BATON ROUGE – The LSU men’s and women’s basketball programs showcased their talents to close to 1,500 fans Friday evening at the Maravich Center during the second-annual Bayou Madness.
The event was highlighted by a skills competition, three-point and dunk contests and team scrimmages. Afterwards, both teams along with head coaches Nikki Caldwell and Johnny Jones took part in a picture and autograph session for the fans.
“We were excited to have the first opportunity for both programs to showcase our players in front of our fans,” Jones said. “It was great to interact afterwards by signing autographs and taking pictures with them. They got a glimpse of both programs and what they’ll be able to look forward to this upcoming season.”
After a pep rally which featured the LSU cheerleaders, the Bengal Brass Basketball Band and Tiger Girls, both teams were introduced to the crowd by emcees Emily Dixon of LSUsports.net and Cox Sports Television along with Derek Ponamsky of Guaranty Broadcasting in a smoke and LED lightning show.
Four teams which consisted of a men’s and women’s player began the event with a skills competition. The women’s player dribbled from one side of the court to the other between two fans. After one of the players connected for a three-pointer, the men’s player raced down the floor for a dunk. The duo of Ann Jones and Darcy Malone won the event and completed the challenge in just over 17 seconds.
The three-point contest mirrored the NBA All-Star Weekend model with five racks of five balls that featured a two-point money ball at the end of each rack. Jenna Deemer and Keith Hornsby showcased their sharpshooting and knocked down a combined 58 triples to reach the finals.
Hornsby would eventually outlast Deemer, 18-10, to earn the chance to square off with LSU president and chancellor Dr. F. King Alexander. Hornsby edged out Alexander 14-13 to claim the three-point title.
“The highlight of the evening was seeing Dr. Alexander get out there and compete in our three-point contest,” Caldwell said. “That says a lot about the leadership at LSU that you have someone like Dr. Alexander who is invested in our athletic department. It was really cool to have your president out there shooting hoops.”
Deemer along with Lady Tiger teammates Akilah Bethel, Alliyah Fareo and Raigyne Moncrief then joined the Tiger Girls on the court for a special dance routine. The men’s team retook the stage with a dunk contest where Jordan Mickey topped Hornby by one point.
“When you’re demanding excellence from your players in practice and during games, it makes a huge difference when they can come out here and showcase what they’ve been practicing in front of a large crowd,” Caldwell said. “We understand that the fans can literally will you to a victory. They literally become the sixth man on the court for you. We appreciate all the support that we get here at LSU. We want to become one of the premier institutions where it’s really tough to come to the PMAC and compete because of our fans.”
For more information, follow the teams on their social media outlets: @lsubasketball and @lsuwbkb on Twitter along with www.Facebook.com/LSUBasketball and www.Facebook.com/LSUwbkb.