Kentucky’s Big Blue Madness packs a punch: ‘Let’s get ready for roundball!’

The University of Kentucky’s Big Blue Madness delivered surprising punch Friday night.

One of those moments came when renowned boxing ring announcer Michael Buffer stepped onto the Rupp Arena court and into a spotlight.

“Wildcats fans, are you ready ...” Buffer announced, mimicking his famous boxing call of “Let’s get ready to rumble.”

Buffer then proceeded to introduce the 2016-17 Wildcats to a sold out Rupp Arena crowd.

He would make a second appearance later, with a unique twist on his famous phrase.

Each Wildcat met the crowd’s cheers while displayed on a massive video board that sat courtside.

After the player introductions, Calipari briefly addressed the Big Blue Nation.

“You people are crazy,” Calipari said in his common refrain about UK fans. “Only here. Only here. I am honored and humbled to be your coach. This program did not start with me. This program was started and built by Coach Adolph Rupp, who won four national titles and was carried on by a group of coaches who maintained that level before me.”

Calipari’s message to the 2016-17 Wildcats — and probably even to a star-studded cast of recruits in Rupp Arena — was “Welcome to the Family.”

On the giant video board, several former players chimed in with recorded messages to this year’s players, using phrases such as “embrace the grind,” and “Kentucky is not for everybody.”

Among the former UK players featured in the video messages were Ron Mercer, Tyler Ulis, Alex Poythress, Tayshaun Prince, Kyle Wiltjer, Rajon Rondo, Rex Chapman, Brandon Knight, Chuck Hayes, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Eric Bledsoe, Archie Goodwin, John Wall and Nerlens Noel.

Calipari then invited former Cats John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Willie Cauley-Stein to join him on the stage. The three NBA players are in Lexington for Saturday’s exhibition game in Rupp Arena featuring Wall’s Washington Wizards against Cousins’ Sacramento Kings.

Wall grabbed the microphone and shouted, “What’s up! I love you all!”

What followed was a stunning array of more former Cats. UK said as many as 70 former players accepted the invitation to return for Madness on Friday night. All of those players’ names were announced to the crowd.

The evening’s nationally televised festivities wrapped up with some actual basketball, as the Wildcats took the floor for drills and scrimmaging.

Before the Cats began their scrimmage, Buffer returned to address the crowd.

“Let’s get ready for roundball!” Buffer announced.

Some highlights from earlier in the night:

▪  The night’s Madness festivities got underway with UK’s Wildcat mascot throwing a jolt into the audience by swinging back and forth the full length of the Rupp Arena court at high speed while suspended from a cable.

▪  Next came tradition: UK women’s coach Matthew Mitchell’s annual dance routine. UK made immediate use of Rupp Arena’s new video scoreboard to display Mitchell dancing to Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling.”

▪  Following was the introduction of the Wildcats’ women’s team, led by seniors Makayla Epps — sporting a “Straight Outta Lebanon” T-shirt — and Evelyn Akhator. Mitchell then put his squad through a series of drills and some scrimmaging for the home crowd.

▪  Before the introduction of the UK men, fans were treated to a performance by the Wildcats’ cheerleading squad.

▪  The night opened with former UK players entering the arena on the “blue carpet.”

Surprise recruit in Rupp

Some of the top recruits in the nation were on hand for Madness. A last-minute addition was Mohamed Bamba, the highest-ranked uncommitted player in the class of 2017. Bamba, a 7-footer from Harlem, N.Y., is ranked by Scout.com as the No. 2 overall prospect in the class. Even before Bamba’s arrival, UK could boast a full five-star lineup of 2017 recruits in attendance, including guards Trae Young and Quade Green, forwards Kevin Knox and PJ Washington and center Nick Richards.

This story was originally published October 14, 2016 at 7:38 PM with the headline "Kentucky’s Big Blue Madness packs a punch: ‘Let’s get ready for roundball!’."