Midnight Madness Ushers in New Season

Midnight Madness can trace its roots to College Park, MD. Legendary coach Lefty Driesel began the late night tradition by running his players at 12:01 AM on a track lit up by the headlights of assistant coaches' cars in 1971. College basketball fans across the county have been craving a midnight snack ever since the lefthander had the turtles running laps.

Gary Williams excited this year's crowd in College Park by entering the Comcast Center in Donnie Neuberger's stock car. The Terps drew a crowd of 17,950 for a night full of festivities. Maryland entertained its fans with a rock concert, an alumni game, dunking acrobats, and a Gary Williams look-alike contest.

Only a few miles away, Georgetown held its own Midnight Madness and marked the return of a favorite son. John Thompson III returned to Washington, DC with the hope of bringing back Hoya paranoia. Thompson's father, Hall of Fame coach John Thompson, led the Hoyas to three national championship games and one title in the mid-'80s. Thompson will try to blend his father's trapping, pressing, full-court game with the back door cuts, pick-and-rolls, motion offense, and screens he learned as a player assistant coach and head coach while at Princeton.

Georgetown's Big East brothers at UConn held Midnight Madness with subdued enthusiasm. Star freshman guard A.J. Price was recovering from a brain hemorrhage he suffered on October 4th. Price has subsequently been released from the hospital, but his status is unknown for the season. The son of former Penn All-American Tony Price had to be rushed the hospital with the flu and a severe headache. He was in intensive care for nine days.

The Huskies will take on a different look this season without lottery picks Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon and point guard Taliek Brown.

At Kentucky, actress and UK alum Ashley Judd had the crowd in a tizzy after personally congratulating freshman Joe Crawford for his double-pump reverse flush. The event was emceed by former Wildcats Sam Bowie and Larry Conley, currently an ESPN analyst. Judd would later join Bowie and Conley for a makeshift broadcast team.

The theme for this year's event in Lexington was "This is Kentucky Basketball." The idea was to spoof "This is SportsCenter" from ESPN. The prelude to the player introductions included highlights of Kentucky's to plays from a year ago and UK staff members and players mimicking the ESPN commercials.

Big Blue's bitter rival, Indiana, provided a thrill and a bit of a surprise for its faithful. The Hoosiers entered Assembly Hall with candy-stripped warm-up shirts. The new-look tops were inspired by their warm-up pants.

In Seattle, coming off a second-place finish in the Pac-10 and an NCAA tournament appearance, Washington had to forego Midnight Madness this year. The Huskies had to migrate to Olympia, Washington because of "The Man in the City," according to Husky star guard Nate Robinson. Microsoft founder Bill Gates needed the Hec Ed Pavilion for a fundraiser.

At the University of Florida, the fans were treated to the site of dual-sport star Cornelius Ingram on the bench. Ingram was all-state in Florida in football and basketball. Ingram is in Gainesville on a football scholarship, but is expected to join the Basketball team once the season starts. He has yet to play for the Gators on the gridiron this season and will likely redshirt.

Defending Patriot League champion Lehigh welcomed the new season with the off Broadway version of Midnight Madness. ESPN anchor Trey Wingo ventured to Bethlehem, PA to host the event. Two-time league Coach of the Year Billy Taylor addressed the crowd and the Mountain Hawks also showed a highlight video from last year's team, raised their league championship banner, and held contest for the students as well as the players.

Arkansas had one of the more eagerly anticipated Midnight Madness events. The Hogs filled it up with events for the kids and those with a more nostalgic yearning. The events for young Razorback fans included trying to race the length of the court in size 18 shoes and the task of fitting into an overstuffed basketball jersey. The inaugural alumni three-on-three event tournament saw Clyde Fletcher, Larry Satchell, and Ron Huery return to Fayetteville. The Razorback athletic department used the event as an opportunity to help the less fortunate. The price of admission was a non-perishable food item.

After an off year in Tucson, Midnight Madness returned to the University of Arizona. Lute Olson's 22nd season in the Old Pueblo began with players choreographing their own dance their introduction and a 20-minute scrimmage. The scrimmage was between the upper classmen and the freshmen and sophomores. The upperclassmen had to rally from a 38-29 deficit to force a 42-all tie after the 20-minute allotment.

Other contests included skits that showed off men and women's players broadcasting skills and the slam-dunk contest won by freshman Jawaan McClellan.

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