Moonlight Madness

Last Friday was very special for our men's basketball team at Baylor. They were chosen as one of 11 sites to host Moonlight/Midnight Madness on ESPNU. It was the first time we've ever been to an event like this and, y'all, it was so much fun.

The place was rockin' thanks to some super excited fans and the Courtside Players.

My girl brought a friend along...truth be told, she almost never travels alone these days. :-)

Clearly they did not sit with us. They were exploring pretty much the entire time. Oh, to have that much energy.

Because I've interacted with a number of the players, I already knew that there is absolutely no shortage of personality on this year's squad. They are the funniest, most outgoing group I've ever see at Baylor and I have no doubt they're going to be a lot of fun to watch on the court. But nothing really prepared me for them to come out like this...

...and then to get their groove on...

It. Was. Awesome.

Below are our freshman phenoms - Quincy Miller and Deuce "The Dunker" Bello.

Little team huddle before the festivities began.

One of my favs - Fred Ellis. Look at that perfect form.

Brady "Sharp Shooter" Heslip. I'd not yet seen him in person but, friends, let me tell you this fella can shoot the trey with unbelievable accuracy. It was pretty amazing to watch.

Ekpe Udoh was in the house as a celebrity judge for the  dunking contest.

As was Brittney Griner.

The dunking contest was won (decisively) by our new point guard, Pierre Jackson. He led his junior college team to a national championship and, y'all, this kid has spunk. He's 5'9" and can jump higher than anyone I've ever seen in my life. It was like he had flubber (remember that movie?) on the soles of his shoes. Cannot wait to see him in a real game.

There was also a 20-minute scrimmage at the end of the program.

This was the first allowable day of practice but, friends, I was amazed at their speed. They are much faster than last year and after watching a lot of the coverage on ESPNU, it appears they're faster than most of the country.

I've got a feeling this will be a phenomenal basketball season for Baylor on both the men's and women's side. And you can bet we'll be there cheering them to victory - right after we hit a bowl game to watch our football team ;-)

Sic 'em, Bears!