Spring Break
Campus Kickoff sets tone for upcoming basketball season
Shawn Gauby
Issue date: 10/19/07 Section: Sports
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"A six-foot-nine senior from the Bronx, New York. Number 15, Frank "the Tank" Elegar!"
As Emcee Dan Baker belted that name, the crowd exploded. The Campus Kickoff event brought out the loudest, most vocal fans of the University Thursday night for a celebration of Drexel basketball.
After the cheerleaders and dance team opened the event with a performance on the court, Baker introduced both the men's and women's teams as the players threw T-shirts in the stands. Every player received thunderous cheers, especially the Preseason First-Team All-CAA members, Gabriela Marginean and Elegar. The seats were filled to capacity setting the stage for both each basketball team to showcase their talent in front of a roaring crowd.
"We wanted to step it up and make it even bigger this year," DAC Pack President Rob Falcone said. "We tried to get everybody involved from the die-hard basketball fans all the way to the casual Drexel students."
The draw of free food and exciting action created quite a buzz around campus. Fans were warned to come early in order to get the food and a guaranteed seat. Because of this, before anyone was let into the DAC at 9:30, the line stretched as far as the volleyball courts with a couple thousand students in a sea of bright yellow waiting to enter.
The men's team did not disappoint as they put on a huge show with a dunk contest that featured Frank Elegar, newly-eligible transfer Evan Neisler and former DAC Pack member Chris Mohl. The fan turned walk-on wore a DAC Pack T-shirt as he slammed home a two-handed jam with the yellow clad students going crazy.
Neisler failed to stuff down a windmill reverse jam in his two tries, but when he was given a second chance later, he connected on a 360 dunk.
Elegar won the fans approval with an alley-oop 180 reverse dunk, and he was serenaded with "Frank the Tank" chants. The fans voted that Elegar and Neisler would advance to the next round.
"I went up against two great dunkers, but it just didn't work out," Mohl said. "I felt good with my dunk, though. I thought I had the fans going with the DAC Pack connection."
As Emcee Dan Baker belted that name, the crowd exploded. The Campus Kickoff event brought out the loudest, most vocal fans of the University Thursday night for a celebration of Drexel basketball.
After the cheerleaders and dance team opened the event with a performance on the court, Baker introduced both the men's and women's teams as the players threw T-shirts in the stands. Every player received thunderous cheers, especially the Preseason First-Team All-CAA members, Gabriela Marginean and Elegar. The seats were filled to capacity setting the stage for both each basketball team to showcase their talent in front of a roaring crowd.
"We wanted to step it up and make it even bigger this year," DAC Pack President Rob Falcone said. "We tried to get everybody involved from the die-hard basketball fans all the way to the casual Drexel students."
The draw of free food and exciting action created quite a buzz around campus. Fans were warned to come early in order to get the food and a guaranteed seat. Because of this, before anyone was let into the DAC at 9:30, the line stretched as far as the volleyball courts with a couple thousand students in a sea of bright yellow waiting to enter.
The men's team did not disappoint as they put on a huge show with a dunk contest that featured Frank Elegar, newly-eligible transfer Evan Neisler and former DAC Pack member Chris Mohl. The fan turned walk-on wore a DAC Pack T-shirt as he slammed home a two-handed jam with the yellow clad students going crazy.
Neisler failed to stuff down a windmill reverse jam in his two tries, but when he was given a second chance later, he connected on a 360 dunk.
Elegar won the fans approval with an alley-oop 180 reverse dunk, and he was serenaded with "Frank the Tank" chants. The fans voted that Elegar and Neisler would advance to the next round.
"I went up against two great dunkers, but it just didn't work out," Mohl said. "I felt good with my dunk, though. I thought I had the fans going with the DAC Pack connection."
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