Hoops Season Gets Underway at Illini Basketball Madness
October 15, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Oct. 15, 2005
Champaign, Ill. - Friday marked the first day of practice for the 2005-06 college basketball season, and the Illini got things started in grand fashion with a huge party at the Assembly Hall for Illini Basketball Madness. Thousands of fans lined up at The Hall well before the doors opened at 9 p.m.
A school-record crowd of 13,405 was decked out in orange at The Hall to meet the Illini. Former Chicago Bulls announcer Ray Clay was on the mic throughout the eventing to coordinate the festivities, which included numerous highlight videos, performances by the Illini cheerleaders and dance team, an exciting show by The Bucket Boys out of Chicago that brought the fans to their feet, and introductions, contests and a scrimmage by Theresa Grentz' UI women's basketball team.
At 10:30 p.m., a highlight video recapping Illinois' magical run to the national title game was shown. The Illini were then introduced from the tunnel, but seniors James Augustine and Dee Brown and Head Coach Bruce Weber surprised the crowd by coming down from the Assembly Hall's upper level.
Weber, Augustine and Brown then unveiled the 2005 NCAA Final Four banner, which was raised to the rafters. Illini legend Kenny Battle spoke to the crowd, along with Dee Brown.
The three-point shooting contest was won by Brown, who defeated Rich McBride in the championship. Brian Randle then brought the crowd to its feet once again in the slam dunk contest, throwing down a between-the-legs dunk to clinch the title.
The Illini then took part in a 15-minute scrimmage, and Coach Weber addressed the crowd to finish out the evening. He thanked the fans for their amazing support and referred to Illinois' 78-3 record at the Assembly Hall over the past six seasons, the best homecourt record in the nation.
