Big Blue Madness brought the hype on Saturday night.
The annual event officially tipped off the Kentucky basketball season and ushered in the second year of the Mark Pope era and the 50th anniversary of Rupp Arena.
This year’s special cast included former Kentucky guard and No. 1 NBA Draft Pick John Wall, who was introduced alongside Pope following the player introductions. Ron Mercer, who played with Pope on the 1996 National Championship team, was also in attendance.
Former Kentucky coach Tubby Smith, who led the Wildcats to a national championship in 1998, also was a special guest received a big ovation from those in attendance.
The Voice finalist Jordan Smith joined Trent Noah during the player introductions. Smith, is also from Harlan, sang "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive." Noah defeated Andrija Jelavic to win the 3-point shooting contest.
Six fans were chosen from the stands to coach the Blue and White teams to lead them during a five-minute scrimmage. The White team defeated the Blue squad 14-12. Pope chose three fans to judge the slam dunk competition, won by Collin Chandler. for a second year in a row. Wall provided a memorable assist to Chandler to conclude the contest.
Pope guided the Wildcats to a 24-12 record and a Sweet Sixteen appearance in his first season at the helm.
Fans traveled near and far to attend the event. Phillip Butler and his daughter Brynn, drove from Jasper, Ind., to attend the annual event and sat in the back row in section 223. Butler has been attending the event for the past 10 years and usually sat in the lower arena but had to settle for a different seating arrangement.
Still, Butler was glad to be among the attendees and is a big fan of the hype surrounding Madness.
“I just like the atmosphere, especially since Pope took over,” he said. “It’s more alive now.”
Much like her dad, Brynn Butler, sophomore at Southern Indiana, enjoys the atmosphere, but pays more attention to the other aspects of the event.
“I’m into the visual aspect of things and I love seeing how it’s all put together,” she said.
Phillip Butler was in attendance when former Kentucky coach Rick Pitino returned to help usher in Pope’s first season as coach of the Wildcats last October.
“I loved it,” he said. “He’s a good coach and I’ll always welcome him back.”
At the conclusion of this year’s event, Pope welcomed former players at midcourt.
As for this year’s squad, Butler has high expectations for Pope’s second squad.
“I think they’re going to be good,” he said.
The women’s basketball team was introduced to the crowd and competed in a Skills Challenge Relay and Tic Tac Toe competition, while Amelia Hassett defeated Asia Boone 25-15 in a 3-point shooting contest. It was her second consecutive 3-point crown.
Second-year women’s basketball coach Kenny Brooks guided the Wildcats to a 23-8 record and said this year’s squad is going to be “even better.”
“We will not stop until we become national champions,” he said. “I promise you it’s going to be a fantastic year. Go Cats.”
Kentucky Today - Photo by Les Nicholson
