There were plenty of Midnight Madness highlights Friday night. Missouri's Keion Bell, formerly of Pepperdine, brought the dunking ability that made him famous to Columbia, jumping over six people en route to arguably the night's best dunk. The ever-athletic Baylor Bears (plus Brittney Griner) put on a show. North Carolina danced to "Gangnam Style." Pitt coach Jamie Dixon looked absolutely awesome costumed as basketball legend Jackie Moon.
But I have to say I was still partial to Tom Izzo's Iron Man entrance. The Michigan State coach was dressed in full Iron Man gear, to the point that getting around seemed rather cumbersome. The native of Iron Mountain, Mich., "arrived" (this part involved a stunt double) in the Breslin Center by rappelling down a high wire, sparks flying from his feet. The purported goal was to save Sparty from a Big Ten "Legion of Doom," including rival coaches John Beilein, Thad Matta and Bo Ryan. (Which, if you think about it, could look like a pretty fearsome evil trio in a comic book or superhero flick.) And then, Izzo emerged, with his wife and family dressed as fellow Marvel Avengers, there to walk around briefly and do that thing Tony Stark does with his hands when he wears the Iron Man suit.
You can see for yourself here:
Izzo has had more than his fair share of excellent costumes over the years, but the sight of him walking around wearing a surprisingly realistic Iron Man costume from the neck down is arguably the best. Ah, Midnight Madness. Such silliness.