In the heat of the sun following Saturday’s 27-20 home football loss to Minnesota, Alex Legion stepped onto a temporary basketball court near the south end zone of Memorial Stadium.

The Kentucky transfer, a guard on the 2008-09 men’s basketball team, wiped his brow, flicked the sweat from his hand and started shooting jumpers to warm up for what was billed as “The World’s Biggest Basketball Practice.”

By the time the half-hour scrimmage, the tip-off event for the basketball season, came to a close, Legion and his Illini teammates were drenched in sweat. Meanwhile, fans and recruits covered their heads with Zook Zone towels to protect from the sun. Legion laughed, and again, wiped his forehead.

“It was just too hot today,” he said. “We were complaining (when they scheduled this) because we thought it was going to be cold and raining – it’s October. And instead we’re standing here complaining because it’s a nice day outside.”

The practice itself wasn’t as big as Illinois marketing had hoped – less than an estimated 5,000 fans stayed out of a possible 60,000 – and it was hotter than most fans were willing to stand.

“It would’ve been nice if (the football game) went down to the end and we won in overtime and everyone would’ve stayed,” head coach Bruce Weber said. “But at the same time, their heart was pumping and this was a neat court, and once they got going up and down, I think there were some competitive juices.”

But the creative event did cater to one important demographic: potential recruits. Nearly 20 of them – including one eighth grader, Alex Foster – sat courtside during the event.

They saw newcomer Dominique Keller, a JUCO forward from Lee College in Baytown, Texas, dominate the glass during the scrimmage with at least 10 dunks. They also watched guard Calvin Brock elevate multiple times, once on an alley-oop bounce from the free-throw line that he caught above the rim. Jeffrey Jordan showed bounce in his hop, and Demetri McCamey, in probably the only exhibition of defense on the day, broke up an alley-oop combo by lunging himself between his teammate and the rim.

Unlike previous Midnight Madness events, a dunk contest was not held, and the three-point contest was replaced by a shooting face-off. Jenna Smith and Trent Meacham beat out the combo of Alex Legion and Lacey Simpson by hitting from multiple spots on the floor.

Meacham, who wasn’t nearly as bothered by the heat, said the grassroots nature of the events hit home with him.

“It was just fun being out here, being outside,” he said. “When you start playing basketball you’re out in your driveway, in the park, so this kind of gets back to that a little bit. The sunlight, the wind, it’s beautiful.”

Illinois assistant coach Jerrance Howard said he tried to show the potential student-athletes a good time and made sure no one got lost as the herd moved from Memorial Stadium after the practice to a closed scrimmage at Ubben Basketball Complex, where potential recruits were reportedly able to play in pick-up games.

Illinois recruits with verbal commitments on campus included Brandon Paul (2009, Warren), D.J. Richardson (2009, Findlay College Prep), Joseph Bertrand (2009, Sterling), Crandall Head (2010, Crane), Jereme Richmond (2010, Waukegan), and Meyers Leonard (2010, Robinson). Of those, Paul and Richardson were on official visits.

Joseph Bertrand said he spent much of the day going around on golf carts, taking pictures with people he didn’t know and eating at tailgates.

“This is much different than anything in high school, playing basketball on a football court? I’ve never even heard of this,” Bertrand said. “Everybody’s just getting along, it’s just like a family now, DJ, Brandon, the other guys here.

“It’s going to be real fun (next year), hanging out with the players all the time, I just can’t wait to get up here.”

Howard said the day’s events went a long way in impressing the guests on hand.

“This was big time, something original, something different, and just a great atmosphere with all the players we had here, all the guys,” Howard said. “It was mainly for our recruits, that was the main reason we did all of this.”

Anthony Zilis contributed to this

report.