'Let's get ready to repeat'
Kentucky treats crowd to crazy sneak preview
Posted: Monday October 19, 1998 04:01 PM
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Padgett, one of the three returning seniors from last year's national championship team, readies a slam dunk during the team's Midnight Madness AP |
LEXINGTON, Kentucky (AP) -- With coach Tubby Smith dressed as Don King and his players costumed as professional wrestlers, the defending NCAA champion Kentucky Wildcats kicked off their season at the stroke of midnight Saturday.
It was a merger of the theatrical athletics of big time college basketball and the athletic theater of professional wrestling, as an announcer intoned "Let's get ready to repeat," and the players entered Memorial Coliseum in costumes befitting their chosen pro wrestling identities. They gathered in a mock wrestling ring erected at center court as the crowd roared.
Senior Heshimu Evans, who dubbed himself "The Bronx Bomber," wore a New York Yankees jersey and hat and toted a baseball bat. Freshman Desmond "The Hit Man" Allison took the floor in full 1920s gangster regalia.
Smith wore sunglasses and a Don King-style fright wig for a grand entrance that began his second season as coach of the Wildcats.
"I didn't enjoy my hairdo, but they forced me to do it," he told the crowd.
The players left the floor and returned in practice gear for an informal slam dunk contest, with Smith doing play-by-play, and then a blue-and-white scrimmage.
Before the festivities began, Smith denied any responsibility for the night's wrestling theme.
"Obviously it's an entertainment for our players," he added. "Last year I realized how entertaining it was when Cameron [Mills] and Scott [Padgett] and a couple of other guys showed up at a wrestling match right before the SEC tournament."
Smith said the pro wrestling fan in his family was his mother.
"She'd be throwing shoes at the TV," Smith recalled. "Get off, you no good joker. Get off him! You better not hurt him."
The NBA lockout gave a number of recent Kentucky standouts a chance to attend the party, including Derek Anderson of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Ron Mercer of the Boston Celtics and Nazr Mohammed of the Philadelphia 76ers. Also on hand were former pro Kenny Walker and two members of last season's championship squad, Allen Edwards and Jeff Sheppard.
Smith dressed as Don King and the defending champs costumed as professional wrestlers AP | |
Kentucky's Midnight Madness tradition dates to 1982 and then-coach Joe B. Hall, but the original idea for staging a practice as early as possible is credited to former Maryland coach Lefty Driesell, who had his players run a mile on the track in near darkness in 1971.
Since then, the late night tradition has become as much pep rally as practice. Last year, the NCAA moved the first day of practice from October 15 to the Saturday closest to October 15, allowing schools to hold their celebrations on Friday night.
Smith said the practice serves little purpose basketball-wise, although it does put young players in front of a large, loud crowd.
"There's nothing we can evaluate from a coaching standpoint," Smith said. "Obviously, you watch to see how your players respond to the crowd, especially young players that have never been exposed to this. That'll be interesting to see how they handle it for the first time."
The stroke of midnight gave basketball-mad Kentuckians the first glimpse of their beloved Wildcats since last spring, when the "Comeback 'Cats" exited the floor of San Antonio's Alamodome as national champions following a 78-69 victory over Utah.
Gone are several mainstays of that team, which led Kentucky to its third straight national title game and second championship in three years.
Mohammed left for the NBA after his junior season and Edwards and Sheppard graduated, as did Mills, the bench sparkplug who now is a full-time evangelist.
Returning starters Padgett and Wayne Turner are joined by forward Evans, center Jamaal Magloire, forward Myron Anthony and guard Saul Smith, the coach's son.
Other returnees include center Michael Bradley, guard Ryan Hogan and walk-on guard Steve Masiello.
Five freshmen are to make their debut as Wildcats before the Kentucky faithful: guard-forward prospects Tayshaun Prince and Allison; forward Souleymane Camara, a 6-foot-11 recruit from Senegal; and Todd Tackett and J.P. Blevins, two in-state guards.
Kentucky distributed Midnight Madness tickets in advance; all 7,000 available to the general public were grabbed in about 45 minutes.
Kentucky opens with home exhibition games November 3 and November 11. The regular season opener is at Rupp Arena against Eastern Kentucky on November 17.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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