Kentucky Midnight Madness 2015: Recap and Twitter Reaction for Wildcats

Big Blue Madness marks the start of the Kentucky men's and women's basketball seasons, and the annual festivities hit Rupp Arena Friday to get fans in Lexington amped up for the teams' upcoming campaigns. 

Coming off a 38-1 regular season that ended in a disappointing Final Four loss to Wisconsin, John Calipari's squad will be aiming to avenge those demons and win the school's second national championship in the last five seasons. 

But despite getting bounced from the NCAA tournament on their quest to record a perfect season, the Wildcats honored last year's team with a fresh Final Four banner, per SEC Network:

Of course, things couldn't officially get underway until Kentucky enthusiast Drake addressed the fans (via the Courier-Journal's Kyle Tucker):

Tied for No. 1 with North Carolina in the preseason coaches poll, Kentucky is facing massive expectations thanks to fresh arrivals who will help supplement the offerings of veteran staples such as Tyler Ulis and Alex Poythress. 

All eyes were on freshmen Jamal Murray, Isaiah Briscoe and Skal Labissiere—who's facing eligibility questions—and several NBA superstars who attended Kentucky were on hand at Rupp Arena to catch a glimpse of the program's prospective studs. 

Along with Sacramento Kings bigs DeMarcus Cousins and Willie Cauley-Stein, New Orleans Pelicans All-Star Anthony Davis was on hand. According to Kentucky Basketball on Twitter, Davis momentarily stole the show: 

Kentucky Basketball later posted a picture of that star-studded group on the Rupp Arena floor:

Once the youngsters hit the floor, they entertained as expected, per Tucker: 

Beyond the insane influx of freshman talent, Big Blue Nation is rightfully excited about Poythress' return. He tore his ACL last December. 

The senior will be tasked with playing the role of veteran leader for a Wildcats team boasting depth across the board, and Calipari would love to see him experience success after his junior year ended in disaster, per Tucker:

"

I just want it for him. You're talking about someone who has grown as a person. He graduated in three years. He's grown as a player. Then he gets hurt and he's set off track. Now you just want this to work for him. I want this to – obviously I want our team to win, but I want this to work for him, that he walks away knowing that even though this happened and that happened, you know. 

"

The women's squad took the floor before the men held a couple of tame scrimmages, and as is tradition at Big Blue Madness, head coach Matthew Mitchell entertained the crowd with his dance moves. 

While a performance was temporarily in doubt, per Kentucky.com's Jerry Tipton, the coach eventually ceded to the school's athletic director's pleas and broke out the Nae Nae:

Kentucky Wildcats TV posted video of Mitchell's smooth moves:

The night's overriding theme for both portions of the program was optimism. 

Calipari told the crowd Kentucky "will continue to be the gold standard in college basketball," per Tucker, but it's worth noting his squad is facing several hurdles as it seeks to capture the program's ninth national title.

The Wildcats' rotation will experience significant turnover after Karl-Anthony Towns, Cauley-Stein, Andrew and Aaron Harrison, Dakari Johnson, Devin Booker and Trey Lyles all bolted for the pros, so Murray, Ulis, Poythress, Briscoe, Labissiere and Poythress will have to hold things down and sustain the school's winning tradition.

Rapid roster changes are a familiar sight in Lexington given the amount of NBA talent Calipari has developed over the years, so the head coach should be able to get this squad in shape to compete with the nation's other collegiate powers.