A montage video Friday night about Kansas University’s basketball tradition captivated rowdy fans in a packed Allen Fieldhouse.
Images on the new video board of James Naismith, Dr. F.C. “Phog” Allen, Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Brown, Danny Manning and others caused screaming reactions.
Many fans who attended Friday’s Late Night in the Phog said tradition brought them to the Fieldhouse. That and curiosity about the 2005-06 men’s and women’s basketball teams.
“It’s a big event. It’s tradition. This is just what we do,” said Tu Le, a KU senior from Garden City.
Late Night turned out to be not so late this year as the Fieldhouse doors opened at 5:30 p.m., and fans filed in for the 21st annual event that featured skits, dancing, player and coach introductions and a short scrimmage of the men’s and women’s basketball teams.
While fans carried traditional KU basketball enthusiasm, many were eager to get a firsthand look at a men’s team with many new faces.
“What happened this past summer, a lot of it’s going to go away when the season starts,” said Merle Anderson, an assistant basketball coach at Haskell Indian Nations University. “It’s tradition and enthusiasm. The whole community is into KU basketball.”
“I think people are just tired of all the media junk,” said Keith Young, a KU graduate student from Libertyville, Ill. “People are just ready to play ball.”
Anderson said he wanted to see freshman Brandon Rush in action, while Young also said he thought the newer players might change the team’s style of play.
Friday was also the first time fans saw the fieldhouse renovations, which include a new scoreboard and video board, brighter lights and fresh paint on the bleachers.
“It’s a lot brighter, and I like the new floor,” said Thom Hepford, of Lawrence.
“It’s really bright in there, and it looks good,” said Rachel Van Horn, of Lawrence.
New NCAA legislation allows universities to start their season-opening events the evening before their first practice. The earlier start had many youngsters running around the fieldhouse instead of sleeping in the bleachers.
Later, they watched dance performances and skits from the Rock Chalk dancers, cheerleaders and the men’s and women’s teams, along with other entertainment.
“I like the skits. I’m not going to lie,” said Vince Traynelis, a fifth-year KU student from Iowa City, Iowa.
Before the event, Traynelis and his friends stood in a lengthy line that stretched from the north fieldhouse doors west to the Anderson Family Strength and Conditioning Center. Many fans waited in line for hours for the doors to open.
“You’ve got to love it when 15,000-plus people show up for a basketball practice,” Hepford said while watching the KU women’s scrimmage.
