Twelve, eleven, ten…… As the countdown to opening night reaches ten days fans had a free opportunity to catch a glimpse of the “new look” Suns to reward them through the suspenseful wait. Jr. Suns and Jr. Mercury members were granted special access to pre-game festivities and priority admission to the arena before doors opened to the general public.

More than 1,400 Jr. Suns and Mercury participants and their parents filed into the US Airways Center Paseo to be a part of the Jr. Suns’ pre-party. Festivities included multiple shooting stations, an Alvan Adams autograph booth, tons of giveaways, a DJ, Phoenix Suns dancers, the Adio Sol Patrol, the Phoenix Suns Tundra and a celebrity appearance by none other than the most exciting mascot in sports - the Phoenix Suns Gorilla.

Young players had the opportunity to win raffle tickets for awesome Suns and Mercury prizes by making a free-throw. The Suns’ dancers were also in attendance to help with the shooting stations and offer some of their own expert shooting advice. The grand prize raffle winners won an autographed Cappie Pondexter jersey and an autographed Shawn Marion jersey.

Suns’ Ring of Honor member Alvan Adams gave out autographs and took pictures with fans during the event. Adams who now works as Vice President of Facility Management at the US Airways Center conveyed his enthusiasm about the upcoming season and his pleasure with the great turnout.

The DJ of the event, the Adio Sol Patrol’s Koko, kept the music going and held his own contests throughout the event. Koko was happy to introduce a fan favorite and personal friend of his the Suns Gorilla to the crowd. The Gorilla took a break from his pre-season preparations to give away prizes and lead his very own dance contest. Gorilla disclosed to jrsuns.com that he has been busy mentally and physically preparing for the upcoming season but could not resist the opportunity to hang out with his favorite kids in the NBA and WNBA the Jr. Suns and Jr. Mercury members.

Jr. Suns and Jr. Mercury members were granted early entrance to the open practice so they could get down to their seats in time to watch two exciting Jr. Suns games. The four teams that played came from the Scottsdale YMCA. The first game was between two Jr. Suns’ teams who were eager to demonstrate their basketball abilities on the Suns court. The second game was between a Jr. Suns team and a competitive Jr. Mercury team. The many Jr. Suns and Jr. Mercury members in the crowd cheered loudly for their peers, energizing those playing even more. The Jr. Suns participants who played in the games got to play on the brand new Suns’ court even before the Phoenix Suns.

Before the Suns came out the Suns’ Cedric Ceballos hosted several games where fans could come down onto the court to showoff their own basketball skills. These games included a dance-off, bungee basketball, and a free-throw and dribbling contest. Needless to say many of the participants of the games were none other than the members of the Jr. Suns and Jr. Mercury who far outnumbered any other group in attendance.

Once the Suns took the court it was nonstop action for everyone to enjoy. Amare “STAT” Stoudemire relieved everyone’s worries about his knee when he performed several high-flying dunks in traffic. For many it was the first chance to get a glimpse of the new additions to the Suns, rookies Alando Tucker and DJ Strawberry and veterans Grant Hill, Brian Skinner, and Richie Frahm. The lively crowd was excited to welcome the players to Planet Orange!