Slam dunk contest and 3-point contest help draw fans to event
CU men’s and women’s basketball jump-started the season Wednesday night with the first ever “Buff Basketball Madness,” treating fans to an alumni game, team scrimmages, a three-point shootout and slam dunk contest.
The inaugural event, held at the Coors Event Center, allowed fans an entertaining sneak peak at the teams as they gear up for the 2006-07 season. Both teams kick-off the season at home Nov. 10 as part of a double header, with the men taking on their in-state rivals, the DU Pioneers, and the women playing the University of San Francisco Dons.
“I’m a life-long Buff fan, so I had to come out,” Boulder resident Joe Pickett said. “It was really great to see the camaraderie between the players on both teams.”
The alumni game began Buff Madness, with former players from the last 40 years hitting the courts one more time. Participating alumni included Veronica Johns-Richardson, All-Conference honorable mention in 2005, Will Smith, now director of basketball operations for the university, and Bob Bauers, class of 1964-67. The alumni played for 15 minutes and the game ended with a buzzer-beating lay-up.
Radio sports DJ Mark Johnson and former CU football player Alfred Williams announced the event and introduced the players from the two teams. The men’s team features returning star Richard Roby and eight red-shirt freshman. The women’s team has returning starters Jackie McFarland, All-Conference second-team, and Jasmina Ilic, three-point team leader.
“It feels good to be back and really good to support these Buffaloes,” Williams said.
Also touching on the recent announcement of men’s head coach Ricardo Patton’s retirement after this season, Williams said to the audience that CU needs to recognize the gift that Patton has given to them as a head coach.
As their teams scrimmaged, coach Patton and women’s head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller spoke to the crowd about the issues their teams were facing for the upcoming season.
Patton, acknowledging the large number of freshman players on the team, addressed the potential problem of internal clashes between the freshmen and veteran players. He said he expects ‘territory issues’ to arise between the players as each man defines his place on the team, but that it will remained checked by the coaching staff.
“We have a freshman class of big bodies,” Patton said. “When we as coaches see players playing out of character, we remind them that this is team.”
Coach McConnell-Miller said the women’s team is comprised of players comfortable with the system that complement each other very well, but warned against setting expectations too high.
“We’ve got to be careful when se set expectations,” she said. “You want to set goals high enough to encourage achievement, but not so high that you’re disappointed with all the good that you have.”
The event was also highlighted by the three-point shootout, with freshman Bianca Smith winning the title of women’s champion, and Dwight Thorne, also a freshman, winning men’s and overall honors, and a surprise routine from the CU cheerleading team.
Attendee Kelly Ross, a freshman open-option major, said the performance was one of the most exciting of the night.
“I definitely didn’t expect that cheerleading routine. They were really good,” she said.
The night closed with players from both teams showcasing their skills in the slam dunk contest. Roby won the men’s contest, having assured his victory with a back-spin, behind-the-head dunk, though he was given a run for his money by freshman Jeremy Williams. Williams advanced to the second round with a Michael Jordan-esque, spread eagle slam that he started from the free throw line.
In a tribute to David and Goliath, the women’s shortest player, Whitney Houston, a five-foot, five-inch tall freshman, won over six-foot, one-inch tall Ilic, a senior. Houston not only dunked the ball one-handed on the winning shot, but also hung from the basket using only one arm.
“Whitney Houston had the best dunks, hands down,” Ross said. “I couldn’t believe her.”
Fans left the events center encouraged and ready for the upcoming season, but the sadness of coach Patton’s sudden retirement announcement was still strong.
“My most memorable moment with this program is the first game I ever coached here,” he said. “I didn’t want to leave after the game that night. I remember I wanted to sleep on that court.
