ESPN was at last season’s Bluejay Madness
Midnight Madness started years ago. Historically, it kicked off the start of basketball season with the first official practice and was utilized for recruiting purposes. Over the years, new rules governing basketball practice before the “official” start of practice have been passed by the NCAA, giving coaches opportunities as early as September to start working with players and even some limited time to practice with the team as a whole. Despite those changes, fans look forward to the second Friday in October as their first opportunity to see the team in person, often at an event that’s more Hollywood than hardwood.
Three short years ago, Creighton didn’t have a “Madness” event. Former head coach Dana Altman preferred a low-key approach to the start of the season, believing that the team shouldn’t waste a practice by putting on an event for the fans. Women’s coach Jim Flanery, on the other hand, embraced the concept and would have his own “Morning Madness” event with his team, and invited fans to come watch the team and have a donut.
After the opening of the Qwest Center (now known as CenturyLink Center), Altman started to hold open house events about a week into practice to get fans into the Qwest Center to see the team while promoting season ticket sales. With the opening of the Ryan Center and D.J. Sokol Arena, it became a better, more intimate setting for the open house/practice, but the event was nothing close to the magnitude of what Kentucky, Kansas or even Gonzaga would do to kick off the season. I was so jealous that I made up my own “Madness” event before Altman’s final season in 2009-10.
With the arrival of Greg McDermott to the campus in spring 2010, the burning question that McDermott was asked again and again was whether the Jays would have an event to kick off practice. As Creighton entered a new era, it made sense to make some changes to promote the program. They had their first “Madness” event that fall and the excitement started.
Last season, ESPN came out to Bluejay Madness to showcase spectacular sophomore Doug McDermott. Creighton’s fans heard of the previous year’s new tradition and even more came out, making Sokol Arena a very electric place. Watching Austin Chatman rise up over Geoff Groselle in the slam dunk contest got everyone buzzing about the incoming freshmen class and again, excitement ensued.
As we head into the 2012-13 season, Bluejay Madness is ready for Round 3 with a Creighton team that has a lot of expectations and hype loaded upon them. The women’s team also has a lot of buzz around it with so many returning players from last season’s NCAA Tournament team. The event has become a bigger spectacle year after year and this year we may see fans hanging from the rafters, metaphorically speaking, at Sokol Arena to see the Men’s and Women’s teams practicing in public for the first time this season.
Before the Madness event there will be a BBQ outside Sokol Arena starting at 5PM for fans to hang out before the doors open at 7:15. There will be team introductions, scrimmages, a three point contest, and of course the always exciting slam dunk contest.
The three-point contest will pit teams of two, one men’s and one women’s player, against each other. Here are this year’s teams:
- Jordan Garrison & Grant Gibbs
- Jasmin Corbin & Taylor Stormberg
- McKenzie Fujan & Avery Dingman
- Ally Jensen & Doug McDermott
- Sammy Jensen & Isaiah Zierden
- Tessa Leytem & Ethan Wragge
- Sarah Nelson & Josh Jones
- Carli Tritz & Jahenns Manigat
There are some great teams there; it would be a shock not to see Ally Jensen & Doug McDermott in the finals. But it would also not be shocking to see Ally’s sister Sammy and her teammate Isaiah Zierden battling them. That said, I would be surprised if Ally and Doug don’t win this contest.
In this year’s dunk contest, defending champion Austin Chatman will take on Will Artino, Nevin Johnson and Mogboluwaga Oginni. Many may not remember, but in his only action of the season last year in the exhibition game against Rockhurst, Oginni threw down an impressive dunk in traffic. Look for Oginni to be the darkhorse winner in this one.
This is a time for the fans, a time for some fun and a time to get excited for the start of the season. It can’t get here soon enough.
Here are the rest of the details for Bluejay Madness.
Other MVC Events
Checking around the other MVC schools, it is interesting to find that Creighton is one of the only schools in the conference to hold an event on the actual night of the start of practices. Here is what the other schools are doing.
Bradley: Bradley is celebrating homecoming this weekend. Like the Bluejays did last season, they will be hosting a volleyball match beforehand against Southern Illinois. Immediately afterwards they will be holding their annual Red-White scrimmage at Renaissance Coliseum Their big event where fans can meet the team is the annual spaghetti supper that will be held on November 1st.
Drake: Drake Basketball’s Primetime Preview is Thursday, October 18th at 7:00pm in the Knapp Center. They will have scrimmages during that time.
Evansville: Evansville is having a HoopFest event on Thursday, October 18th at the Ford Center where they will have player introductions, scrimmages, a 3-point shootout and a slam dunk contest. Then there will be an open practice the following evening where Evansville students will be invited to watch at the school’s new practice facility.
Illinois State: The Redbirds will hold a HoopsFest event on Wednesday, October 17th. They are not doing anything on opening night due to scheduling conflicts with Volleyball. They will have the standard scrimmages, slam dunk contest and three point shootout, but they are also promoting the $10,000 Papa John’s “Money Shot” where one lucky fan will try to make a half-court shot for money.
Indiana State: The Sycamores will kick things off with their Big Blue Block Party on Friday night. But the key here is that this is the Indiana State women’s team doing this; the Men’s team will not be having a “Madness” event, but it does appear they will be practicing Friday at 5:00 p.m.
Missouri State: The Bears will host a Twilight Tipoff event not on Friday, but on Saturday night starting at 5:00 p.m featuring both their men’s and women’s teams. The women’s team will have the three-point contest while the men will partake in a slam-dunk contest. And the performances of the cheerleaders and the “Sugar Bears” will be can’t-miss entertainment.
Northern Iowa: It appears everyone will be watching UNI volleyball take on Evansville, which given their success is understandable. As far as we can tell, there is not an event scheduled for the basketball team.
Southern Illinois: Our friends over at SalukiTalk tell us that there will be some event scheduled for Saturday, October 20th, but nothing has been formally announced yet. With a new coach, you would expect something a little more exciting to get the great Saluki fans excited again for a program that has struggled the past several seasons.
Wichita State: The Shockers event, cleverly named Shocker Madness, will be held on October 25th. While the event was a big staple to kick off the season before Gregg Marshall came to Wichita, it has become a bit subdued during his tenure and the diehard Shocker fans are skeptical of what kind of event will be put on this year other than a glorified scrimmage.