By Brooklyn Atherton —

@TheCardinalNews

There was an outstanding turnout on Fourth Street Live for Louisville Live Sept. 28. U of L bought out the downtown venue for the event and a set up a half basketball court and a stage.

The crowd was packed with students, alumni and Cardinal fans showing support for the university women’s and men’s basketball teams. The crowd and the energy from the estimated 7,500 supporters made the event remarkable.

“The energy was insane, more fun than I’ve had at any other event this year and the players were incredibly involved with us,” president of the Ville’ns Andrew Wiemels said.

The women’s basketball team participated in a knockout competition with fans in the crowd.

Throughout the night tons of other competitions took place to involve the community. In one of the many competitions held, student Luke Bruckner shot 3-pointers in hopes to win $10,000 in scholarship money. Unfortunately, Bruckner did not leave with the money, but the opportunity and experience must’ve been unforgettable.

When the men’s basketball team took the court, new coach Chris Mack made a phenomenal entrance. Mack was given the microphone to speak with the crowd about all of the hard work the team has shown since he took the role as coach, and how the team is ready for an amazing season.

The men’s basketball team held the court for an hour and a half. The men’s team did a rapid-fire Q&A session between teammates, knockout games and a judged dunk-out competition.

Aidan Harris Igiehon, a potential recruit for the class of 2019, was at the event on his official visit, and the fans made him feel welcomed and showed their desire for him to join the Cardinal family.

While players were on the court, fans in the crowd chanted “We want Aidan!” to the recruit, to which he responded by waving to the crowd.

Wiemels said the best part of the event was how involved the team was with the fans.

“When Akoy Aqau came down into the student section and got incredibly lit with us, it made the energy that much better,” Wiemels said.

Photo by Taris Smith / The Louisville Cardinal