GC&SU’s mad for basketball
A term commonly used to describe college basketball is madness. And mad describes the Centennial Center’s event held midnight Oct. 15.
“Midnight Madness was great because it gave me the chance to see all the players up close and get psyched about the season,” said freshman Daniel Seibel.
More than 1100 students, faculty, and other people showed up to celebrate the beginning of the college basketball season.
“If this many students came to all our home games, I guarantee we would win more,” said Lady Bobcats Head Coach John Carrick.
NCAA rules state that official practice may not begin until Friday October 15. Georgia College and State University holds midnight madness to begin the basketball season at the exact second available, midnight.
“The school has gone back and forth with the time. We used to have the event held at 8 p.m. Friday night to give the community and younger kids a chance to participate, but midnight seems to have a larger turnout,” said Assistant Athletics Director for Public Relations, Brad Muller.
The event began at 11:30 p.m. and admission was free. It featured Free pancakes served by the Macon Fire Department, a three-point shooting contest between the Bobcats and Lady Bobcats awarding fans free food prizes from The Brick and Loco’s, and a half court shootout in which two GC&SU students had a chance to win $350 worth of free text books from the Paw Prints Bookstore.
“Midnight Madness was awesome because I was able to see a couple of people I knew from my hometown play,” said freshman Jess McGinnis.
The GC&SU Lady Bobcats started the event with a twenty-minute scrimmage that began at midnight.
“I love the student support and I look forward to seeing my family come and watch me play. I hope this many people come and see us play during the season,” said senior Lady Bobcat guard Latia Love.
The GC&SU Dance team followed with a performance and then the Bobcats took the floor for their twenty-minute scrimmage. The GC&SU cheerleaders got the crowd alive when they tossed prizes to the crowd.
“Midnight Madness is a good opener to see the team before the season starts and see how good they will be,” said sophomore Blake Goss.
In the Lady Bobcats scrimmage the GC&SU white coached by President Dorothy Leland beat the GC&SU green coached by professor Dr. John Lindsey 33-25.
Kirsti Jones led the women’s scrimmage with 16 points, three assists, and two steals.
In the Bobcats scrimmage, GC&SU white edged GC&SU green 32-30 with the help of a late three pointer from Cooper Sellers. GC&SU green missed a shot at the buzzer, which could have tied the game.
Andre Smith led the men’s scrimmage with 11 points.
“Midnight Madness gets me pumped up. It is the beginning of a new season and it gives the team a chance to prove ourselves,” said junior Bobcat guard Andre Smith.
The Bobcats beat the Lady Bobcats in the three-point contest.
“I loved it. I lost my voice I was yelling so much,” said freshman Daniel Moore.
The two students in the half court shootout missed, but the crowd rose to its feet for each shot.
“I enjoy the excitement and the pace of the game. The pace of the game is so great. I also like to see the fans get involved with the game and the contests,” said Muller.
The event brings a lot of excitement and interest to GC&SU basketball. The event gets the teams and the students excited about the basketball season. The one thing in common with everyone who attended is that this is a good idea to continue for many years.
“This definitely helps our team. There was a great turnout and it makes our guys feel good,” said Bobcats Head Coach Terry Sellers.
The first home game of the season will be Nov. 19 against Newberry at 7:30 in the Centennial Center
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Oct 22 2004. Filed under Sports.
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