The new basketball uniforms

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#204      

redwingillini11

redwingillini11
White and Sixth
North Aurora
redwingillini11
peoriabball13 said:
Sorry if this has been brought up before, but in my opinion Nike has not been giving the Illini much love in the merchandise department. What I mean is even though Illinois is a Nike school, I get the feeling we are a secondary or lower tier one when it comes to brand marketing or publicity. For example there have been many times I have searched Nike websites to search for jerseys, hats, hoodies, jackets, etc and there always often seems to be much less Illini clothing produced compared to other big name universities. The Oregons, Texas, Dukes, and other schools seem to be promoted more than Illinois. There are even certain items where Illinois isn't even included or produced at all. Maybe it is due to the performance the last 10+ years or because of the fact that some of the other Nike schools are better in both revenue sports(football and basketball)????? Either way this has bothered me for sometime and I am of the wishful thinking that we could somehow become a Jordan brand school like Michigan,UNC,Marquette, Georgetown, etc. There are much less Jordan brand teams as we speak compared to Nike affiliated schools(yes I understand Jordan brand is a branch of Nike) and I think being a Jordan brand team could help with recruiting and overall appearance. I think there are only like 10 Jordan brand teams in total and this would ensure that Illini merchandise is available and the Illini name would stand out more. Of course winning always helps yes, but it's just a thought of mine. Not sure of what loopholes and procedures would have to be done to achieve this, but I would be happy if it happened. Step it up NIKE!!! (Sorry for the novel length)
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Yeah, despite my connections to Nike, I have to say I am a bit disappointed at how much Nike puts into our brand. If you go to their website, they have logos for schools like Ole Miss, Wazzu, TCU, UConn, and not us. I stand by that Nike is WAY better than Adidas, and I think the quality is still a bit better than UA, but still it would be nice to have a company that cared more about us. I had the same thought that the Jordan brand makes a lot of sense for us. Lots of crossover of fans of Illinois and the Bulls, his son played for us. But I am worried that the ship has kind of sailed on a Jordan brand opportunity until we get good again.
 
#205      

PlayAZ

P
PlayAZ
redwingillini11 said:
Yeah, despite my connections to Nike, I have to say I am a bit disappointed at how much Nike puts into our brand. If you go to their website, they have logos for schools like Ole Miss, Wazzu, TCU, UConn, and not us. I stand by that Nike is WAY better than Adidas, and I think the quality is still a bit better than UA, but still it would be nice to have a company that cared more about us. I had the same thought that the Jordan brand makes a lot of sense for us. Lots of crossover of fans of Illinois and the Bulls, his son played for us. But I am worried that the ship has kind of sailed on a Jordan brand opportunity until we get good again.
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I think the ILLINI should switch to Under Armor and go full sublimated jerseys complete with historical design of some sort as part of the images.:chief:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/404338872777064215/
 
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#206      

FiveStar

F
FiveStar
Do the players wear brand new, never worn before jerseys/shorts/shoes every game?
 
#209      

chief9

C
chief9
FiveStar said:
Do the players wear brand new, never worn before jerseys/shorts/shoes every game?
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Jerseys no, shoes sometimes.... depends on player I think. I don't think new shoes every game, but multiple pairs per season.

Anyone confirm this?
 
#210      

Illinoy

I
Illinoy
redwingillini11 said:
Yeah, despite my connections to Nike, I have to say I am a bit disappointed at how much Nike puts into our brand. If you go to their website, they have logos for schools like Ole Miss, Wazzu, TCU, UConn, and not us. I stand by that Nike is WAY better than Adidas, and I think the quality is still a bit better than UA, but still it would be nice to have a company that cared more about us. I had the same thought that the Jordan brand makes a lot of sense for us. Lots of crossover of fans of Illinois and the Bulls, his son played for us. But I am worried that the ship has kind of sailed on a Jordan brand opportunity until we get good again.
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I think this is a huge misconception by those 30 and up. The Adidas stock has risen tremendously over the past couple of years outperforming Nike and UA. People forget that it's more than actual performance gear but the athlesiure attire is a cultural commodity for all youth. Adidas's collaborations the past couple years along with the boost, nmd and other lifestyle apparel are much more aligned with the youth.
 
#211      

Second and Chalmers

S
Second and Chalmers
Illinoy said:
I think this is a huge misconception by those 30 and up. The Adidas stock has risen tremendously over the past couple of years outperforming Nike and UA. People forget that it's more than actual performance gear but the athlesiure attire is a cultural commodity for all youth. Adidas's collaborations the past couple years along with the boost, nmd and other lifestyle apparel are much more aligned with the youth.
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Is this true? As of like 3-4 years ago Adidas was dead. But these things are fluid.
 
#213      

Illinoy

I
Illinoy
Second and Chalmers said:
Is this true? As of like 3-4 years ago Adidas was dead. But these things are fluid.
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They totally revamped their marketing image and want to align themselves with social icons. Between the soccer pants that all the youth love, the return of stan smiths and class shell toes, they're aligned with the style experts more than any other athletic brand now. With all these nba guys taking fashion to an extreme, the kids naturally want to emulate that in their own way. If you were born in 2000, and you had to chose between playing in Jordans or James Harden's the split might be more even than you would think, but if you also add in the fact that our players have access to hard to find yeezys, NMDs, or other boosts shoes that all your friends wants, then you have a game changer.

This article explains moreof the numbers. http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/adidas-...isen-over-67-in-the-last-year-news.29839.html
 
#214      

Illinoy

I
Illinoy
IntenselyOrange said:
My kid and his friends (ages 10/11) prefer UA. Adidas and Nike are equivalent and a step behind in their minds.

Adidas is my favorite, but I'm not exactly the target audience.
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It's ok. I still tell myself Im the youth because I'm not in rockport's target audience either.
 
#216      

Dan fan 86

D
N. Illinois
Dan fan 86
The shield looks like the Letter I with an arrow pointing down! Not a fan of it.
 
#218      

FiveStar

F
FiveStar
Second and Chalmers said:
Is this true? As of like 3-4 years ago Adidas was dead. But these things are fluid.
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For the kids I'm around everyday (high school basketball players) there is a clear cut separation in their minds.

1) UA/Nike
3) Adidas.

Adidas died with Derrick Rose's ACL. And I'm in Texas where James Harden is extremely relevant as the face of Adidas.
 
#219      

Second and Chalmers

S
Second and Chalmers
FiveStar said:
For the kids I'm around everyday (high school basketball players) there is a clear cut separation in their minds.

1) UA/Nike
3) Adidas.

Adidas died with Derrick Rose's ACL. And I'm in Texas where James Harden is extremely relevant as the face of Adidas.
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That's what I have been hearing too but :noidea:

James Harden is going to be retired by the time our Nike contract is up though, so this is a topic that can be put to bed for the time being.
 
#220      

FiveStar

F
FiveStar
Second and Chalmers said:
That's what I have been hearing too but :noidea:

James Harden is going to be retired by the time our Nike contract is up though, so this is a topic that can be put to bed for the time being.
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Yeah, I probably should have added Jordan brand in there above adidas too. We got new unis for this past season and it was the first time all our kids voted for UA. Previously all our jerseys were Nike. Kids also went for all UA shoes too. This includes our PG who plays for a Nike team on the circuit.
 
#221      

Obelix

Obelix
Obelix
chief9 said:
Jerseys no, shoes sometimes.... depends on player I think. I don't think new shoes every game, but multiple pairs per season.

Anyone confirm this?
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They do not wear different shoes every game either. They are provided with multiple pairs though throughout the season, and some players use different shoes for practices, games, etc.

Players, in general, do not like brand new shoes every game, even if provided. New shoes take a few games, practices, to break in.
 
#222      

VanHalen

V
VanHalen
Obelix said:
They do not wear different shoes every game either. They are provided with multiple pairs though throughout the season, and some players use different shoes for practices, games, etc.

Players, in general, do not like brand new shoes every game, even if provided. New shoes take a few games, practices, to break in.
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This certainly isn't surprising for people who have done any level of athletic exercise with new shoes.
 
#225      

redwingillini11

redwingillini11
White and Sixth
North Aurora
redwingillini11
VanHalen said:
I'm not sure what they would do keeping in mind the rebrand a couple of years ago. Maybe a tweaked jersey. I really like the grey, honestly.
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I really do think a move toward the throwback look is in the works. Most teams have new jerseys every couple of years, it doesn't have to take 3 years like it did with us. When Nike wants to do help a school out, they can do it. I say keep the throwback white, throw back the Oranges, and keep the ghost grey as a modern look. I could go either way on the dark blues.
 
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