Midnight Madness roundup: Calipari gets rock-star welcome at UK

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- On a stage befitting a rock star, John Calipari got his first taste of a packed house at Rupp Arena on Friday night and promised to return Kentucky basketball to "its rightful place at the top of the mountain."

The new Wildcats coach made his entrance around 8:40 p.m. to chants of "Go Big Blue" during the program's preseason pep rally, Big Blue Madness. Then he spent the next 15 minutes delivering a rousing speech to a crowd that needed little convincing.

"I see the foundation for my vision of this program," said Calipari, at points yelling so loud that his voice seemed to crack. "It's a vision where we are the gold standard, not just for college basketball but for all college athletics."

Smoke and pyrotechnics filled the air as Calipari -- decked in a gray shirt, not blue -- strolled across a huge stage erected at one end of the arena, flanked by three enormous video boards and surrounded by screaming fans.

Calipari's first words to the sellout crowd: "All I can say, you all are awesome."

Before his arrival, the players were introduced one by one -- standing on a catwalk above the center video screen as their names were called.

A stirring video montage showed film clips -- many of them black and white -- of the great moments in the history of Kentucky basketball, which has won seven national titles and has more victories than any program. Among the words on the screen during the montage: "Envy our past. Fear our future."

"I'm excited, I'm humbled and I'm honored to be your coach," Calipari said. "Tonight we turn the page from anticipation to preparation."

After the players lined up to show off their best dunks, they split into teams for the customary scrimmage, which all-Southeastern Conference center Patrick Patterson started with three baskets -- including two dunks.

On display, at least partially, was Calipari's patented dribble drive, which he called "basketball's most exciting offense."

It was also the fans' opportunity to get their first glimpse on the Rupp Arena court of a star-studded freshman class, headlined by John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Eric Bledsoe.

"If I have the choice between experience and talent, I'm taking talent every time," Calipari said.

Wall showed off the athleticism that has some proclaiming him as a national player of the year candidate. During one drive, he sped past two defenders near the free throw line, then went airborne, finishing with a backward dunk.

Although offense was intended to be the star of the show, defense was largely nonexistent. At one point, Calipari interrupted the scrimmage by taking the microphone and pointing out this shortcoming.

"Folks, I hope you're enjoying this, but do you see how far we have to go?" Calipari said. "All right, just so everybody understands it."

Among those who made an appearance over the course of the evening were country star Eddie Montgomery and former Kentucky great Tayshaun Prince. Calipari asked if actress Ashley Judd was in attendance, but that wasn't immediately clear.

Big Blue Madness went more than an hour before the men's team was introduced, starting with a fan nailing a long 3-pointer to win a home theater system.

Before the UK women scrimmaged, coach Matthew Mitchell acknowledged he knew who the star of the evening was, humorously urging the crowd to support Calipari because he is "a little shy."

Calipari replaced the fired Billy Gillispie six months ago after two tumultuous years, including last season when the Wildcats failed to even reach the NCAA tournament.

The crowd cheered loudly and often for the new team leader, and the coach gratefully basked in it.

"I want to thank the Big Blue nation for your warming and hospitality," he said. "You all have made us feel like we've been in the Commonwealth forever."

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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Defending national champion North Carolina is back on the court.

The team held its annual "Late Night with Roy" event Friday night, which drew about 19,000 fans for a show that included team skits, music and dancing before the Tar Heels held an intrasquad scrimmage.

It was the start of the program's centennial basketball season and the debut of this year's squad, which includes freshmen David and Travis Wear -- the first twins to play for the Tar Heels.

The title defense began without Tyler Hansbrough, a four-year star who graduated as the program's all-time leading scorer and rebounder.

Despite losing four starters, the Tar Heels boast a loaded frontcourt with senior Deon Thompson and sophomores Ed Davis and Tyler Zeller.

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LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -- There was a game of Simon Says, with a professional leading the way, no less. Cheesy skits, a dance troupe and a drum solo by a Bison mascot were part of the show, too. There was even some old-school short shorts.

Finally, after nearly 3 hours, Kansas took the court Friday night.

Following an offseason filled with disagreements, fights, even a DUI, the Jayhawks didn't mind a little fun before taking the court for the first time this season.

Kansas raised the curtain on a 2009-10 season it hopes will end with a second national championship in three years, giving fans their first glimpse of a deep and talented team during "Late Night at the Phog" at renovated Allen Fieldhouse.

"This is a night we've been looking forward to personally since losing to Michigan State in Indianapolis," coach Bill Self said, referring to last season's NCAA tournament loss. "We worked hard in the offseason and we've come back stronger and faster. We're definitely going to get back to Indianapolis."

They got off to a good start.

Though sometimes sloppy -- this was their first time on the court together, after all -- the Jayhawks rotated in one talented player after another during a high-energy, high-scoring scrimmage.

Markieff Morris hit three 3-pointers on his way to 15 points and Travis Relaford also had 15 to wow a jam-packed crowd of more than 16,000 fans, including recruits such as forward Harrison Barnes, ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the country by Rivals.com for 2010.

"We want you to know that we've been working as hard as we ever had and we're getting better every day," guard Sherron Collins told the crowd after the scrimmage. "We're going to make this the best season we can."

Kansas, which opens the season at home against Hofstra on Nov. 13, was the unanimous choice of Big 12 coaches to win a sixth consecutive conference title and most likely will be the nation's No. 1 preseason team.

The Jayhawks have two of the best players in the country in Collins and center Cole Aldrich, both of whom passed up chances at the NBA for the chance at another title. They'll be surrounded by plenty of returning talent -- more than 90 percent of the scoring and rebounding is back -- and a recruiting class that's among the best in the country.

A rough offseason threatened to overshadow anything they were going to do on the court.

It started in July with a disagreement between Self and the family of his top two recruits. Self mended the fences with Carl Henry, father of Xavier and C.J., but that wasn't the end of the Jayhawks' problems.

Last month, members of the basketball and football teams were involved in a series of on-campus fights that brought out the police and embarrassed the university. Junior guard Brady Morningstar was suspended from the team for the first semester after being arrested on suspicion of DUI a little over a week later.

Yeah, the Jayhawks were ready to get back on the court -- and it showed.

Following a scrimmage by the Kansas women, who are led by preseason Big 12 player of the year Danielle McCray, the Jayhawks enthusiastically performed skits in front of a fake panel of ESPN "GameDay" judges, with Self playing Digger Phelps.

"We all know they've got a little fight in them," Digger Self said, drawing a laugh from the crowd.

For the skits, the players did remakes of previous Phog favorites, including a dance in old-style short basketball shorts by the sophomores. A technical glitch during the seniors' skit -- Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" stopped playing while they were dancing -- gave Self an opening to get in his first dig of the season.

"That's it, blame it on the music, guys," he said. "That's the way it is in practice: blame it on somebody else."

Once the silliness was over, a video highlighted Kansas' five Big 12 titles and the banner for the 2009 was unveiled to a roaring crowd. Another video, this one chronicling the storied history of the Jayhawks' program, followed and the players took the court through fog and flashing lights.

The layup line turned into a dunk contest and the scrimmage started off the same way, with Releford scoring on an alley-oop dunk from Tyshawn Taylor.

The players settled in after that and even with a few errant passes and some ugly shots, the Jayhawks showed plenty of glimpses of how good they can be.

Collins was his usual slash-and-dash self, scoring eight points, and Aldrich matched him with his usual effectiveness inside. The freshmen were pretty good, too. Xavier Henry and Elijah Johnson both hit 3-pointers and 6-foot-9 freshman Thomas Robinson finished with nine points and showed good range on a jumper from the top of the key.

"What a great time, selfishly, to be a Jayhawk fan," Self said.

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VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) -- The first reminder of last season's Final Four comes with a glimpse at the rafters. The year 2009 had been permanently printed on a banner that already recognized the 1939, 1971 and 1985 Villanova Final Four teams.

The next salute will come next week when last year's team will receive their Final Four rings.

There will be more opportunities over the next six months to relive an amazing run that ended with Villanova in the national semifinals for the first time in 24 years.

Coach Jay Wright wants the returning players to always remember that feeling of success only four teams each year get to experience. He also had a simple message for the Wildcats (30-8) at the first day of practice Friday: The Final Four was a great achievement, but it means little once the ball tips this year.

"We're doing all the Final Four things now," Wright said. "Then we're going to say, 'That's it.' Let's get fired up about '09-'10. Let's put it behind us."

Wright kicked off the season in his own way. He often preaches about his love of the Villanova Family, and nearly 100 members of the Philadelphia and south New Jersey alumni organizations were invited to watch a portion of practice. Wright brought several down from the stands and stationed them behind the basket to scream and wave their arms in distraction during a free throw drill. Wright raised his arms as he encouraged the die-hards to scream louder and throw off each Wildcat attempting a free throw.

"That's Coach," guard Scottie Reynolds said. "He just loves this kind of stuff."

It's the type of interaction that has made Wright wildly popular among the fanbase. It's part of the reason he couldn't leave the Wildcats after a weekend flirtation with the Philadelphia 76ers and their head coaching vacancy.

"This is his dream job," Reynolds said.

He wants to make it a dream season.

This year marks the 25th anniversary since the Wildcats improbably won the only national championship in the program's history. The '85 team will be feted at a game this year, likely at the Wachovia Center, and familiar stories will be swapped and famous faces will sprout a few more gray hairs.

The 1985 team boasts a legacy the program is still trying to chase.

Wright's Wildcats should be in the thick of Big East contention and a legitimate Final Four contender. Reynolds is back, along with guards Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes. Duke transfer Taylor King and promising freshmen like Dominic Cheek and Mouphtaou Yarou all but guarantee Villanova its sixth straight NCAA tournament under Wright.

"Everyone's going to judge them on whether they get back to the Final Four, whether they win the national championship this year," Wright said. "That's on the outside. They have to be aware of that. We have to stick to who we are."

Wright said the Wildcats strayed from their philosophy of attacking, driving and getting to the line and it cost them in their national semifinal loss to eventual champion North Carolina. The Wildcats rode an emotional high from earning a spot in Detroit and failed to handle the hoopla as coolly as Wright had hoped.

"Carolina was very committed to playing their game," Wright said. "We didn't play our game. We let all the trappings get to us."

Reynolds, who put Villanova in the Final Four with a half-court race to the rim that gave the Wildcats a 78-76 victory over Pittsburgh in the East Regional final, said the team has learned the lesson from March. There's a time for a celebration and a time to move ahead to the next game.

After the Wildcats slip on their designer rings, their next concern will be the season opener Nov. 13 against Fairleigh Dickinson.

"It's kind of like the closure of the Final Four thing," Reynolds said.

Good luck getting their fans to accept that.

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