By Paul Day & Nick Matkovich
The men's basketball team kicked off its season Friday with Marquette Madness. This is a real-time account of what transpired.
7:12 p.m.: First mascot sighting. Its intimidation skills are already apparent, as it dons a sponsored T-shirt over its Marquette jersey. Surprisingly, the fur plugs did not take to the eagle's entire head since the eagle is two different shades of brown on top.
7:18 p.m.: Steve "the Homer" True, the event's emcee, reminds us that we're in the Big East this year. Aw, shucks, we were really looking forward to another thriller against East Carolina.
Throughout the night the men's basketball team dressed up as celebrities in the likes of Tiger Woods, P. Diddy, Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson. Big credit is given to senior Joe Chapman who dressed up as Beyonce. He didn't sell Beyonce well, but at second glimpse, he bore a striking resemblance to Tina Turner.
7:20 p.m.: U2Zoo opens with "Vertigo." Super. Maybe they could not get a hold of the Menudo cover band Often. A cover band plays a crappy song that's a whole 10 months old.
7:48 p.m.: The women's basketball team is introduced. Coach Terri Mitchell gives a speech that would make a corpse get excited about her team's upcoming season.
8:00 p.m.: Michael Redd makes a cameo, while non-NBA fans wonder who the heck Michael Redd is.
8:25 p.m.: Jamil Lott and Dwight Burke sing Happy Birthday to Wes Matthews.
8:30 p.m.: The players stretch before the dunk contest as the fans sit and wait. Awkwardly.
8:35 p.m.: Where is Dan Fitzgerald?
8:45 p.m.: The freshmen trio of Wes Matthews, Jerel McNeal and 5-foot-10 Dominic James dunk the ball to the crowd's approval. The judges made up of Milwaukee Bucks Michael Redd and Bobby Simmons, former Marquette players Robert Jackson, Earl Tatum and Jim McIlvaine, among others, decide the fate of the dunk contest while crowding around a table that would be uncomfortable for two people.
Practice jerseys were not a necessity for the slam dunk contest as both James and Matthews decided they were better off without them, adding a little flair to the end of their dunks.
9:00 p.m.: Senior Steve Novak, brace yourselves, won the 3-point shootout, although sophomore center Ousmane Barro delighted fans with his inability to hit the rim.
9:05 p.m.: A little girl and boy tussled over a Novak-autographed basketball in the stands. The girl won. The boy will have nightmares of this for the rest of his life.
9:09 p.m.: The birthday boy dunks over his mom before failing to dunk over coach Tom Crean, skying over the coach but missing the shot. After Matthews' failed dunk attempt Crean admitted, "I was a little scared; I'm not stupid."
9:20 p.m.: After three entertaining rounds of the dunk contest, Matthews and James are crowned co-champions. After that experience senior center Chris Grimm could have grown a third arm and it would not have generated half as much buzz as the dunk contest did.
9:23 p.m.: Nick said something funny.
9:30 p.m.: The scrimmage starts.
9:40 p.m.: James drives and dishes to Lott. Dunk.
9:42 p.m.: James drives and dishes to Lott. Layup.
9:45 p.m.: James scores on a reverse layup.
9:49 p.m.: The crowd applauded when we weren't looking. Let's assume that James drove to the basket and did something good.
10:00 p.m.: And scene.
Once the people dressed as U2 stopped playing songs that weren't off their best album (Achtung Baby), the Marquette freshmen gave fans an impressive taste of their potential.
If Marquette Madness gives fans a glimpse into the Golden Eagles' first Big East season, disappointment will not be on the receiving end. The energy level generated at this event was second to none. By far the most exciting start to the season the Golden Eagles have had, Marquette Madness laid the groundwork for what should be a run and fun season.
This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on October 18, 2005.