LAWRENCE, Kan. — Run-DMC's high-energy 40-minute hip-hop mini-concert had David McCormack and several other Kansas men's basketball players swaying and dancing at the conclusion of Friday's 37th annual Late Night in the Phog at Allen Fieldhouse.
"That was exhausting," KU coach Bill Self said after the 3 1/2-hour season-opening extravaganza. He jokingly collapsed into a chair in front of media members for a short, post-Late Night interview session.
"It was good. It was definitely a different feel than we had the last time we had an entertainer at Late Night," KU's 19th-year coach added, smiling.
In 2019, Snoop Dogg brought stripper poles, a money gun and some risque lyrics with him to Lawrence for his Late Night performance. Run-DMC provided more of a family-friendly hip-hop experience.
"I had them give a history (to KU's players before Late Night) of how they kind of came together (in 1981) and how they got started," Self said, welcoming Run-DMC into the locker room before Late Night.
"DMC I guess back in the day was big into comic books. That's where they got the idea of some superheroes, getting involved in comic books. They did some pretty cool things from that back in the day," Self explained.
Indeed Darryl McDaniels has said in interviews comic books gave him courage as a young rapper growing up in Queens, New York. He now has his own comic book company, "Darryl Makes Comics."
The group still makes music, of course. Many of the fans at Late Night sang along with Run-DMC during their songs on Friday night.
"It was fun. They put on a good show, kept the energy up," said KU senior Ochai Agbaji, who enjoyed the hip-hop after leading all scorers in KU's 20-minute intrasquad scrimmage. He scored 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting. "I like all the beats. I'm not really familiar with Run-DMC, but I like all the beats and stuff."
At one point Friday prior to the 6:30 p.m. start of Late Night, KU coach Self considered possibly re-enacting a Run-DMC music video of "Walk This Way" that included Aerosmith's Steven Tyler. Wearing a long, shaggy blond wig, and carrying a guitar while wearing flashy clothes, Self played the role of Tyler in a Late Night video shown on the center videoboard. It's a performance that had Self play a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame instead of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
"I actually asked Rev Run (Joseph Simmons of Run-DMC) today ... I walked up to him. He said, 'Hey are you doing that Steven Tyler deal (on the court live during Late Night?' I said, 'I really don't want to.' He said, 'Good. That's good,' " Self said.
"After hearing their rendition (of "Walk This Way" at Late Night) I'm not sure I would have fit exactly the way I saw it on video. But I thought about it. I've made an idiot of myself many times. I decided to pass on making one of myself this year," Self added.
Back in 2010, Self addressed the fans dressed in gold from head to toe as "Vanilla Ice" Self.
Late Night, as it has in the past, remained more about videos, dancing and music on Friday night than actual basketball.
Host Rob Riggle opened the proceedings cracking some jokes about KU playing both Kentucky and Missouri this season. The actor/KU grad also appeared in two humorous videos with KU's coaches.
"I love Riggle. He's great," Self said. "He does as much for others as anybody in his position I would think. He certainly does a ton for our school. It was good to have him back (hosting a second time). To be honest, I wasn't out there a majority of the time. I'll say he got an A-plus but you guys (media) know better than me. I was not out there that much."
As far as the 20-minute hoops scrimmage, the Jayhawks' Crimson Team went 3 of 18 from 3 in a 41-30 victory over a Blue squad that hit 4 of 18 3s.
"I like that they are confident enough to shoot them, and hey, they'll be told shortly not to (shoot threes)," Self joked. "Jalen Coleman-Lands (0 for 5 from three) and Jalen Wilson (1 for 5) have both shot it great. They were 1 for 10. Juan (Harris, 1 for 2 from 3) and Ochai (2 of 5) I guess were our two best three-point shooters. We are better shooters than what we shot. When you go 7 for 36 from three I wouldn't say everybody played great," Self added.
Self noted that "you can't tell anything by tonight. That wasn't ball tonight. They were nervous, too."
Self applauded the fans for nearly filling the fieldhouse. There appeared to be about 16,000 fans in the building for Late Night with just a few empty seats in the southeast and southwest upper deck corners.
"I was really impressed with the crowd considering the mask mandate (for fans at Late Night) and things like that," Self said. "I still don't know that everybody is comfortable getting out, families getting out. Hopefully we'll continue to see improvement by the time the season starts. I guess mid-November for us at home, that'll we'll be back to some real normalcy."
KU will meet Emporia State in an exhibition game on Nov. 3 at Allen. First regular season game is Nov. 9 against Michigan State in New York. First regular-season home game is Nov. 12 versus Tarleton State.
