New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
Putting on a show
ESPN’s College GameDay kicks off a vibrant day in Storrs
STORRS — UConn students chanted through shivers and clutched signs with numb fingers. Scores of these people, throaty and nervy, had gathered outside Gampel Pavilion by the time the sun set Friday evening, and there were hundreds by the time it rose again over campus Saturday morning.
It was about 35 degrees as they huddled at choked security checkpoints, waiting for an 8:30 a.m. entry and the chance to become part of the energetic backdrop for “College GameDay,” ESPN’s two-hour show that serves as a weekend’s TV anchor for college basketball.
As a couple million (the average viewership) watched from the warmth of a living room and comfort of a couch cushion, an estimated 4,700 took in the
show live at Gampel Pavilion, the official start to one of the more vibrant days the building and campus have seen in years.
“It’s really important because this is the first time College GameDay has been to Storrs in over a decade, and the first time since this program returned to where it’s supposed to,” said
Connor Margiatto, a UConn junior from Suffield. “That’s what makes it special.”
The GameDay experience ran from 10 a.m.-noon. and then the crowd dispersed, a large portion of it headed back outside to wait some more. Eight hours later, Dan Hurley’s top-ranked Huskies, last season’s national champions, were scheduled to tip-off a Big East game against rival Villanova before a sellout crowd. Richard Hamilton, who led UConn to the first of its five national titles in 1999, was to have his No. 32 retired at halftime.
Has there been a more exciting time to be a UConn fan and/ or UConn student? Basketball success draws attention and hype and the whole combination this weekend led to tents popping up outside Gampel, music blaring from giant speakers as Friday became Saturday,
students coming and going in the typical college party scene, playing cornhole, socializing, breaking into occasional chants of “UConn … Huskies!” and “U-C-ON-N.”
“I love this,” said Jacob Bundy, a junior from Vernon. “I love the Huskies but the main reason I did this is it is something I’ll remember for a while, for how ridiculous this is. It’s kind of crazy, but it’s awesome. Might as well live it up.”
How about the team? UConn, while coming off a blowout loss at Creighton that snapped a 14-game winning streak, entered Saturday’s game atop the polls and with a 24-3 record, in prime position for one of four No. 1 seeds in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. No program has repeated as national champions since Florida in 2006-07.
“I think they’re going all the way,” Bundy said.
Margiatto, Bundy and another friend, freshman Antonio Rodriguez from Torrington, arrived around 10 p.m. Friday night. They were first in line at one of the security checkpoints. Behind them were hundreds of students with dozens of signs, costumes, blue wigs, boxes of donuts, coffees, energy drinks — and the best attitudes.
There were about 500 students ready to rush through the gates, which opened at 8:30 on the dot. They filled the prime sureto-be-on-TV seats near midcourt, behind the desk where the show operates through the direction of host Rece Davis. Jay Bilas, Seth Greenberg, Andraya Carter and Jay Williams serve as analysts, with Christine Williamson a reporter.
“They’re every bit as good as last year’s national championship team this year,” Bilas said at the top of the show, to the delight of fans. “If you’re picking one team to win it, pick UConn.”
“UConn is the best team in the country,” Greenberg said. “But …”
What followed was drowned out by cheers. There were signs everywhere: “More like Kyle Pluto,” one read in reference to Villanova coach Kyle Neptune. Others: “Kara-bang!” in reference to Alex Karaban and “King of the Castle” for Stephon Castle … “Hurley’s Dawgs.” … “Hi Mom.” … “Villa-nobody Cares.”
The announced crowd was substantially larger than most crowds for GameDay episodes. It was said that about 1,700 were on hand last week at Auburn, for instance. The show has also made stops this season at Arkansas, North Carolina and Kansas. It will move to Alabama next week, then to a yet-to-be-announced destination the week after. Shows also will be staged at the ACC Tournament and the Final Four.
That’s eight, total, for the season. That UConn is the site for one of them is not insignificant. The program is back, of course, after its American Athletic Conference hibernation in the years that followed the 2014 championship delivered by Kevin Ollie, Shabazz Napier and others.
More and more fans arrived at Gampel Saturday before the show went live and much of the lower bowl seats were occupied by the time all the fun stuff took place — like Hamilton making a half-court shot on his first attempt, the latest entry to the UConn-Duke rivalry.
Williams, who played at Duke in 19992002, led Hamilton to midcourt with some playful smack-talk.
“I don’t have my UConn jersey on, but it’s OK,” Hamilton said. “I made a lot of buckets here, so hopefully I can make one
in front of the greatest fans in the world. “Just hit the rim, Rip,” Williams said. Hamilton: “I can’t let a Duke guy show me up.”
Williams: “I’ve got to redeem us for ‘99.”
Hamilton let the ball fly and it didn’t hit the rim. He swished it.
“Is this what we do?” he asked the crowd rhetorically and enthusiastically, over and over. Then he told Williams, “We are the true Blue Blood. We are the true Blue Blood.”
The crowd erupted. Somewhere in that crowd was Joe Ross, a 2004 UConn graduate originally from Guilford. Now living in Boston, he and his sons — Jacoby, a leap-year baby who turns 12 on Thursday, and Jordan, 9 — made a weekend of their UConn visit. They attended the men’s hockey game Friday night and stayed at Graduate Storrs, the hotel on campus.
Around 8 a.m. Saturday, they were outside Gampel, among the first general admission guests to arrive for entry after the initial surge of students. Joe was helping his sons apply blue and white face paint.
“I thought we’d be good again, but being one of the top teams in the country, it’s just been an amazing run,” Joe said. “My senior year, we won the whole thing. And then the program kind of went down for a little bit, and the way Hurley brought the program back is just amazing.”
They would attend Saturday’s game, as well. That wouldn’t start until about 12 hours later. All three mentioned plans for a nap after watching GameDay in person.
“We recorded it at home, so we can see if we got TV,” Jordan said.
“It’s going to be crazy,” Jacoby said. “Yesterday,” Jordan added, “I saw Jonathan. The real Jonathan.”
Jim Calhoun, the program architect as coach for 26 seasons, appeared on GameDay set for an interview. He even walked right behind Bilas during a live shot as if he owns the building. (Does he not?) Calhoun, moments earlier, had celebrated Hamilton’s half-court shot during is onair interview, saying, “And two Duke guys had to watch it.”
Bilas also played at Duke. Hamilton mentioned his cherished memories of the 1999 team. He said on the show, and to the crowd, “The last time we left this court we were No. 1 in the country. Now we’re back and we’re still No. 1.”
At least one current player attended a portion of the show. Donovan Clingan was sitting in a front-row, corner seat. The women’s team was practicing next door at the Werth Champions Center but injured players Aubrey Griffin and Ayanna Patterson, both sidelined with injuries, made an appearance at Gampel.
The show, which ended with UConn junior Akshay Zaveri winning $19,000 from State Farm for making his own midcourt shot, touched on UConn’s proud history and tapped into its current personality with behind-the-scenes footage of practices and meetings with Hurley, and a trip to the UConn Dairy Bar for ice cream with Karaban.
GameDay had been at UConn for that inaugural show in 2005. It returned before a game against Syracuse in 2012 and before a game against Louisville in 2014. In 2010, GameDay was held at UConn in advance of a game against Notre Dame. It was back on Saturday, and the fans were out.
“It’s a long 24 hours,” Margiatto said while in line. “Pure adrenaline. Pure energy. Everybody’s energetic, chants going non-stop. Everybody’s rowdy, riled up. They love basketball here. We’ll all ready.”