Tulane Men’s Basketball: Forbes, Cross granted immediate eligibility as transfers

NEW ORLEANS – Tulane men’s basketball head coach Ron Hunter announced that sophomores Jaylen Forbes and Kevin Cross have been granted immediate eligibility for the 2020-21 season.

Forbes and Cross will each have three years of eligibility remaining beginning this fall.

“I’m incredibly happy for Jaylen, Kevin and their families,” Hunter said. “Both of these young men are important pieces to the foundation we’re building for this program. They’ve been working really hard ever since they got to campus and now they are happy they can play right away.”

Forbes transferred to the Green Wave after playing his freshman year at the University of Alabama last winter where he played in 30 games and made one start while averaging 2.7 points and 2.1 rebounds in 10.1 minutes per game. In his collegiate debut, he grabbed a team-high eight rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench against Penn, before pulling down nine boards in 18 minutes against Arkansas. He also made made three 3-pointers and scored a season-high 11 points in just 15 minutes at Auburn.

Prior to his time at Alabama, the Florence, Mississippi native finished his Florence High School career as the top scorer in school history, averaging 25.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game. Forbes was rated a four-star prospect, as well as the No. 84 overall player and No. 18 shooting guard in the class of 2019 by ESPN.com. He was also tabbed the No. 2 prospect in the state of Mississippi.

Cross also transferred to Tulane this spring following one season at the University of Nebraska. He appeared in all 32 games and made two starts for the Cornhuskers, averaging 7.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 18.3 minutes per contest. Cross ranked fifth among all true freshmen in the Big Ten Conference in rebounding and seventh in both scoring and 3-pointers made (32).

A Little Rock, Arkansas native, Cross scored double-digit points nine times, handed out multiple assists in 11 games and made multiple 3-pointers on seven occasions. In his final game of the season, he scored a career-high 23 points and recorded personal-bests in rebounds (9) and 3-pointers made (4) against Indiana in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.