madness

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SoCalHoops Recruiting News

Pepperdine Will Host Its Version Of
Midnight Madness On Friday Oct. 11--(Sept. 30, 2002)

You know that basketball season is right around the corner when colleges start to send out announcements for their annual "midnight madness," the celebrations that some schools host to mark the opening of the first day college teams can begin official practices. Practice this year can officially take place at 12:00 a.m. on October 12, so Pepperdine will host it's "Start the Madness" event beginning on the evening of Friday, October 11 at 9:00 p.m.

Pepperdine has been hosting their own version of "midnight madness" for the past six years, and this year they'll do it again. We received the following press release this morning and thought we'd pass it along for those of you who can't wait for the season to begin. We've attended the Pepperdine event several times, and it's always a lot of fun. Here's the official press release:

PEPPERDINE BASKETBALL TEAMS BEGIN PRACTICE SESSIONS WITH "START THE MADNESS"
OCT. 11, 2002

The Pepperdine men's and women's basketball teams begin official practice sessions for the upcoming 2002-03 season next Friday (October 11) night, as the University celebrates its seventh annual "Start The Madness" celebration at Firestone Fieldhouse on campus.

The event is free and open to the public.

Pepperdine's "Start The Madness" will begin at Firestone Fieldhouse next Friday night at 11 p.m. with musical performances, various basketball-oriented competitions, extreme sports exhibitions and the introduction of the men's and women's teams.

The action will be be limited to just basketball at "Start The Madness," as a selected parent and student will have the opportunity to win a free year of tuition by making a halfcourt shot.

As a prelude to "Start The Madness," a fair theme with food, drink, music and assorted give-away items will take place at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center adjacent to Firestone Fieldhouse beginning at 9 p.m.

Men's head coach Paul Westphal welcomes back nine returning letterwinners, including four starters, from last year's 22-9 team that tied Gonzaga for the regular season West Coast Conference (WCC) title with a 13-1 mark and earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.

Top returnees for the Waves include first team All-WCC senior forwards Boomer Brazzle and Jimmy Miggins. Sophomore guard Terrance Johnson, junior forward Glen McGowan and senior guard Devin Montgomery each earned honorable mention All-WCC honors last year, and Johnson was tabbed the league's "Freshman of the Year."

Pepperdine has advanced to post-season play each of the last four seasons--NCAA Tournament in 2000 and 2002 and the NIT in 1999 and 2001--while combining to win 88 games during that time span.

The team opens its 27-game regular season schedule on November 22 at Bradley. Pepperdine's non-conference schedule includes home games with Oregon, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara and Utah plus tournament appearances at New Mexico and Stanford.

On the women's side, head coach Mark Trakh's roster features nine returning letterwinners, including three starters, from last year's 23-8 team that won the WCC regular season conference title with an 11-3 mark and then captured the post-season league tournament title for the first time. Pepperdine advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years.

Senior guard Damaris Hinojosa is the Waves' top returning player and has earned first team All-WCC honors each of the last three seasons. Other key returning players for Pepperdine include senior forward Keani Christenson, junior guard Shandrika Lee and senior guard Tamara McDonald.

Pepperdine has won 20 or more games each of the last five seasons, compiling 106 wins during that time span. The Waves have won or shared the league's regular season championship three times in the last four years, and similarly to the men's program, earned four consecutive post-season tournament berths.

The team opens its 27-game regular season schedule at home on November 22 against Xavier. Pepperdine's non-conference schedule includes home games with Arizona, UCLA and USC, two holiday tournaments at Firestone Fieldhouse and road contests at Connecticut and Stanford.