Mizzou kicks off new era with unique Midnight Madness
The college basketball season is quickly approaching with a little over a month until the first game tips on Nov. 7. In that span, programs will try unique opportunities to get their fan base excited about the upcoming season. Almost every team has some sort of “Midnight Madness,” which allows their fan base to get their first look at the team before the season starts. Some programs, such as Duke, Kansas, or Kentucky, have huge turnouts yearly in their teams’ arenas. However, Friday night, Mizzou and new coach Dennis Gates held their Midnight Madness, and it was something quite unique.
Former Missouri head coach, Cuonzo Martin, never had the success to match the hefty expectations he had when first being hired. Despite gaining commits from five-star wing Michael Porter Jr., and brother Jontay Porter, Martin never lived up to expectations. The Mizzou fan base lost interest in the program with attendance dropping rapidly during last season.
During the offseason, Mizzou hired Gates from Cleveland State. Gates completed a massive overhaul of the roster in his first offseason. One of his objectives is to get the Mizzou fan base re-engaged in the program.
Last night, in Columbia, Missouri, the Mizzou basketball team held their Midnight Madness event for fans to come out and see the new team.
However, there was a twist on where they held it at. Mizzou built a temporary court outside on the quad on the college campus. The court was right in front of their most recognizable landmark on campus: the columns.
With a laser light show, smoke, students circling the court, and a unique backdrop, Mizzou’s new twist to Midnight Madness was a success. By putting on a dunk contest, three-point contest, and having legendary coach Norm Stewart in attendance, Mizzou’s new look Midnight Madness was a success. With multiple highly touted recruits in attendance, Gates looks like he is already bringing Mizzou back to relevance within their fan base.
The New Look Roster For Mizzou
The entertainment of Friday’s Midnight Madness will certainly spark excitement, but the Tigers will still have to put a good product on the court to captivate a passionate, yet disappointed Mizzou fan base over the past couple of years.
With the roster overhaul over in the offseason, Mizzou fans saw those players for the first time last night. Dennis Gates brought in 10 new players into the program for his first season at Mizzou. Isiaih Mosley, one of the top players in the transfer portal this past offseason, headlines the roster overhaul. Last season, Mosley averaged 20 points per game at Missouri State and could be an NBA prospect due to his scoring abilities. Gates also brought in two of the top junior college recruits in the country in guard Sean East and forward Mohamed Diarra, plus a top-100 recruit in Aidan Shaw.
With second-team all-SEC player Kobe Brown returning, Mizzou could be a team on the outside of the NCAA Tournament bubble, or even sneaking into March Madness if all goes well.
At first glance, the Gates hire was deemed a questionable move by the Mizzou fan base. However, with the energy and recruiting success Gates has quickly shown, it seems like the fans of Mizzou are starting to get excited once again. Mizzou’s Midnight Madness was unique in comparison to other programs. Now it might be something more teams try and do after seeing the Tigers’ show Friday night.
