Top hoop recruits expected for Big Blue Madness
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Rupp Arena will be packed again on Friday night for Big Blue Madness, the annual spectacle that celebrates the start of a new University of Kentucky basketball season.
As usual at Big Blue Madness, some of the nation's best recruits will be among the most important attendees.
Madness, which starts at 7 p.m., usually serves as the Wildcats' biggest recruiting event of the year, and UK is expected to have another star-studded list of visitors, including top-ranked wing Jaylen Brown of Marietta, Ga.
"It just gave me the whole idea of how serious Kentucky basketball is, and it was just a great feeling, exciting feeling," UK sophomore Aaron Harrison recalled of his two trips to Madness as a recruit. "Once you witness something like that, there's no way you can not want to play in an atmosphere like that."
The expected attendees are rated by Scout.com the nation's Nos. 1 (Brown), 10 (shooting guard Malik Newman of Jackson, Miss.), 11 (power forward Carlton Bragg of Cleveland), 14 (center Stephen Zimmerman of Las Vegas) and 26 (small forward Brandon Ingram of Kinston, N.C.) undecided seniors.
They'll join UK's lone Class of 2015 commitment Charles Matthews, a Chicago shooting guard who's rated No. 62 nationally, and five-star New Jersey junior shooting guard Tyus Battle.
"Anytime you can bring four- or five five-star prospects to campus it's a big deal, and they seem to be right there in striking distance with a lot of them," Scout.com analyst Evan Daniels said.
Big Blue Madness has traditionally been a showcase of lights, music, elaborate player introductions and scrimmaging for the men's and women's teams. Fans tend to chant recruits' names, and UK coach John Calipari has in years past given a state-of-the-program speech to pump up the crowd.
"Part of Kentucky's pitch is the lure of the Kentucky fan base and the atmosphere and everything that comes with Kentucky basketball," Daniels said. "It's only natural that Cal uses that as a pitch, and I think it can certainly impact kids' recruitments. Some of these kids want to play in the limelight, and there's only a couple schools that can compete with Kentucky as far as being on a national scale."
Harrison's perspective on the event?
"I don't think any other school can challenge our Midnight Madness," he said.
For the first time in years, there will be no dedicated live television broadcast of Madness, although it will be shown live online at ESPN3.com with live TV cut-ins on ESPNU. There will be a one-hour replay of the two-hour event at 11 p.m. on the SEC Network.
Brown, Ingram, Matthews and Zimmerman will be making their official visits to Lexington this week. Bragg and Newman will be on unofficial trips with plans to officially visit further into the season.
Bragg's mentor, Michael Graves, said Bragg is eager to meet the Cats and feel the atmosphere at Rupp Arena. Bragg, Brown and Zimmerman all visited Kansas last weekend.
"He's very excited to get down to campus and experience Kentucky basketball," Graves said. "It's been marked on the calendar for three or four months, and we're excited to check things out.
Five-star Orlando shooting guard Antonio Blakeney, a former Louisville commitment, canceled plans to visit this weekend, but he said he will officially visit sometime soon. Five-star Las Vegas junior point guard Derryck Thornton also canceled plans to attend.
Calipari still has a big group he'll try to wow.
"Big Blue Madness, I think, just kind of shows what Kentucky is about," said UK sophomore Derek Willis, who attended Madness as a senior at Bullitt East High. "I think it's really good for the recruits to see."
Steve Jones can be reached at (502) 582-7176 and followed on Twitter at @SteveJones_CJ. Adam Himmelsbach contributed to this story.
BIG BLUE MADNESS
• 7 p.m. Friday
• Rupp Arena
• TV: Live cut-ins on ESPNU, one-hour replay at 11 p.m. on SEC Network
• Online stream: ESPN3.com