Mind of Michael: 'Midnight Madness'

By Michael Leek
Sports Editor

"Midnight Madness" took place in East Lansing Friday, Oct. 13, and the Michigan State University’s women’s and men’s basketball teams put on, once again, an unforgettable show.

"Midnight Madness" is a free annual event that MSU’s basketball teams host for the fans to showcase the players' skills for the upcoming seasons. Let’s just say both teams look good this year.

The doors to the Breslin Center opened at 8 p.m., but I stood outside in the rain starting at 6:30 p.m. I was expecting the lines to be long, but they were short when I arrived. They did not start filling up until around 7:30 p.m.

The first event held was trick-or-treating inside the Breslin Center for children to grab candy, as well as an autograph signing by the players.

I did not participate in either of these events. Instead, I went to go find good seats and waited for the show to start.

The main events started at nine, introducing the players on both the women’s and men’s teams. And their entrances were priceless.

The players were all dressed in different Halloween costumes. My personal favorite introductions were sophomore guard Abbey Kimball as an old lady, I think Madea, and Senior Guard Tyson Walker as Flava Flav.

There was also an outstanding video which led to the head coaches for both teams coming out in their costumes. Head Men’s Coach Tom Izzo was introduced as Batman and new Women’s Head Coach Robyn Fralick was Robin.

The women’s team held a three-point contest and the men participated in a dunk contest. The dunk contest was amazing because of two new freshmen, forward Xavier Booker and forward Coen Carr.

The scrimmages were not very competitive because they were just that, scrimmages. Still, both teams did showcased what they worked on over the summer and fans could see the improvement in certain players.

Michigan State will be hosting two exhibition games before the official start of the 2023-24 season. As an MSU fan, I am excited to see what the Spartans will accomplish this season.