Kansas super-senior Kevin McCullar Jr. told reporters this week that the players have been hard at work learning a dance routine for Friday’s Late Night in the Phog.
Just don’t expect their Hall of Fame coach to join in.
“That would be negative,” Bill Self said with a smile Monday. “That would be no, and you can take that, and I won’t have any more comment on that either.”
Don’t mistake Self’s lack of dance participation for a lack of enthusiasm for the festivities, though. The event, now in its 39th year, serves as the traditional tipoff for the basketball season ahead, and combines scrimmage action with lighthearted entertainment. It has also long been a key recruiting tool for the basketball team, which invited many of its most coveted prospects for visits.
“I’m believing it’s going to be great,” Self said. “I know the show will be great and it’ll be a fun night for everybody. We’ve got new lighting and new sound systems so at least when Flo Rida plays at the end of the evening we should be able to recognize a couple of the words.”
Grammy-nominated rapper Flo Rida, he of ubiquitous hits like “Low,” the Dead or Alive-interpolating “Right Round,” and “Club Can’t Handle Me,” is also a hit for some of the KU players, forward KJ Adams Jr. said. (Adams, for his part, mostly knows Flo Rida’s popular songs and said he might instead like to see a country singer at Late Night sometime.)
For new players, the night provides the first opportunity to enjoy a packed Allen Fieldhouse, which is sold out for the event. For veterans, it’s a welcome return.
“It’s electric to be able to get back in front of the fans, the most amazing fans in the country,” said McCullar, who transferred from Texas Tech before the 2022-23 season. “It’s super wonderful.”
This year’s Late Night in the Phog begins at 6:30 p.m. Friday. The scrimmages — women’s basketball at approximately 7:20, men’s basketball at 8:20 — will be broadcast on ESPN+, the KU Athletics website and the KU Athletics Facebook page, the school announced Wednesday.
Nick Krug
