Midnight Madness is a somewhat strange tradition to begin with. Last year we spoke with Lefty Driesell about its humble origins around the track at Maryland. Over the past 40 years the tenor of the event has changed drastically (we have already documented our misgivings about the current state of it previously). Today, the event has become less about practice and more about an event to hype up the students and draw in recruits. Schools have tried to turn the event into a hybrid between a basketball exhibition and a concert as schools have drawn in artists such as Drake, but schools are continually trying to find ways to entertain the fans and entice talented recruits to play for them. To that end George Washington attempted something on Friday night that we have never seen before at a Midnight Madness or at least not that was recorded and allowed to see the light of day.
It is at once both mesmerizing and stupefying. While this may not have the news appeal of Roy Williams dancing at UNC, to us this is so much more interesting and leads to so many more questions. Who thought this was a good idea? What did the recruits think? Didn’t the school have something/anything that they thought would appeal more to the 16-22 year-old demographic?