Coach Ed Conroy has signed a fourth 2013 recruit for Tulane basketball. Josh Hearlihy, a 6'7" prep school prospect, has committed to join the Green Wave.

Hearlihy originally committed to Utah earlier in his senior year, but eventually his college search turned to Davidson, Tulane, and Santa Clara.

Adam Finkelstein, northeast recruiting czar for ESPN, confirmed it here: 

NMH (MA) 2013 F Josh Hearlihy has committed to Tulane
— Adam Finkelstein (@FinkelsteinNERR) April 19, 2013

Make sure to follow Fear the Wave on Twitter. 

Check out the video below of Hearlihy from his season at Northfield Mount Hermon. He previously played out west for the Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles. 

Kid is a scorer inside with some mid-range ability to boot. Looks like a much-needed late signing period addition for the Green Wave.

Other Buzz:

• Here's Hearlihy's page on Rivals to see a full school list. 
• Evan Daniels of Fox and Scout also confirms the signing: 

Josh Hearlihy to Tulane, according to his coach John Carroll.
— Evan Daniels (@EvanDanielsFOX) April 19, 2013

• Another update from an LA writer on the high school sports beat.

Boys' basketball: Josh Hearlihy commits to Tulane latimesblogs.latimes.com/varsitytimesin… via @latimessports
— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) April 19, 2013

Yesterday, I posted a little breakdown of how Conference USA will shape up next year, which is the final year of Tulane's participation.

Of course, 2014 will be the first year that the Green Wave will play in the zombie Big East or Conference TBA or not-America 12 or whatever you want to call it.

Early coverage of the new conference focused primarily on its imminent breakup and then the departure of the Catholic 7. Now, however, the mystery conference is showing its value.

Last week, the conference inked a deal with ESPN that will put 90% of conference games on the ESPN family of networks. Additionally, the conference championship will be played on either ABC or ESPN. Good stuff, right?

The conference moved a step further by signing a second deal for coverage with CBS today.

While it was disappointing to see most of the basketball powerhouses say goodbye to the Big East, it's pretty clear that this conference will put Tulane in a better position to be seen. Of course, that matters for a variety of reasons. The money is better. Recruits like it. Plus, it builds the national profile of the program. Good move for the program.