PROVO — BYU fans that attended Friday night’s Boom Shakalaka event got their introduction to the men’s and women’s basketball teams.
They also got a chance to enjoy the newly renovated Marriott Center.
During the summer, crews installed a new $4 million center-hanging scoreboard with four LED screens that measure 24 feet wide and 18 feet. The scoreboard also includes a pair of boards that are visible from the floor.
“The scoreboard is something special,” said women’s coach Jeff Judkins. “I’ve never seen a screen so close to the floor.”
“I remember when we first started playing in here I was like, ‘I hope they don’t fall on us,’” sophomore center Corbin Kaufusi said of the giant screens. “They’re massive.”
As part of the renovation, the school added 8,000 padded blue seats that fill the lower bowl of the Marriott Center. With the changes, the Marriott Center’s capacity dropped from 20,900 to 18,968.
“The people will be a lot more comfortable,” said men’s coach Dave Rose. “Hopefully, we’ll put out a product that will have people standing rather than sitting.”
Boom Shakalaka provided a stage for BYU men’s and women’s players to showcase their skills Friday night.
Jordan Chatman, from the men’s team, and Kylie Maeda, from the women’s squad, won the skills challenge. The combination of Jake Toolson and Lexi Eaton-Rydalch claimed the 3-point shootout over Chase Fischer and Makenzi Morrison-Pulsipher.
“It’s fun to be back. It’s been a long, hard off-season but it’s fun to be back out there with the team in front of our fans,” said Toolson. “It’s fun to get out here under the lights. The taste is in our mouths. We’re ready for the season. It gets us ready for the season.”
Kaufusi and Braiden Shaw were the final two standing for the slam dunk contest. Kaufusi, who said he didn’t spent much time preparing, defeated Shaw for the title with a variety of athletic dunks.
“The past week, we’ve been going so hard I couldn’t get my legs going after practice,” he said. “I was hoping for Boom Shakalaka that I could pull it together.”
Earlier in the day, Kaufusi said, he received an encouraging snap chat message from last year's winner, Josh Sharp.
The Cougar men will host the Cougar Tipoff next Wednesday at 7 p.m. BYU’s exhibition schedule opens Oct. 30 against Arizona Christian, followed by another exhibition game against Alaska on Nov. 7.
The season-opener is a home game against Utah Valley University on Nov. 13.
The BYU women will hold a Blue-White intrasquad game Thursday night and face Ft. Lewis College in an exhibition game on Nov. 5. The Cougars start the regular season on Nov. 13 against Utah Valley University.
Both BYU teams went to the NCAA tournament last season. This year, both teams are expected to contend for the West Coast Conference championships and are looking to return to the NCAA tournament.
Toolson drew considerable attention last year for some of his dancing moves on the bench. When prompted to show off some of those skills Friday, he replied, “The only dancing I’ll be doing is in March.”
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