd. What still needs work: The same issues that showed up at Duke did not get fixed. South Alabama ran 72 plays to Tulane’s 51, held the ball 37:40 to 22:20 , and piled up 25 first downs to 13. The Jaguars went 10-of-16 on third down. Bishop Davenport threw for 296 yards and two scores, added 50 rushing yards, and repeatedly escaped pressure. Brendan Jenkins had 9 catches for 119. Anthony Eager’s 43-yard TD on the first drive of the second half was another coverage/tackle breakdown. Tackling remains a problem. PJ Martin’s 16-yard TD to make it 10-0 came after missed tackles, the same theme as Nate Sheppard’s night in Durham. Davenport converted third downs with his legs after broken contain. Injury: Chris Rodgers left with a left-leg injury on the opening series and did not return. Next Man Up: Makai Williams made a couple of important plays in his place (including a fourth-and-2 stop). Defense: The unit as a whole is not playing to the standard this program needs against Kansas State next week or in the American. The start was again slow: Punt, missed 45-yarder, then a six-play USA scoring drive. Early miscommunication put Semonza in third-and-long on the first series. Tulane lived on explosives instead of consistent chains. Thirteen first downs is not a sustainable formula when the other side is converting third downs and chewing clock. A would-be go-ahead fumble return by Josh Moore after Dickson Agu’s strip of Davenport was correctly overturned (QB slide rule which I think is BS). Agu led the team with 14 tackles and was around the ball all night; the defense did stiffen when it had to on the final USA possession. That is the encouraging part. The rest of the 478 yards allowed is the concern. Bottom line: This was a win they needed more than a statement. Lucas and the late Semonza-to-Hill connection papered over a defense that still cannot get off the field and an offense that still cannot stay on it. Hall has his first win, monkey off back now let’s get rolling! The roster showed fight! Next Saturday at Kansas State will tell you whether the explosives and the fourth-quarter composure are the real identity or whether the 10-0 holes and third-down leaks are. Fix the tackling and the early-down consistency, and this group has enough playmakers to stay in the AAC conversation. Leave those holes open and the next road trip gets ugly. Stay Tuned Roll Dat Wave Pod coming with a Kansas State Preview! #RollWave Make sure to follow Patrick Harkness on X
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