Nike announced this week that they have developed a new Nike Hyper Elite Platinum uniform for nine teams that will be worn during select games between now and March Madness.  The nine schools that were selected for this honor have all won National Championships wearing Nike footwear and apparel.  The teams include Arizona, Baylor (women), Duke, Florida, Kentucky, Syracuse, UConn (men and women), and last but not least, the University of North Carolina.

Aesthetics aside, the uniforms utilize the most recent innovations to spawn from the Nike labs.  These uniforms were designed “at the intersection of sustainability and performance”.  Even though the prominent color is platinum, these uniforms are also green.  The fabric of the shorts are made from 100 percent recycled polyester and the jersey fabric is made from 96% polyester.  These sets are also five percent lighter than the previous Nike Hyper Elite uniform.  I’m not sure if you have worn the previous set but there isn’t much too them and they are already incredibly light.  At some point I don’t think I mind a little weight.  I don’t want to be out on the court feeling like I’m wearing a plastic baggy around my loins.

As I mentioned before, the prominent color for all the schools will be platinum but each will feature the school’s colors as accent colors.  This has already started to cause a stir with some of the fans from each school but to them I say relax, it is only one game.  Although, UNC will be wearing their set on senior night.  I imagine some seniors dreamed of wearing Carolina blue on their final home game so I can understand that but as long as they win, everything will work out just fine.

The back of each jersey will sport a full Aerographics panel with a blown up version of their logo (i.e., a large interlocking NC logo for Carolina).  I thought that choice was a little weak but the best part is that the back will contain one star for each of the school’s national championships with the corresponding year.  Carolina is looking nice with 5 stars across the top (only to be outdone by Kentucky’s 7).  The stars are in the location where the nameplate normally is sewn so I doubt that they will have names on the back of this set but we shall see.  Nike also took some liberties with the team name that normally adorns the front of the jersey.  For example, UNC classically states North Carolina on their traditional set but for these, it simply states Carolina.  Other changes include Zona (Arizona), Cuse (Syracuse), and Gators (Florida).  Another interesting difference I saw was that UCONN’s accent colors are black and red instead of navy… and I have to say I like it.  One last observation on the new set.  I noticed a slightly different design on the Elite socks in the photos.  I’m sure that if my son notices them he and all of the other kids will soon be trying to find out where to buy them.  In fact, if any of you notice where you can buy any of these pieces, please let me know.

The dates and match-ups for when these uniforms will be seen in action are found below.  If you look closely you will notice that all of these match-ups are against schools who support Addidas or Under Armor… coincidence?  I think not.

If you know me well you know that I am brand-whipped by Nike.  I am generally in full support of anything they put out and these are no exceptions.  Would I like to see Carolina move to these full-time?  No… but I am glad to see the innovation continue and pushing the edge with style and performance.  I have included photos of the UNC set but you can see the rest by clicking on this link.

Dates include UConn vs. Notre Dame (1/29), Kentucky vs. Tennessee (1/31), Duke vs. Maryland (2/11), Baylor (women’s) vs. Texas A&M (2/11), Florida vs. Tennessee (2/11), Syracuse vs. USF (2/22), Arizona vs. UCLA (2/25), UConn (women’s) vs. Notre Dame (2/27) and UNC vs. Maryland (2/29).

Tyler Hansbrough has fully embraced “Psycho T” with his new look.  Tyler got elbowed in the face in last night’s game and as a precaution (and a little humor) he rocked the headband and RecSpecs in practice.  He discusses maybe keeping the look in the video below (after the Granger interview at the 1:10 mark).  If he does, I know my son will soon be asking where to buy them.  GoHeels!

I’m bringing back the “Favorites” page by showing what my influences were as a child, when Droppin.com first dropped, and my current sources of enjoyment.  These lists are no means exhaustive but they are mainly highlights that have good memories associated with them.  Seven, I expect to see your matrix soon.

When it rains, it pours.  UNC unveiled another new uniform this week that they will wear on Veterans Day… blue camo!  Looks like this design will still include the new graphics on back making it look very busy.  Hopefully it will be a distraction to the Spartans on Nov. 11th.  I am glad to see them keep their blue scheme as opposed to the other teams who revert back to the traditional brown camo.  The Spartans are also going with a camo look for the game but their scheme will be green.  Good thing they are not playing on Oregon’s “woods” court or they might really have an advantage.

I’m not sure if they will be going on sale but I’d consider buying the shorts if they do.  Go Heels!

Official press release from tarheelblue.com below:

The North Carolina men’s basketball team will wear specially-designed camouflaged, light blue uniforms for its game in the Quicken Loans Carrier Classic on Nov. 11 against Michigan State in San Diego, the school announced today. TarHeelBlue.com has exclusive photos of a sample of the uniform design.

The Spartans also will wear camouflaged green and white uniforms for the game, which will be played on the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier in San Diego on Veterans Day next month.

Carolina’s uniforms are versions of its redesigned jerseys for this season, unveiled earlier this month. No player names will appear on the back of the jerseys. Instead, “U.S.A.” will replace players’ last names above the uniform number on the back of all the jerseys.

The Tar Heel men’s basketball team unveiled the new jersey design for the 2011-12 season.  While the front of the jerseys are essentially unchanged, the back features an aerographic design that incorporates the Old Well, the University’s iconic landmark, the outline of the state of North Carolina and a basketball.

The Carolina basketball uniform is a classic so I don’t want them to mess with it too much but I’m always down for a new jersey design.  This feels a little commercial but I’ll reserve my final judgement until I see them on the court.  Go Heels!

Also, as a bonus treat, here is a new link to their 2011-2012 yearbook… 211 pages of Tar Heel basketball heaven.

So I finally took some time off work to spend with the family and it has definitely been a great vacation.  One of the highlights so far has been the annual tradition of playing out the NCAA March Madness tournament on PS3 with my oldest son.  (On a side note, Seven and I actually would play out the tournament 1on1 in our backyard each year.  After I put in my new hoop this month, maybe we’ll take the tournament back outdoors.)

We start by picking the teams in each region.  My son ended up with Duke but after playing for 30 seconds, he didn’t feel right about it so we quit that game and advanced Michigan.  We also advanced all number one seeds the first round because neither of us wanted to play with the 16 seed.  You also had the option to forfeit a game if you decided you didn’t want to play with that team after all… c’mon, would you really want to play with Wofford?  The first round we played 3 minute halves to speed things up but we ended up keeping that time limit for each game except the championship which we moved up to 5 minute halves.  Also, the fact that there was no NCAA basketball game released this year (thanks a lot EA Sports and 2k!! – said with angry voice), we were playing this year’s seeds with last year’s roster.  Lastly, if both of the teams were owned by the same person, they advanced the team of their choosing to speed things up.  Despite all of this, we stayed up late, finished the tournament and had a great time.

The scanned bracket was too large to post but here are a few highlights:

• Washington was insane… actually it was Isiah Thomas to be precise.  He drained 3s like Jimmer, even one from half court.
• Oakland had a very good team which allowed me to knock off TX in the first round.
• Didn’t end up playing one game with Ohio St and they advanced to the elite 8 (I owned the East bracket).  Too bad they were facing Carolina.
• Penn State was a great squad and allowed me to upset and crush Temple 35 to 18 (remember, 6 minute games).
• I also dominated the West and advanced UCONN to the final four without playing a game but alas, they ran into UNC as well… not this year Huskies!
• We almost replicated the Morehead State upset but in OT, Louisville went on a hot streak and got the win 39-26.
• My son took VCU past Georgetown with a tight comeback win, 19-17 but then I took him down with Notre Dame in the Sweet 16, 28-16.  P.S.  the ND squad is fantastic!  I almost took down Kansas in the Elite 8 but lost 30-27.
• We had another OT thriller between Old Dominion and Butler but this time, Butler did not advance.  I squeezed out a victory 31-27.
• My alma matter, Utah State… smh, probably the worst team I played with all night.
• Wisconsin was another great team to play with.  I took them to the Elite 8 but my son knocked me off with BYU 25-23… too much Jimmer.
• I ended up cutting down the nets with UNC against BYU 60 to 44 but for some reason our created players loaded up so it wasn’t really fair to my son.  We will probably end up playing it again.  Jimmer had 35 though so I better have my A game going… the default UNC squad on the game isn’t clutch, except for Davis.

Behold, the Carolina themed Jordan 2011′s that the team is wearing in the NCAA tourney this year:

As of now this colorway is not scheduled for release to the general public but we can all hope, and knowing how Jordan brand is always willing to dish out Carolina colorways I wouldn’t be surprised to see these, or something very similar to these, showing up at your local retailer in the near future.

The Heels recently held a senior photo shoot where the newish unis were unveiled.  I say new but really the concept is still the same.  They only modified two things.  First, they got rid of the “tight-fit” top.  Second, they chose a v-neck rather than the crew cut, tight-neck look from last year.  Apparently Roy Williams was instrumental in persuading Nike to bring back the v-neck.  I didn’t think it was that big a deal.  The Heels will still have the best uni in all of sports and their play this year will make it look even better.  Go HEELS!

Thank you Tyler!  Today Tyler Hansbrough announced he would return for his final season and try one last time to win the championship.  However, he will probably have to do that without Lawson and Ellington as they have declared for the NBA draft but will not hire an agent.  This is quickly becoming the “in” thing to do but I don’t forsee too many of these players returning, even Ty and Wayne.  I would love it if they do but I will never fault a player for leaving early to get that big payday.

“I love my collegiate experience and want to finish my four years here, then move on to my next dream of playing in the NBA,” Hansbrough said in a statement. “I am very relieved that this decision is behind us and I can concentrate on my academic work and improving my game for next season.”

“I’m not dying to leave here, but playing in the NBA is another dream I have,” Ellington said.

Coach Roy Williams said he contacted more teams than ever before — he put the number at 18 by the end of last week — to find out about where the trio would be picked.

“I want what is best for each individual and each individual player is different and has different factors to consider,” Williams said. “We will continue to help Ty and Wayne with the draft process and give them all the support they need in making any future decisions related to staying in the draft or returning to Carolina.”

Hansbrough returns; Ellington, Lawson declare for NBA draft – Yahoo! News

That really hurts to lose like that.  I am still in unbelief about how this game unfolded.  I mean regardless of what happened in the first half, the Heels were only down by 5 with 9 minutes to go!  I honestly believed that they were going to win it when they made that run but then all of a sudden the defense was gone and KU had their way underneath… on both sides.  I do love these Heels though and they gave us a great year, 36-3, ACC regular season and tournament champs, spoiling senior day for the Dookies, Tyler winning POY awards, Tyler celebrating after the Clemson victory, etc.  In fact, I even got to see them play in person at the Las Vegas Invitational.  Playing in the final four is a treat but this one will hurt for a while.  From what I hear we are getting a great incoming class, Ed Davis (PF), Tyler Zeller(C 7′), and Larry Drew (PG) so who knows, maybe we will keep progressing with this team and win it all next year.  Please Tyler, Ty, Wayne, Danny, PLEASE COME BACK!!! 

Go Heels!