The hype for the new season started off with a dance contest, a bike rest and a 10-minute scrimmage with a DJ providing a soundtrack for the exhibition.
On Saturday, Oct. 23, the Den in the Rec Plex hosted to the first annual Wolfpack Fan Fest. The festivities, put together by Brett Simpson, associate athletic director, included a three-person bike race around the court, a dance contest that included fans and members from the men and women’s basketball team, five-on-five scrimmages for both basketball teams and other events for fans to participate in.
An estimated 200 people watched the men and women take the court and play an inter squad game for 10 minutes. Marketing senior and Wolfpack center Darrington MonCrieffe said it was good for the fans to the players have fun.
“We got a chance to show the fans something else other than us being serious all the time. It showed them we could have fun,” MonCrieffe said.
Though this event was designed to get students excited for the new season, Michael Giorlando, head basketball coach for the men’s team, did have some concerns that students would find entertainment elsewhere. He was not sure how many students would be in attendance.
“You kind of hope things will work out the first time out of the box,” Giorlando said.
“It was beautiful day and that sort of worried me. I figured a lot of kids would just stay in Audubon Park and play frisbee or something,”said Giorlando.
Though the larger than average crowd that stayed throughout the event in The Den would indicate a high level of excitement on the part of the fans, they were not the only ones excited for Fan Fest. “Both the men and women’s squads thought it was great event,” Giorlando said.
Though Moncrieffe did not participate, he said he was excited to see his teammates play in the three-point shooting competition. The three point competition included the best sharp shooters from both the men and women’s teams. Biology junior Corey Gray and Jackie Padilla represented one team of shooters, while sociology junior Keiva Council and general studies and business freshmen Anthony Miles teamed up to take them on. At five points around the three-point line there were racks containing five balls each. All four shooters had a set time limit to get to all five racks before time expired.
The team of Gray and Padilla came away victorious with Gray draining 17 of 25 shots but MonCrieffe said the best shooter didn’t get a chance to compete.
“They didn’t want me to win because they know I’m a beast three-point shooter. They wanted to have a little bit of competition because if I had gone out there it would have been no contest,” joked MonCrieffe.
Giorlando and the rest of the Wolfpack staff hope to see some of the same fan support they received during Fan Fest. He also said that he can sense an interest from students on campus already.
“People ask me who we’re looking and who the new players are all the time,” said Giorlando. “That’s our goal, our job is to get the word out.”
Hasani Grayson can be reached at [email protected]
