Late Night in Phog, a KU creation of Larry Brown, returns to Allen Fieldhouse Friday

Hall of Fame basketball coach Larry Brown, who invited fans into Allen Fieldhouse for a 12:01 a.m. season-opening Kansas basketball scrimmage on Oct. 14, 1985, is the person most responsible for bringing Late Night in the Phog to KU.

Watching from the end of the bench that morning during the no-frills, all-basketball event was Brown’s KU graduate assistant, Bill Self, who Friday night will be running his 21st Late Night event as the Jayhawks’ head coach.

“I think Larry Brown winning the national championship, I still think that ranks higher. Recruiting Danny (Manning) and winning the national championship probably ranks higher than (starting) Late Night,” Self said with a smile during a news conference publicizing the 39th annual Late Night extravaganza.

That first Late Night (called “Late Night With Larry Brown”) kick-started the third of Brown’s five seasons at KU. It attracted 6,000 fans.

It’s drawn many more than that in ensuing years.

Self in fact is hoping for the usual 16,300 for Friday’s Late Night, which will start at 6:30 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse. Student gates open at 5:15 p.m. The general public will be allowed entry at 5:30 p.m. in advance of a program that will include men’s and women’s team video skits, dance numbers, intrasquad scrimmages as well as a mini-concert by rapper/singer/songwriter Flo Rida.

“I’m believing it’s going to be great. I know the show will be great and it’ll be a fun night for everybody,” Self said.

“We’ve got new lighting in (and) a new sound system. At least when Flo Rida plays at the end of the evening we should be able to recognize a couple of the words because in my mind the sound system hasn’t been that great when I didn’t recognize all of Snoop Dogg’s songs that particular night,” the coach added with a smile.

Snoop Dogg provided the musical entertainment in October of 2019, a performance that ended up with then-KU athletic director Jeff Long issuing an apology for the performer’s risque show.

“It is important,” Self said of Late Night. “It’s important to our guys (players) because they take great pride in this. It’s a great way to tip off the season. It’s become something that’s been so good for so long, you don’t want to have something that’s been so good for so long not be as good because of the technicality in how you allow people in, not because of interest level.”

Self was referring to this year’s scenario in which all seating outside of the student section will be reserved.

“I was told that they gave people an opportunity to get their tickets or reserve a spot for them. I was told that filled up immediately,” Self said of tickets reserved online for the show, which is free of charge.

“So what that means now the people that reserved the spots need to show up,” he added of making sure all seats are occupied. “Because in the past it didn’t matter if you reserved the spots or not. There were people through general admission that would be there to fill those spots if seats were available.”

It figures to be another popular Late Night. The Jayhawks, who have added nine new players to the roster this season to go with returning starters Dajuan Harris, Kevin McCullar Jr. and KJ Adams Jr., are expected to start the season preseason No. 1. Also, KU’s women’s team is expected to be one of the contenders for the Big 12 title in Brandon Schneider’s ninth campaign.

The players are raring to go.

“It’s super-fun. It’s electric, being able to get back in front of the fans, the most amazing fans in the country,” said McCullar, a former Texas Tech Red Raiders standout who is beginning his second and final season at KU. “It’s super-wonderful. I’m looking forward to this year. We’re supposed to dance a little bit and stuff, so we’re learning our routine and things like that, so I can’t wait.”

Noted junior forward Adams: “I’m excited to see the fans and everything. I think everybody is excited. We have a lot of new faces, a lot of freshmen, a lot of newcomers, so I think everybody is excited to get that first feel of Allen Fieldhouse. Late Night is going to be a lot of fun for a lot of people, including me again.”

Late Night traditionally is enjoyed not only by current Jayhawks, but also recruits brought in to witness the celebration of the start of the men’s and women’s hoop seasons.

So far, it is believed two players committed to KU from the recruiting class of 2024 will attend: Flory Bidunga, a 6-9, 220-pound senior forward from Kokomo (Indiana) High School; and Labaron Philon, a 6-3, 175 senior guard from Link Academy in Branson, Missouri.

Rakease Passmore, a 6-foot-5, 190-pound senior shooting guard from Combine Academy in Lincolnton, North Carolina, who has narrowed his list to KU, Oklahoma, LSU and Arkansas, is also expected to be in the house.

“Late Night is going to be a big thing for recruiting. It’s good to see everybody that has been recruited, see them come here (to school). It’s good to see all the recruits at Late Night,” Adams said.