Dope beats, slam dunks and an effects box that spewed fire dominated the Auburn arena at the star-studded Jungle Jam Friday, October 4th.
Featuring musical performances by rap superstar Ludacris and a comedy intro by Mike Epps, the men's basketball team hosted a pre-season party to show off their skills through dunks, 3-pointers and a team scrimmage.
"Man y'all are looking good up in here tonight!" Epps said to throngs of screaming Auburn students. "This is a special night and we gon do it big up in Auburn."
The 'Round Mound of Rebound' Charles Barkley was on hand to get down, taking the floor multiple times throughout the night to party with the stars and support the team.
"I have been blessed and lucky to go all over the world, ain't no place I'd rather be than Auburn Alabama," Barkley said. "I know most of y'all came here for football, but coach Barbee is gonna turn this program around and lets turn it up tonight!"
Platinum-selling hip hop artist Ludacris was the highlight of the show, sending the 7,309 fans in attendance to their their feet whenever beatminder DJ Infamous initiated the next song.
Rap royalty, especially in the south, Atlanta native 'Luda' pulled out all the stops in the show to flex crowd favorites like "Stand Up," "How Low," "Get Back," and "Money Maker," still in command of a machine-gun like flow.
"Dude, I've been waiting to see Ludacris since I was a kid, and the fact that he came here to do this is like a dream come true," said Jesse Wood, junior in Applied Mathematics. "He's been around since the 90s and he's still one of the best rappers in the game, easily."
Alpha Phi Alpha, Omega Psi Phi and Alpha Kappa Alpha also performed intricate step shows and percussive stomping to get the crowd hyped.
Sophomore Jordon Granger came away with a victory over in the two-round dunk contest after being awarded 89 points by celebrity judges Barkley, Auburn head coach from 1978-89 Sonny Smith, 2010 football star Lee Ziemba, ESPN commentator Clay Mativick and Aubie.
KT Harrell won the 3-point shootout by a wide margin, making 19 of a 21 possible shots in under a minute in the final round.
The Auburn Tigers open the season against Victory University on Oct. 28. The Tigers' home opener is Nov. 8 against Nichols State in the Auburn arena at 7 p.m.
Tickets are still available on their website, www.auburntigers.com/mbasketball.
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