I could live with the zig-zags if the fonts weren't so bad.
The new basketball uniforms
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I could live with the zig-zags if the fonts weren't so bad.
If the two-tone lettering on the whites weren't there I'd have no problem with any of our uniforms. It's one of the worst looks in college bball imo
Put me down as another that can't stand the zig-zags. Makes the uniform far too busy. A line down the side would look at lot more clean imo.
Also, is it just me, or does Illinois always seem to have comically baggy shorts? It's like ILL basketball is wearing Jncos out there.
Also, is it just me, or does Illinois always seem to have comically baggy shorts? It's like ILL basketball is wearing Jncos out there.
To an extent this is determined by the players and what they like. I think the pendulum on shorts is swinging back the other way, but I don't think we'll ever see the stupid short shorts of the 70's and 80's ever again.
something in-between would suffice
A lot of the guys play in their own shoes during practice. Has nothing to do with the rebrand
Outside of Kipper and TJL, everybody pictured was wearing team shoes from last season (which were ~a year out of season even then). There's a pattern of Nike getting us the latest models behind other teams in the B1G, particularly schools that have alumni as signature Nike athletes (Sparty, OSU).
I pay an inordinate amount of attention to this stuff.
ivwilsoniv
- Aurora, IL
Wasn't it rumored that the zig zag was a veiled reference to the edge of the Chief headdress and that was as close as they could get without being obvious? Maybe that was just mentioned in passing by someone, but I thought that's why it was done. If it were just a zig zag to be a zig zag... eh.
High school kids do too. They notice that kind of thing.
I'm almost sure I heard this. Now, if it was intentional is another question, but I feel like when I read/listened to the unveiling of them, they mentioned the pattern as an "honor to our past" or something similar.
Personally, I'd rather have clean, simple jersey. One reason the Flyin Illini throwbacks are perfect. I'd also be ok with a chief logo on them somewhere
I'm sure you're right and it has something to do with the Orange color way as that's way down on the team spectrum, but I noticed most of the players not wearing the team shoe. TA wore Kobe's for example and Black wore KD's.
The only one I can remember wearing an old team shoe last year was Malcolm. My guess is it was personal preference. Last year's Hypershift (the low top basketball shoe) had a lot a lot of white on it in the team orange color way.
Seeing this thread pulled to the forefront again reminds me how slow Illini hoops gets in the Summer. They could play in tutus or Speedos and it wouldn't matter to me. Just win, baby. Well, maybe Mike Thorne in a Speedo would be a little too much, but, without trying to be insulting, derogatory, political incorrect, whatever, I'm curious why folks care so much about uniforms and shoes worn by the Beloved. Of course I'm a geezer, a fashion ignoramus, and a member of the Kristofferson Cleanest-Dirty-Shirt club, but it does pretty much baffle me. Is my complete indifference just a Baby Boomer thing?
I think it's a combination of slow July and lack of wins the last decade or so. Like a wise man once said (probably Twain or Teddy Roosevelt), it's a fool who looks for logic in the chambers of the human heart (or something like that).
Illiini
- In the land of the Nittany Lion
Oh, yes it would.
BananaShampoo
Captain 'Paign
- Phoenix, AZ
Yeah. I think it would help draw more female viewers. :thumb:
It's not uncommon for priority programs to receive PE's of signature models.
https://solecollector.com/news/2016/10/nike-kobe-11-kd-9-michigan-state-pe
https://sneakernews.com/2011/11/16/ncaa-feet-ohio-state-shows-off-their-nike-lebron-9-pe/
Sparty for example had team model KD9s before the season. We got our team model (pictured below) around spring of last year.
Which is to say, unsurprisingly, that we're not exactly a high priority program for Nike - at least as it relates to showcasing their up to date shoe lineup.
FiveStar said:
Absolutely. I don't think it's a stretch to suggest that it's contributed in small part to Michigan's recent success in recruiting following their deal with Jordan Brand.
Epsilon
M tipping over
- Pdx
I'm almost sure I heard this. Now, if it was intentional is another question, but I feel like when I read/listened to the unveiling of them, they mentioned the pattern as an "honor to our past" or something similar.
Personally, I'd rather have clean, simple jersey. One reason the Flyin Illini throwbacks are perfect. I'd also be ok with a chief logo on them somewhere
The honor the past thing, iirc, was about the pillars in the shield surrounding the block I.
It's gotta be personal preference, especially for practice. I'm sorry. I'm having a very hard time believing a shoe and apparel company can't provide brand new shoes to a team they are paying multiple millions of dollars a year to sponsor. The uniform rebrands understandably take a few years, but basketball shoes are mass produced. Even if they aren't exactly ILLINI branded, they have thousands of orange, blue or white shoes. If that's the case, the almighty Josh Whitman better be on the phone with Adidas and Under Armour.
This stuff is pretty easy to track if you know what to look for. It *is* more nuanced than I've taken the time to breakdown, but it's a flat out fact Illinois is not getting Nike's premiere sneaker models (ex. the KD9 I mentioned earlier) as early/often as the top tier teams, and in some cases the next tier under that. They'll likely be outfitted with the budget team models to begin the season, but to tie it back to recruiting, Nike's not doing us any favors as it relates to the shoe game.
I agree that we most likely aren't getting personalized KD's with Illini shields or orange and blue LeBrons with huge I's on them, but to say that Nike isn't making their newest standard-model basketball shoes available to a B1G sponsored team is absurd. If for some reason a specific shoe isn't given to a player, I'm sure the team and athletic department has the means to purchase any Nike product.
Nice to see another sneaker guy on here. Too bad they never wear colorways we can get in stores.
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