Temple University Athletics
More Than a Basketball Debut at the Liacouras Center
11.18.12 | Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA -- It was all lights, camera and action on North Broad Street for the Temple men's basketball team's home opener against Rice University, and that's not strictly referring to the basketball-related action on the court.
Behind a duo of double-double performances from Scootie Randall (16 points, career-high 12 rebounds) and Anthony Lee (16 points, career-high 13 rebounds), the Temple Owls hung on long enough to rule the roost, chasing the visiting Owls away with 77-63 win.
The night's action, however, began long before the final buzzer.
If this were a movie, this right here would be the part where the picture slowly dissolves into a vivid flashback of action as the music begins to crescendo.
Cut to two weeks ago, when this year's group of Temple Owls gathered inside the confines of the Annenberg Hall television studio to showcase a different set of skills -- specifically, their acting prowess.
In front of several cameras and ambient maroon lighting, the men dribbled and pump-faked and smiled, putting on a show that would soon translate into the series of introductory videos that fans got a first glimpse of tonight.
That's because the off-season renovations of the Liacouras Center allowed for the addition of the venue's first HD-videoboard and LED ribbon system, giving the Liacouras Center the requisite technology to feature a pre-game pump-up video.
The buzz surrounding the addition of the new scoreboards circulated around the internet throughout much of the summer, with the details kept mostly under wraps, expounding the hype surrounding the night's unveiling.
Five minutes prior to the night's tipoff, the Liacouras Center's overhead lights dimmed, signifying the presentation of the night's starting five.
Lights.
But instead of the old searchlights zigzagging through the clamoring crowd, a series of rapid-fire still photos clicked on overhead, illuminating the thousands of fans in a bath of fluorescent pixels.
Camera.
Then the whoosh of a collective involuntary intake of breath as the thousands of fans watched in awe as the 2012-2013 men's basketball team came to life on four 7-foot-by-10-foot HD video screens.
Action.
Sophomore Anthony Lee had just two words to describe how it felt to be announced as part of the starting five with the venue's added enhancements:
“Wow.”
“Unbelievable,” he said.
“When I first came out on the court I was really thrilled to be out here and see the improvement and new technology that they put into this arena,” he continued.
Tonight wasn't the first time the team saw what they call the “hype” video -- they got a sneak peek earlier in the week -- but it had exactly the effect they were hoping for.
“It's a little something new, something to get the fans into the game,” Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson explained.
It also helped to showcase the individual personalities on this year's “new-look” squad, and its creation gave the squad an opportunity amp up team chemistry as each man got his turn to ham it up for the cameras.
“We did a whole lot of playing around with the ball, smiling and trying interact with the camera and show off for the fans,” said Lee of the behind the scenes preparations. “We had a good time just fooling around, having fun, doing something a little different.”
Each game, the fans will have an opportunity to see a different side of their Temple Owls, and both Hollis-Jefferson and Lee agreed there are segments fans won't want to miss.
“We have a lot in store that the fans haven't seen yet,” Lee said.
By Kami Mattioli, Owlsports.com columnist
