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Live from the Madness Your accounts from Midnight Madness locations
Posted: Monday October 18, 1999 01:47 PM
CNN/SI asked for your firsthand accounts from Midnight Madness. Here's a selection of comments from around the nation:
New MexicoThe time: 9:15 p.m. I step out of my car and begin my trek to the top of a Mew Mexico mesa. As I get closer I can hear the howling of several thousand Lobos. When I reach the top, standing before me is a shrine to college basketball...a place that strikes fear into the opposition...and at nearly 120 decibels, the LOUDEST arena in the country ... University Arena, "THE PIT."The Time: 11:30pm. The arena lights dimmed as motion lights threw giant moving paw prints onto the floor. One by one the players and coaching staff of the men's and women's teams made their way down the aisles, high-fiving the 7,000-plus that were in attendance.
The Time: Midnight. Teams wowed the crowd with an array of dunks, passes and three point marksmanship. I was extremely excited by new coach Fran Fraschilla's enthusiasm as he got the crowd going early. But the highlight for me was the skill demonstrated by newcomers Wayland White, Marlon Parmer, and Atilla Cosby, who each dazzled the Lobo fans with high-flying alley-oops and thundering jams. Senior guard Lamont Long, who has my vote for first team All-American, proved that he has what it takes to lead this team deep into the postseason.
UMassMidnight Madness 1999 started out with a bang -- there were the cheers for the Red Sox against the Yankees as Game 3 of the ALCS was approaching in Boston. As always there was the master of ceremony leading us through the cheers and introducing the women's basketball team, and then a few minutes later the men's team was introduced. Starting with the freshman and transfer students, we were led up to the introduction of the seniors. The loudest cheers came for Chris Kirkland, Mike Babul and Monty Mack, all expected to lead the Minutemen to the NCAA tournament. After the introduction of coach Bruiser Flint we were greeted by the slam dunk contest, won for the fourth year in a row by Mike Babul. His winning dunk was over three chairs with a player laying across them. The 3-point contest pitted two Yankees fans against two Red Sox fans, and as a sign to come (we hope) the Sox won. Then there was a scrimmage and more celebrating before the stands emptied out and the players began to prepare for another season.-- Joshua Klein-Golden
Notre DameTroy Murphy looked at lot better than last year with his bulked up body and outside shot. Two players to watch are frosh Jere Macura and Matt Carroll. And Dick Vitale's speech was amazing!! Coach "D" and the gang look good. Go IRISH!!!!-- Unknown
IndianaThe desire of the Hoosiers was apparent, as they ran to their stations and performed their drills with that look in their eyes. Bob Knight was even a little loose and let the players do a lot of dunking during the drills. He also had a scrimmage about 10 minutes into practice, which got the fans going. Many say Indiana is going to sink, but these players seem determined to prove that wrong. Never count out the Hoosiers.-- Chris Roberts DukeI was among the 34 students trying out for a walk-on spot to the team during Midnight Madness. I had a front row seat to see the team practice, and they showed a lot of potential. Although there were some mistakes, which is to be expected for a team with six freshmen, the potential for success was there. After this team has a few weeks of practice with Coach K, they will be much improved. Their potential is limitless, and although they may lose some games early, an ACC championship is a definite possibility. This may not be the same Duke team as last year, but don't expect them to be any less competitive.-- Andrew Tuttle East CarolinaFor the first time ever at East Carolina University, Midnight Madness was held. While work could have been done on the extracurricular activities, you got your money's worth out of the players. On the women's side, Waynetta Veney showed why she was second team All-CAA with some great passes and hustle plays during the women's scrimmage. On the men's side, Evaldas Jocys showed why he is one of the favorites for CAA player of the year by hitting some nice jumpers and running the floor, while freshman recruit Travis Holcomb-Faye showed the ability to run a team well and might be a player to watch in the future.--George Barnette
Penn StateAt Penn State, it was more like "Midnight Sadness" The people leading the pep rally were lucky to keep the crowd awake. The Bryce Jordan Center wasn't even filled to capacity. The Blue Band came out and the players tossed autographed teams balls into the crowd. It did get exciting when the team was introduced, but we don't have any big-time players. PSU could be average, at best, this season. Penn State definitely isn't a basketball school. In fact, Saturday's football game against Ohio State was probably on more students' minds. Jerry Dunn will get the most out of his players, but he doesn't have much to work with compared to Michigan State, Michigan, and Ohio State. PSU needs to get a more intense basketball atmosphere, so we actually have an advantage over visiting teams.-- Pat Caironi
Old DominionAs a freshman at Old Dominion University, this was my first experience of Midnight Madness. I was totally in awe, as I felt the magic in the air. The night started off at 10 p.m. as students, faculty and fans filled the field house. Not only was men's coach Jeff Capel here, his son Jeff Capel, a standout from Duke University, was in attendance. Following events such as sumo wrestling and boxing, the announcer announced the special attraction: the first look at the new court floor with a blue lion's head in the center. It was awesome, and something that I am glad I didn't miss.-- Joshua Johnson
MarquetteI am extremely proud to say that I witnessed the first ever Midnight Madness in the history of Marquette University basketball. A school that has gone from a rich history basketball (winning the '77 NCAA championship) to a dismal past several years finally seems to have opened up the beginning of a winning era under new coach Tom Crean. The night started off with a preview of the women's team. They looked sharp and ready to return to the NCAA tournament once again. Coach Terri Mitchell has a great group of women again this year and looks to add to their continued success from last season. The men came out to a loud, packed house. They played a 15-minute intrasquad scrimmage, during which both teams looked a little rusty and nervous. Following the exhibition, Crean got a little loose with his players and allowed them to participate in the ever-popular dunk contest. This however, was no contest. Senior John Cliff got the place rocking with a series of dunks, including a 360 that won it over fellow senior John Polonowski!-- Greg Holcomb
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