Over the summer, Maryland guards Jaylen Brantley and Jared Nickens helped skyrocket The Running Man Challenge into a nationwide viral sensation.
It helped Ghost Down DJ’s ‘My Boo’ -- a song that was released 20 years ago -- jump to the top-40 on iTunes, and got the two Terrapins an appearance on Ellen.
The latest trend floating around the Internet is called the Mannequin Challenge, which is exactly what it sounds like: a group of people staying a posed position. Seeing dozens of college basketball teams participated in The Running Man Challenge -- and if we want to go way back to 2013, the Harlem Shake -- it’s a safe bet that this trend will continue as the season gets underway this week.
Here’s Florida State, posted by the account’s Twitter account:
Mannequin Challenge 🍢🏀 pic.twitter.com/7zbiMpfOOt
— Florida State Men’s Basketball (@FSUHoops) November 6, 2016
Here’s Kent State:
Kent State Golden Flashes hoops team just killed the mannequin challenge!!! Get like us... #GoFlashes #OpenPractice #onetake pic.twitter.com/srQBjsEjoy
— Michael McKee (@CoachMcKee_KSU) November 6, 2016
And here is Wisconsin’s take on the Mannequin Challenge from Friday.
I’m assuming some of you have already begun drafting, “Slow news day, Terrence?” in the comment section. First off, yes it is. Thankfully, it’ll be the last slow Sunday for a few months. But I believe joining in on these trends is a valuable thing for college programs, and Wisconsin is a great example of it.
The Wisconsin basketball Facebook page has 240,000 likes. This video has nearly 500,000 views in less than three days. It’s a two-minute video that basically gave a tour of the locker room and its amenities. Remember, these trends are started by teenagers. Recruits are certainly watching these videos. Mark Turgeon had to replace four starters at the time the Running Man phenomenon, five when you consider Melo Trimble had still had his name in the draft. You better believe Turgeon was using the buzz around Brantley and Nickens to promote his program to high school recruits and graduate transfers.
Like it or hate -- frankly, I don’t understand this trend at all -- but expect to see some more college teams follow suit.