Eager Gophers bring optimism to the party

An explosive sound was followed by the sight of a gorilla mascot in the rafters sliding down to center court. The mascot ripped off his Wisconsin shirt, revealing a maroon and gold one.

Soon after the lights dimmed and flames fired up around the arena, while a few thousand Gophers fans erupted and cheerleaders pumped pom-poms.

Basketball was back at Williams Arena.

"Welcome to Tubby Town!" Tubby Smith told the crowd at the start of Friday's Tubby's Tipoff, which kicked off the college basketball season for Minnesota.

Smith, admittedly, was a bit tight last year before his first Midnight Madness here. Not this year, even though he didn't repeat his James Brown impression. But fans were just excited to catch a glimpse of Smith's top-25 recruiting class.

As the public address announcer introduced Minnesota's five newcomers -- Devoe Joseph, Paul Carter, Devron Bostick, Ralph Sampson III and Colton Iverson -- Gophers fans cheered more loudly for each one.

Smith matched up the newcomers and Blake Hoffarber against the team's returning players. The new guys led for much of the 30-minute scrimmage but lost 43-38 to the team's veterans. Lawrence Westbrook, who made 10 of 11 first-round attempts and won the evening's three-point contest, said he didn't want to lose to the new players, but he's happy that the team had a chance to show its depth.

"They played hard, and it was a good scrimmage," Smith said. "It says we have a lot of depth. If someone falls down or needs a blow, somebody can come in and fill his shoes nicely."

Junior college transfer Devron Bostick showed off his jumping ability, when he threw the ball over the backboard, turned 180 degrees and slammed.

That dunk was judged the best of the competition by Timberwolves Mark Madsen and Kevin Love, assistant coach J.B. Bickerstaff and broadcaster Jim Petersen.

The state's top two prep players, Hopkins' Royce White and Robbinsdale Cooper's Rodney Williams, watched the event that they'll participate in next season when they join the Gophers.

But this year carries its own set of expectations, and Minnesota's newest players said they hope they can help the Gophers meet them and build on last season's success.