On March 15, only one day after the firing of former head coach Ed Conroy, sophomore forward Dylan Osetkowski announced his plans to transfer from Tulane via his Twitter page.

“I want to thank everyone at Tulane, but I received my release and I’m going to be transferring,” Osetkowski said through a photo posted on his profile. “I want to thank especially my family, my coaches, my teammates and the Tulane fans for their support these last two years.”

Osetkowski finished his second season with the Green Wave with 11 double-doubles and led the team in rebounds. The third leading scorer with 377 points, he completed the season behind senior guard Louis Dabney and redshirt junior guard Malik Morgan.

With Dabney graduating, Tulane men’s basketball will find itself without two of the three top scorers from the following season. With a new coach and a new stream of freshmen coming in, it would seem that Osetkowski’s presence will be a hole that new head coach Michael Dunleavy, Sr. will have to fill.

Osetkowski was a leader on the court, showing a strong presence and powerful control in the middle of several tough games. Some were wins, others were losses, but one could not deny the 6-foot 8-inch forward’s ability to come through in clutch moments. Osetkowski earned a career-high 23 points, along with 13 rebounds, as he notched a double-double while helping Tulane overcome Memphis in overtime on February 14.

Finding a player to fill the hole left by Osetkowski will be a difficult feat, one that will require players both old and new to step up to the challenge.

Will it be an impossible task, though? Of course not. Tulane men’s basketball will see men come and go. Incoming freshmen such as Maxwell Starwood, Colin Slater and Justin Moore will provide Tulane with a much-needed dose of new blood come the 2016-17 season. The change will start from the top, with new head coach Dunleavy paving the way to new beginnings for the Wave.

Dunleavy holds years of experience on both the college and professional level, from his days in South Carolina to the NBA Finals with the Portland Trail Blazers. This will be an interesting reintroduction for the new head coach, who retired from the professionals in 2010, but nevertheless a reintroduction that needs to be made.

The Green Wave will benefit from the new personnel, coaches and players alike, that are coming next fall.

Dylan Osetkowski will be fondly remembered upon his departure. The wound may sting at first, but the team will find a way to move on and reach new heights without him.