Madness Recap

UPDATED:

Notes from Marquette Madness:

1. Great crowd. Packed house, standing room only. Although somehow it didn't feel jammed like the Bradley Center. I suppose that's the difference between 18,000 and 4,000 fans.

2. Crean and company must have gotten finished watching the Karate Kid series, as they were introduced decked out in karate outfits. Crean arrived on court via a 4-wheel ATV that, god help us, nearly tipped over on several of his sharp turns. Players took turns karate-chopping boards with Big East opponent's logos.

3. DWade was in the house. After a one-act skit where Crean directed us to a "malfunctioning" jumbotron with a taped Wade message .. suddenly Wade appears and brings the house down. Fantastic!

4. Dunk Contest - Many missed dunks, says this white boy who can't jump. The famed Wes Matthews-jumping-over-something (ATV) was missed twice, and they didn't let him risk a third attempt. Jerel McNeal won the contest.

5. The scrimmage started a bit after 9pm. Comments:

• Team looked way better than previous "first" practices. Why? Two words: Oh, Canada! The 10 extra practices and 4 Vancouver games had a clear effect on how close the team is to "mid-season" form. That trip gets Marquette a month ahead of everyone.
• Mo Acker is a huge, huge addition. Runs the team well, shot 4-8 on 3-pointers. 6 assists, Zero turnovers? Nice. Will get a lot of minutes this year, and be the difference maker in many games.
• Blackledge was a surprising scorer for his team. Visable improvement since last year.
• Lazar led all scorers with 18 .. but he took 16 shots to get there.
• Ooze grabbed 9 rebounds .. Trevor with 8. Nice.
• Tommy Brice, DNP. Come on. Give a dog a bone!
• Box Score Here

Photos of the scrimmage.

Here are a couple of videos I shot from my seat:

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Team Introductions:




DWade:


Dunk Contest: