PizzaHutParkingLot
- McPherson, KS
It's crazy that this run will be associated with this set, what's even crazier is they might be retro'd in 20 years if this run continues
Illini Basketball Uniforms
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
And just so anyone doesn't attach too much juju to one jersey over another (I WANT TO SEE THE FLYIN' ILLINI VS. UCONN, BABY!), here is the recent 10-1 streak by uniform:
W 95-85 vs. Iowa - Flyin' Illini
W 105-97 vs. Minnesota - Regular White
W 91-83 at Wisconsin - Regular Orange
L 71-77 vs. #3 Purdue - Script White
W 73-61 at Iowa - Regular White
W 77-74 vs. Ohio State (BTT) - Regular White
W 98-87 vs. Nebraska (BTT) - Script White
W 93-87 vs. Wisconsin (BTT Championship) - Script White
W 85-69 vs. (14) Morehead State - Regular White
W 89-63 vs. (11) Duquesne - Regular White
W 72-69 vs. (2) #4 Iowa State - Regular Orange
So we have won at least one game over this stretch in EVERY single jersey but the Regular Blues, haha. Our only loss came in the Script Whites, but they clearly are not bad luck as we won a BTT championship in them. And you can't really claim the team is trying to keep "good juju" because they decided to switch out of the Regular Whites after beating OSU in the BTT (third straight win in the Regular Whites) and switched to the Script Whites for the last two BTT games ... and then switched back.
My takeaway is that the players view the throwbacks as "big game" jerseys ... and they wanted to treat Iowa State/the Sweet Sixteen as business. However, now that we won in them on such a big stage ... I do fear we will see them again vs. UConn.
Other than the Regular Blues being "cursed," I do not believe any jersey has bad juju for us. I hope we go Flyin' Illini vs. UConn, and if we make the Final Four vs. Alabama/Clemson (both lower seeds), we bust out the Script Whites again. Gotta look good when we cut down the nets.
W 95-85 vs. Iowa - Flyin' Illini
W 105-97 vs. Minnesota - Regular White
W 91-83 at Wisconsin - Regular Orange
L 71-77 vs. #3 Purdue - Script White
W 73-61 at Iowa - Regular White
W 77-74 vs. Ohio State (BTT) - Regular White
W 98-87 vs. Nebraska (BTT) - Script White
W 93-87 vs. Wisconsin (BTT Championship) - Script White
W 85-69 vs. (14) Morehead State - Regular White
W 89-63 vs. (11) Duquesne - Regular White
W 72-69 vs. (2) #4 Iowa State - Regular Orange
So we have won at least one game over this stretch in EVERY single jersey but the Regular Blues, haha. Our only loss came in the Script Whites, but they clearly are not bad luck as we won a BTT championship in them. And you can't really claim the team is trying to keep "good juju" because they decided to switch out of the Regular Whites after beating OSU in the BTT (third straight win in the Regular Whites) and switched to the Script Whites for the last two BTT games ... and then switched back.
My takeaway is that the players view the throwbacks as "big game" jerseys ... and they wanted to treat Iowa State/the Sweet Sixteen as business. However, now that we won in them on such a big stage ... I do fear we will see them again vs. UConn.
Other than the Regular Blues being "cursed," I do not believe any jersey has bad juju for us. I hope we go Flyin' Illini vs. UConn, and if we make the Final Four vs. Alabama/Clemson (both lower seeds), we bust out the Script Whites again. Gotta look good when we cut down the nets.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Why not go blue and try to break the hex once and for all?
Not against a team who has a blue primary color. That’s part of the hex. See PSU this year.
And I base that hypothesis on literally that one game.
sacraig
- The desert
At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if the team decided to wear the blues if we make the championship just to troll the fans.
OrangeBlue98
- Des Moines, IA
My standard plea - Make the white half zips the coaching staff wore last night available for sale. You have a coaching staff that's a walking advertisement for one of the best pieces of Illini apparel that I've ever seen. That would be a staple of my office wardrobe if it was available.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I am irrationally mad at Nike/the DIA for allowing me to keep SO much of my money that I would gladly give them if they made all of this cool apparel available ... it's mind boggling that they don't.
That would certainly fit with the zany, fun-loving personality of this team
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
That Twitter post is eleventy kinds of fabulous.
SuperMetroid
- Evanston
Beating UConn in the standard orange would be one hell of a legacy
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Alas ... burn those rags!!
While I am sure Nike will find a way to mess this up, next year's uniform lineup should be such a no-brainer that a trained monkey would come up with it:Home: Flyin' Illini WHITE (wore up until about 4-5 years ago)
Away: Flyin' Illini ORANGE (currently have)
Alternate: Flyin' Illini NAVY (have not seen since the 1980s)
Throwback #1: Script WHITE (currently have)
Throwback #2: 2005 ORANGE (20th anniversary ... this is such a frickin' obvious move)
Or for our visual learners...
HOME
(Preferably touched up to be more similar to the Flyin' Illini orange below)
AWAY
ALTERNATE
(Definitely touched up to be more similar to the orange)
THROWBACK #1
THROWBACK #2
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Get it done, Nike! It's so obvious!!
Alas ... burn those rags!!
Home: Flyin' Illini WHITE (wore up until about 4-5 years ago)
Away: Flyin' Illini ORANGE (currently have)
Alternate: Flyin' Illini NAVY (have not seen since the 1980s)
Throwback #1: Script WHITE (currently have)
Throwback #2: 2005 ORANGE (20th anniversary ... this is such a frickin' obvious move)
Or for our visual learners...
HOME
(Preferably touched up to be more similar to the Flyin' Illini orange below)
AWAY
ALTERNATE
(Definitely touched up to be more similar to the orange)
THROWBACK #1
THROWBACK #2
Get it done, Nike! It's so obvious!!
Those white Flying Illini jerseys are the best jerseys we've ever had. Even better than the script Illinois ones IMO
I’d even take a modern update to the Flyin’ Illini uniforms, maybe with a few tweaks. Although they’re perfect in their own right. Would love for those to be our full time set. For the ‘05 throwbacks would you want them to bring back shiny material or a more modern dri-fit look? Can’t go wrong either way.Alas ... burn those rags!!
Home: Flyin' Illini WHITE (wore up until about 4-5 years ago)
Away: Flyin' Illini ORANGE (currently have)
Alternate: Flyin' Illini NAVY (have not seen since the 1980s)
Throwback #1: Script WHITE (currently have)
Throwback #2: 2005 ORANGE (20th anniversary ... this is such a frickin' obvious move)
Or for our visual learners...
HOME
(Preferably touched up to be more similar to the Flyin' Illini orange below)
AWAY
ALTERNATE
(Definitely touched up to be more similar to the orange)
THROWBACK #1
THROWBACK #2
Get it done, Nike! It's so obvious!!
As much as I do love the script white uniforms, I would love for these to be introduced as part of the 20th anniversary of the team.
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OrangeBlue98
- Des Moines, IA
My preference would be to have the orange uniforms be the throwback. We wore those so much that year that orange has to be the defining uniform from 04-05.
Fully on board with a Flying Illini-inspired primary set in all three colors and the scripts. We could potentially save a sixth uniform for a very unique look, similar to what soccer teams often do with their third kits.
Realistically Nike isn't going to make the base uniform set throwbacks. The closest we will get is something like the current blue jersey. I think they may do something like the use the script, the 2005, or the flyin illini uniform as a reference point, but the base will not be just a throwback uniform.
OrangeBlue98
- Des Moines, IA
Arizona just did it two years ago. Their main uniforms were basically 1987-88 throwbacks. https://www.azdesertswarm.com/baske...orm-reveal-steve-kerr-sean-elliott-lute-olson
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
While I tend to agree with you, I find this so infuriating and stupid. It's not like the schools with "traditional" uniforms have NEVER allowed Nike to touch them up ... but they leave the same BASIC look so as to maintain the brand. The fact anyone at Nike would not let us do this makes me so incredibly annoyed. For example...
DUKE 2004
DUKE 2024
KENTUCKY 2004
KENTUCKY 2024
Nike has obviously had freedom to come up with new iterations of these jerseys as styles change, but the changes are RESPECTFUL to the original vibe. Meanwhile, we have a totally generic and new 1LL1NO1S font that just chases the modern trend and connects back to our program's history in zero ways.
Use the Flyin' Illini as a base that we never stray from and only make MINOR changes. Nike should care most about jersey sales than padding the ego of their out-of-touch design team, and I flat-out guarantee you that our two throwbacks sell way better than the regulars (on sites where both are available), just judging by fans you see on TV and at games. When I have seen Illini fans out watching a game at a bar or at the BTT last year, I would say those wearing throwback jerseys outnumbered those wearing regular jerseys 15:1, and even that might be generous.
Well this is a good example of exactly what I mean. Throwback style and reference, but not really a throwback. They used the same trimming where they could, but the lettering, style, and coloring is different. This was basically what our Lovie era football. uniforms did. If you look at the actual '88 Arizona uniforms and the ones they got, they aren't really throwbacks but obviously used it as the main reference point. I wouldn't be shocked if we did that for either Flyin' Illini era, Script uniforms, or 2005.
Yeah I've seen these. I think we move away from the Lovie era football collar and design with the new mens bball uniforms, but something of this nature (using an old design as the main reference point) is something I expect. Our current bball uniforms came from a time when we wanted a consistent brand look which to me is dumb. Football and basketball don't have to look the same and shouldn't, they have completely different histories and traditions.
OrangeBlue98
- Des Moines, IA
To be honest, I think we are advocating for the same thing in different ways.
The 22-23 Arizona uniforms are clearly direct descendants of the 87-88 uniforms. The fit is a little different, the lettering is a little modernized, but anyone looking at the two uniforms side by side would clearly see the similarities.
We can easily do the same thing with the 1989 uniforms. We’ve already done it to a large degree with the current orange 1989 throwbacks. Sure, you “clean them up” a little to reflect today’s styling, but the overall look is clearly a direct descendant of the 1989 uniforms.
We can use our current color shades, short lengths, etc. Just have the overall design look really close to 1989.
Yeah no I agree and I think we get that. Just not sure what era they will use as the reference point.