Cats move event up one week to help draw more recruits

You only get one chance to make a strong first impression.

Each year, high school basketball recruits from across the country attend Big Blue Madness. For many of those recruits, Madness is their first taste of Rupp Arena and the UK men’s basketball program.

Dave Telep, Scout.com national recruiting director, said Big Blue Madness makes one of the strongest first impressions in college basketball.

“The atmosphere of the program is on display,” Telep said. “It’s hard to replicate that kind of intensity on a normal campus weekend anywhere all year, unless there’s a conference rivalry game coming up. The basketball program and the fans get to put their best foot forward at Big Blue Madness.”

Big Blue Madness is advertised as the Cats’ first practice of the season. However, the squad doesn’t get much done on the court in front of a capacity crowd at Rupp, but that isn’t necessarily the goal.

“Forget how little goes on basketball-wise,” Telep said. “That’s not what’s at stake at Big Blue Madness, and the players, coaches and recruits all know that.”

NCAA rules mandate that no team may have a full practice until Oct. 17. Big Blue Madness was originally scheduled for the 17th, the same date as several other schools around the country. However, the Cats found a loophole in the rulebook that allowed them to move the festivities to Oct. 10.

According to NCAA rules, teams can hold two hours of team workouts per week beginning on Sept. 15 until full practice begins Oct. 17. Instead of waiting a week, the Cats have saved their weekly two-hour allotment for Friday night.

“We found out that we could do it earlier, and it gives us a little extra exposure because nobody else will be doing it,” said DeWayne Peevy, the UK associate athletic director for media relations and men’s basketball spokesman.

Illinois is taking advantage of the same loophole and is hosting a similar event Saturday. The Illini will host the “World’s Biggest Basketball Practice” on their football field following their football game against Minnesota. Over 60,000 fans are expected at Memorial Stadium.

UK will be the first program to utilize the two-hour weekly practice to bump up the season-opening festivities.

“I was really intrigued with what Kentucky did by moving their Madness up a week,” said Jerry Meyer, Rivals.com chief basketball recruiting analyst. “It makes sense to me. It puts UK in the news, and it has already created a legitimate stir well before the event. It seems like a very smart move to me.”

However, Meyer said UK fans shouldn’t get used to having Madness all to themselves.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the NCAA institutes some sort of restriction,” Meyer said. “You get two hours per player, per week. I don’t think the NCAA will change that rule, but they’ll probably put some sort of caveat in there that prohibits midnight madness-type events from happening on that particular weekend. And if the NCAA doesn’t catch on, other schools will because it’s a great idea to get a kick-start on recruiting.”

Another advantage to moving Madness up is to create a recruiting edge. If no other events are happening on the same weekend, recruits are less likely to have a conflict with visiting.

“The recruiting angle is what’s big about Big Blue Madness,” Telep said. “Fans on the Internet have gone back and forth, arguing whether or not it’s all that advantageous to move it up a week. If the Cats can get one extra recruit in town, it is absolutely advantageous for the program.”

High-profile recruits Daniel Orton, Dominique Ferguson and John Wall are all rumored to be attending Big Blue Madness, although Telep and Meyer couldn’t confirm which recruits would be in attendance. NCAA rules prohibit UK and any college program from commenting on high school recruits until they’ve signed letters of intent.

Whether or not a potential recruit attends the event, watches it live on the Internet or later on TV, the message should be loud and clear, Meyer said.

“They get a feel for the basketball community,” Meyer said. “These are the fans they’ll be playing in front of. It gives them a feel for the energy, a picture of the program at large. Not just the players or the coaches, but what the community in general has to offer.

“It truly makes a great first impression.”