Kentucky's newcomers excited for Big Blue Madness; Jasper Johnson hints at 'exciting' moment

Unlike last year, there are a handful of Kentucky Wildcats on this roster who know what Big Blue Madness is all about. Lamont Butler’s rap performance stole the show a year ago, but Collin Chandler‘s coming out to Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way” was also a highlight, as was Trent Noah, a Harlan County native, walking out to “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive.”

What can we expect from the new guys? At least one has a surprise in store. On Monday, Jasper Johnson teased an “exciting” moment he’s planning for Madness, which takes place Saturday at 6 p.m. ET at Rupp Arena.

“Coach Pope is really big on kind of doing whatever we can to really attract the fans and get them excited about this season, so I’ve had a couple of talks with him and some of the managers about what I’m going to do, but I don’t have an official plan yet. I’m going to try to make it as exciting as possible.”

Fellow Kentucky native Malachi Moreno said he’s “very, very, very, very excited” about Madness — but you probably won’t get to see him dance.

“I’ve got a song. I don’t know if I’m going to dance yet. I might wave or something. I’m not a big dancer, so we’ll see.”

Don’t expect a flashy intro from Jayden Quaintance, either. The big man has been to Rupp Arena before, taking his official visit to Kentucky as a high school recruit for the exhibition against Georgetown College in 2023. He told reporters he’s looking forward to being part of the show this go around.

“I’m not going to lie, I’m a little lost on Big Blue Madness,” Quaintance admitted. “I heard Lamont did a rap performance last year. I remember hearing about that. I know it’s a high-energy event. I’ve never been a huge performing guy, so we’re going to see how it goes.”

Croatian big man Andrija Jelavic isn’t as familiar with Madness as his American teammates; however, he is embracing the mystery and the chance to connect with Kentucky fans for the first time.

“Yes, they say, but they didn’t give us an introduction and I’m not even asking much questions because I want to be surprised, honestly. But when I saw that we sold out all the tickets in 20 minutes, it just shows the dedication and love, and I can’t wait for Saturday.”

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Matt Jones teases Big Blue Madness surprise

Aside from the player intros, what can we expect Saturday night? On Thursday’s radio show, Matt Jones teased a surprise at Madness. On Friday, he gave a hint, saying that the surprise was something he initially wanted to see in a different sport, but was impressed they were trying to pull it off in basketball.

What could it be? When he called in to preview Big Blue Madness, Mark Pope said the staff is still working on making a few “special things” happen.

“We are down to the wire, working on a couple of special things,” Pope said. “We’ll see if it can actually happen. Wherever we end up. It’s going to be — come on, it’s Big Blue Madness. There’s nothing like it. It’s going to be great.”

Not too much longer until we (hopefully) find out. Big Blue Madness will stream live on SEC Network+ at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday.