The band played. Cheerleaders cheered. Gilbert Arenas tried to hide in plain sight.Midnight Madness had finally come to the NBA.The Washington Wizards opened training camp around the stroke of 12 on Tuesday morning, nba playoff launching a new era they hope will be more fan-friendly as they attempt to recover from the most embarrassing season in franchise history.”It think it’s exactly what the team needed,” said the team’s new owner, Ted Leonsis. “Just kind of a jolt of adrenaline.”The event drew about 4,000 fans to the Patriot Center on the George Mason University campus. It featured many of the trappings of the college version of Midnight Madness, including an over-hyped introduction of the roster that made Arenas stand out right away.
Arenas is trying to be as low-key and as serious a possible as he makes a comeback from a felony gun conviction that led to a 50-game suspension and a one-month sentence in a halfway house. He didn’t crack a smile during nba playoff media day on Monday, a far cry from the flamboyant Agent Zero personality that used to make him a marketable star.Arenas was cheered loudly during the Midnight Madness introductions, but he didn’t soak in the adulation the way many of his teammates did. He sprinted through the line of cheerleaders, then tried to stand in teammate Andray Blatche’s shadow to hide from a camera.Arenas, by the way, was introduced next-to-last. The Wizards’ new main man, No. 1 overall pick John Wall, was saved for last.