First Night

[ZackB05]

So I was thinking about going to First Night, but then I noticed its only going to be an hour long. Not really worth the hour drive each way. Why is it so short? Is it always only an hour? I haven't been to one in years. Can't they add a 3 point contest to make it a little longer or something? Seems like they are just announcing the players and playing the scrimmage.

 

[mauconnfan]

So I was thinking about going to First Night, but then I noticed its only going to be an hour long. Not really worth the hour drive each way. Why is it so short? Is it always only an hour? I haven't been to one in years. Can't they add a 3 point contest to make it a little longer or something? Seems like they are just announcing the players and playing the scrimmage.

The women have to go back and do their hair for a dance that evening..........

 

[ctchamps]

So I was thinking about going to First Night, but then I noticed its only going to be an hour long. Not really worth the hour drive each way. Why is it so short? Is it always only an hour? I haven't been to one in years. Can't they add a 3 point contest to make it a little longer or something? Seems like they are just announcing the players and playing the scrimmage.

Boatload of recruits. A good crowd will help!

 

[UConnCountry]

You think everyone who went to IUBB midnight madness drove under an hour for D ROB? no way. Make the trip, every person counts we need a full house

 

[GemParty]

You think everyone who went to IUBB midnight madness drove under an hour for D ROB? no way. Make the trip, every person counts we need a full house

Do you think our men's recruits will get into the Ollie/Geno mixed gender battle, or be turned off by it? If DRob makes it to Storrs, he needs to leave a Husky!

 

[Hoophound]

I think 18 year old boys enjoy the interaction with the girls. Actually, I am pretty sure 50 year old boys would enjoy it too. It's an event that is unique to UConn because its the college basketball capital.

 

[Dove]

I am sure that when the invited guests get to Storrs they will be instantly aware that UConn is still the college basketball capital of the world. They will be into the scrimmage. It's not like they are getting off a buss at 6:30 and walking in to see Morgan Tuck raising the roof and Stephanie Dolson giving Omar the bunny ears.

They'll be into it. Kinda.

 

[UConnDad]

Seeing too many NCAA championship trophies to count on 2 hands impresses me a little.

 

[champs99and04]

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I'm not into the girls/guys scrimmage. If I'm going to an event like this, I want to see a glimpse into what some of the players are going to look like in the upcoming year, even if it's only in a 6-8 minute pinch. I want to see Omar Calhoun battling against Giffey on the wing, Nolan and Facey banging inside, and Boatright and Napier putting on a show against each other at the point. In other words, I want a competitive, engaging event - I haven't been to one of these, so I wouldn't know if it's usually competitive/entertaining, but I can't imagine that's going to be the case if the girls and guys are on the same court together.

 

[mauconnfan]

Sorry I am a huge fan and have gone a few times. But since I had to sit with my son and his 2 buddies and watch Maya Moore and Tina Charles attempt about 10 dunks (without a chance) each along with a Simon Sez routine I admit I'm embarrassed by the whole thing. I'm sure there will be 3,000 q-tip heads and little girls there thinking the women would have a chance it they played them head-to-head so how many of those will sway Devin Robinson to come our way?

I get the "Basketball Capital" thing but they don't need to be together for the "madness" sorry!

 

[ucjoet]

Sorry I am a huge fan and have gone a few times. But since I had to sit with my son and his 2 buddies and watch Maya Moore and Tina Charles attempt about 10 dunks (without a chance) each along with a Simon Sez routine I admit I'm embarrassed by the whole thing. I'm sure there will be 3,000 q-tip heads and little girls there thinking the women would have a chance it they played them head-to-head so how many of those will sway Devin Robinson to come our way?

I get the "Basketball Capital" thing but they don't need to be together for the "madness" sorry!

Mau, Totally agree. I have been going to Midnight madness / opening night since the days at Southington High school ( early 80's). Have only missed a few. I may be in the minority but I really enjoyed the men breaking up into 2 teams and playing an actual game. You actually got an idea if the freshman can play and if the veterans improved.
I now have a 22 year old son who is also a big UConn student/fan and he can't stand going to the event. With all that said about 5 of us ( my son included) are still going to check it out.

 

[aceboon]

Have to echo the senitment expressed in this thread, why can't we just do a normal midnight madness like other schools? I never understood why they stopped doing scrimmages in the 1st place, to bring it back and have the women now mixed in is corny.

 

[upstater]

Although I rarely watch the women play, this mixed teams thing would hold my interest as a novelty a lot more than a scrimmage would. Maybe if there was a 5 star kid out there with the freshman, I'd be more interested in watching him do his thing, but seeing the current kids from last year play in a scrimmage would be less interesting than a game of mixed teams.

I'm genuinely interested to see how the women will play alongside the men.

 

[DOZE860]

i liked it better when men had midnight madness on Friday night, and the women had the super show the following day.. its 2 different types of fans going to the event.. it just seems like its too much stuff crammed in for one night

 

[champs99and04]

Although I rarely watch the women play, this mixed teams thing would hold my interest as a novelty a lot more than a scrimmage would. Maybe if there was a 5 star kid out there with the freshman, I'd be more interested in watching him do his thing, but seeing the current kids from last year play in a scrimmage would be less interesting than a game of mixed teams.

I'm genuinely interested to see how the women will play alongside the men.

I would agree with you if I thought both teams would actually go hard. As it has been planned, though, I'm envisioning more of a NBA all-star weekend type show where nobody goes too hard or tries to show anybody else up. I think there will be a concerted effort for the guys to get the girls involved, and vice versa, and instead of a naturally flowing game, it will have a "your turn, my turn" type feel to it and a lot of fancy dribbling/passing to entertain the fans that you wouldn't see in a real game. It's not a big deal, and I'm sure a lot of fans will enjoy it, but those type of games aren't my preference.

 

[Penfield]

I would agree with you if I thought both teams would actually go hard. As it has been planned, though, I'm envisioning more of a NBA all-star weekend type show where nobody goes too hard or tries to show anybody else up. I think there will be a concerted effort for the guys to get the girls involved, and vice versa, and instead of a naturally flowing game, it will have a "your turn, my turn" type feel to it and a lot of fancy dribbling/passing to entertain the fans that you wouldn't see in a real game. It's not a big deal, and I'm sure a lot of fans will enjoy it, but those type of games aren't my preference.

This is why I think it actually might be more entertaining. Instead of pretending it is serious they are just going to do some flashy stuff for 20 minutes and call it a night. Plus this is something that would be unique to UConn. Could be a cool tradition and it's worth trying.

When the men used to scrimmage no one went hard. There was no defense. There were no set plays. There was nothing to be taken from that game.

Didn't Calhoun pull the entire team early one year when someone almost got hurt?

 

[HuskyBballFan]

For comparison's sake, does anybody know how the other schools with dominant woman's programs handle Midnight Madness?

My first reaction was to give the school the benefit of the doubt since there are very few fanbases that care about women's basketball as much as Uconn's does.

 

[Calhoun's Court]

Sorry I am a huge fan and have gone a few times. But since I had to sit with my son and his 2 buddies and watch Maya Moore and Tina Charles attempt about 10 dunks (without a chance) each along with a Simon Sez routine I admit I'm embarrassed by the whole thing. I'm sure there will be 3,000 q-tip heads and little girls there thinking the women would have a chance it they played them head-to-head so how many of those will sway Devin Robinson to come our way?

I get the "Basketball Capital" thing but they don't need to be together for the "madness" sorry!

+10000

Totally agree. Either do it the right way(at Midnight ) or don't do it.

I want to see the men play.

Not a glorified around the world game.

 

[mauconnfan]

For comparison's sake, does anybody know how the other schools with dominant woman's programs handle Midnight Madness?

My first reaction was to give the school the benefit of the doubt since there are very few fanbases that care about women's basketball as much as Uconn's does.

The problem here is you have it correct....who else has a women's fan base like the Huskies women? All the more reason to sell these separate!!

 

[CTBasketball]

Title 9 strikes again! The day is lost!

 

[upstater]

Title 9 strikes again! The day is lost!

TitleIX has absolutely nothing to do with this.

 

[ctchamps]

Went to MM when men scrimmaged alone and went when the the event was combined with the gals.

Looked forward to the original format. But players dogged it because they knew the next day was the practice from hell. With the new format of being able to start practice early, and with KO as coach, it certainly could be an option to go back to the original format and get some idea of the new recruits.

I didn't mind seeing the combined format. I like both programs although primarily a men's bb fan. But I believe that there are several reasons to go! One of them is to support teams. Those kids work their tails off to develop and I always felt I owed them a debt of gratitude. So I showed up! I took off my "what's in it for me" hat. I was there for them and wanted to let them know that!

And I felt it could pay dividends to let any recruits who happened to be there know that fans valued them as people and not players whose sole purpose was to let us strut.

 

[CTBasketball]

TitleIX has absolutely nothing to do with this.

I was joking of course Upstater. I was referring to letting women play athletics in high school, college, etc. Wasn't trying to be offensive, but that law is why women's college basketball is here today.

 

[tcf15]

Now that they are bringing back the scrimmage format, are there any rules against having former players join them? I think it would be fun to see the mixed teams with Kemba and Maya Moore as captains for team A and Ray Allen and Diana Taurasi as captains for team B.

 

[upstater]

I was joking of course Upstater. I was referring to letting women play athletics in high school, college, etc. Wasn't trying to be offensive, but that law is why women's college basketball is here today.

There's a reason why the WNBA exists or why women's college bball is shown on ESPN and other stations. People actually watch it. It's more popular than men's hockey. Maybe there's a good argument for getting rid of women's bball, but you'd have to get rid of men's hockey first.