Let’s be real: UK basketball is not at the top of its game anymore. But can anyone really be?

It’s not the days of Adolph Rupp, when the UK basketball team was also synonymous with the USA Olympic basketball team. On any given day, there are teams out there capable of defeating UK and keeping them out of the big dance in the spring. On any given day, anyone can beat anybody.

In the days of Rupp, UK was a powerhouse, but it was partially due to the fact that few schools had established programs. Today, there are a lot of up-and-coming teams and recruits have many more options.

Above all of the recruiting visits, free tickets to games and phone calls, UK made its best effort to convince recruits to go blue on Friday with Big Blue Madness. And it worked. Five-star recruit Daniel Orton committed just days after attending Madness, an early practice that fans are encouraged to attend, according to a Kernel article on Monday.

The article said fans chanted Orton’s name at every chance, showing their love for the third-ranked center, according to Rivals.com. He waved to show his gratitude.

“At first it was awkward because you really don’t know what to do,” Orton said. “But by the end I just stood up and waved. It was just a great feeling, all those people cheering my name. I just felt really special.”

This is what it will take to put UK back in the running for the big dance. The Joe Craft Center is nice, and who wouldn’t want to play at Rupp Arena? But an event like Big Blue Madness helps to show the passion of UK fans and obviously works to convince a recruit to sign.

Anyone in the administration will back it up that athletics is not taking money away from the university, it’s putting money in. Events like Madness help pull in recruits, which helps make UK’s athletic program stronger. A stronger athletics program brings in more fans, and more fans means more money.

UK is not at the top, but Madness is certainly one of the best ways to get them back to the status they have seen in the past. And even if you don’t care about national titles, a little more funding to the university can’t be bad, no matter the time frame you’re living in.