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6:30 PM
Providence College Athletics
Men's Basketball Tips Off Season At Late Night Madness
10/12/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 12, 2001
The Providence College Friars tipped off the 2001-02 college basketball season at midnight on Saturday morning to the delight of over 3,000 people jammed into Alumni Hall. Head Coach Tim Welsh and his Friars hit the court at the stroke of midnight coming through the spotlights to put on a slam dunk display that got the crowd charged up.
The evening started at 8:00 p.m. in Peterson Center as the Friars were honored by over 200 people in the annual pre-Late Night Madness dinner. Fans were able to mingle with the coaching staff and players prior to the dinner. Following dinner, each player introduced another player telling a story about him. Senior John Linehan closed the introductions by thanking the fans in attendance before turning things over to Tim Welsh.
Following Linehan, Welsh spoke of his optimism for the upcoming season, "We are excited to get things going tonight. The new court in Mullaney Gym looks great and our team is ready to go. This is a special night for the players, the fans and our student body. It's part of the great tradition of Friar basketball."
While the speaking portion of the program was going on downstairs, over 3,000 students were enjoying a variety of games and music in Alumni Hall. PC's Student Government ran the evening with the help of several other student groups. Students participated in a various basketball contests, enjoyed dance competitions and wound down the evening with the always popular lip-synch contest.
As 11:00 p.m. approached, the television lights came on as all three local stations were live trying to catch the excitement in the building. Tim Welsh did his interviews and then went to join his team as the clock ticked down to midnight. The PC women's basketball team was introduced at 11:45 p.m. and then the lights went off at 11:50 p.m. as the fans on hand were treated to a highlight video. Not even a brief fire alarm could dampen the spirits of the Friar faithful!
The video ended with the final countdown to midnight. With spotlight's lighting the gym, John Linehan led the Friars to the floor through a cloud of smoke with a resounding standing ovation from the crowd. Tim Welsh was the final person on the court and as the cheering died down and the lights came up he introduced the Friars. Kareem Hayletts, Donell Allick, Sheiku Kabba, John Linehan, Abdul Mills, Romuald Augustin, Chris Anrin, Maris Laksa, Stephen Traugott went through layups and a dunking display. Leland Anderson, Brian Schnurr, Ryan Gomes, Garnett Thompson, Marcus Douthit and Tuukka Kotti all had impressive dunks while Rob Sanders closed the display with a monsterous dunk.
Welsh spoke to the crowd and then put his team through some quick drills. From there the team retired for the evening, signing autographs and talking to the fans. The fun was over.
There was work to get done - real practice was just a few hours away as PC was set to hit the court on Saturday afternoon.
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