Last Saturday marked the beginning of one of the greatest seasons of the entire calendar year. However, this particular season is not associated with Santa Claus, overeating, or even gift giving, but rather, pick and rolls, three-point shots, and March Madness.
While the festivities and holiday cheer that Christmas brings is great, none of it can quite be compared to the joy that the start of this highly esteemed season brings. After a long, dormant summer, the giving tree of all seasons has finally returned.
This most sacred time of year, of course, is college basketball season.
To kick off the official start of basketball season, hundreds of the Rambler faithful packed into the Gentile Center on Oct. 15 for the Midnight Madness celebration.
A full half hour before the doors even opened at 10 pm, hundreds of Loyola students lined outside the Gentile Center, winding around the quad outside Mertz Hall, ready to cheer on the Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams, as well as to enjoy free pizza and soda.
Both the teams and their coaches were thrilled to see the massive turn out of Loyola students Saturday night ready to support and cheer them.
Head coach of the Lady Ramblers, Eric Simpson, says that he was excited to have such a great crowd in terms of the student body present. “Hopefully this gets them energized and gets them interested in coming out to some games.”
“Midnight Madness is always good; it always gives the fans a chance to show their support,” says senior guard, Terrance Hill. “During the year [students] might be busy with whatever, like homework, or anything, but tonight is more so like ‘come out’.”
In order get the Loyola students’ Rambler pride coursing through their veins, the evening began with an impressive dance routine performed by the Loyola Spirit Team, accompanied by the Loyola men’s volleyball and basketball teams.
The hip-hop act immediately won over those in attendance, who cheered throughout the duration of the act and at the conclusion of the performance, a symphony of vuvuzelas sounded to exuberantly praise the dancers.
Also to entertain the crowd, as well as briefly showcase some individual athlete’s abilities, Midnight Madness included a slam-dunk contest and a three-point shoot out.
Senior forward, Andy Polka was most excited about the dunk contest between Geoff McCammon and Shaun Adams. “They’re two pretty good dunkers, so you’ll get the 360 or the windmill,” Polka adds. Which is exactly what we got.
The slam-dunk contest is always a crowd favorite. The 360 spin dunks and the windmill dunks were always received cheers when successful and long, exasperated sighs at anything less than Air Jordan perfection.
As if these feats were not awe inspiring enough, fellow teammates passed balls from twenty or more rows back in the stands to McCammon and Adams, both of whom made these complex and acrobatic dunks look easy.
After the votes had been casted and counted, sophomore forward, Shaun Adams out dunked his fellow teammates to be crowned this year’s Midnight Madness Slam Dunk King.
Additionally, probably the most anticipated event of the night, year after year, is the three-point shoot out that pits the guys versus the ladies in a showdown to determine the superior perimeter shooting gender.
For the women, Sophomore Guard, Monica Albano out shot the men’s representative, Senior Guard, Terrance Hill in the championship round to further extend the ladies’ winning streak in the Midnight Madness Three-Point Shoot Out.
The teams wrapped up their showcase for the evening with two, short, 8-minute scrimmages, which gave fans a sneak peak of what is to come from both teams. The women’s skirmish featured plenty of exciting outside shooting and the men worked the boards, further demonstrating their dunking.
Loyola students also participated in activities throughout the course of the night, as well. Selected students played games of musical chairs and knockout, for a chance to win prizes and a couple students participated in Shoot for Tuition, for a chance to win scholarships.
Fans and players alike enjoyed the Midnight Madness celebration.
“It’s a good way to start it up, get excited, get involved and for our guys it’s a fun night,” says Coach Jim Whitesell, the head coach of the men’s basketball team. “Tomorrow is going to come all the work.”
It’s the countless hours of hard work that both teams put in on and off the court that allows fans to have teams like the Ramblers to support and cheer for. And this basketball season will prove to be pivotal for both the men and women’s teams.
Five seniors return to the men’s team this year that will provide leadership and experience to the three freshmen and handful of sophomores, which Coach Whitesell believes is where the strength of his squad lies.
This year, the men are looking to develop chemistry and continuity with each other, especially the new guys, says Whitesell. “We want to develop a defensive identity, offensively - good chemistry, a good feel for what we’re doing.” The Ramblers are also working on shot selection, free throw percentages, and ball handling abilities.
Last year the Ramblers started the season 11-2, but due to several season ending injuries and the lack of depth on the bench, the season turned south. This year freshmen Chim Kadima, Denzel Brito, and Jonathon Gac will add versatility and depth to the men’s bench.
The Lady Ramblers are also working on creating a whole new identity this season, says Simpson. With Brittany Boeke, Caitlin Pauley, and Taryn Randle as the only returning seniors this year, the Lady Ramblers are a young team, but that is not to say that there is a lack of experience on the bench.
Coach Simpson is looking to several underclasswomen to step up this year as well. Junior Ellen Ayoub, who averaged about 20 minutes a game last year, will bring plenty of scoring chances this year. Sophomores Katie Kortekamp, who started 28 out of 30 games, and Monica Albano, who averaged 10 minutes, a game last season, also brings experience and depth to the court.
“One thing that I love about tonight is develop a home court advantage, develop enthusiasm with our student body, get them here,” says Coach Whitesell. “We have a lot of home games early and one of the things we need from our student body is to get involved.”
This basketball should prove to be exciting and competitive for both of Loyola’s basketball teams. The Lady Ramblers tip off against the Robert Morris Eagles on Saturday, Nov. 6 at 1:00 pm in the Gentile Center for an exhibition game. And the men will host Robert Morris later that night at 7:00 pm for an exhibition game.
So don the maroon and gold, grab a vuvuzela, and come out and support your 2010-11 Loyola Rambler basketball teams.
