It's gotta be the shoes! UNC shows off its Jordans to avoid suffering agony of de-feet

CHARLOTTE, NC — During a first half TV timeout at every North Carolina home basketball game, fans in the stands at Smith Center are asked to “Show us your Jordans.”

It’s a shameless plug for the shoe brand named after the Tar Heels’ most recognizable alumnus.

Fans all around the seating area willingly take off their kicks and hold them up high for the camera, because who doesn’t love seeing themselves on the huge video board at a major sports event?

The recurring promotion is also a fascinating study of just how many different styles and colors there are in the Jordan Brand line of footwear. Then again, one need only look down at the players on the court to come away with the same impression.

Back in the day – you know, when Michael Jordan was still playing at Carolina (and wearing Converse) – everyone on the team would wear matching shoes. Usually color-coordinated with their team’s uniform.

Not anymore.

These days, each player is free to choose the kind and color of shoe he’s most comfortable wearing. Even coach Hubert Davis wears them on the sideline, a style choice that would have been unthinkable until recently, other than during Coaches Against Cancer week.

At one point during Saturday’s 2nd-round NCAA West Region victory against Michigan State in Charlotte, all 5 players on the court for UNC were decked out in different colored and models of Jordans.

One pink. One dark blue and gray. One white with fluorescent yellow trim. And 1 boring traditional white pair with the Jumpman logo on the heel. There was even 1 in Carolina blue.

The kaleidoscope of personalization begs an important question. One almost as important as how Davis plans on defending Alabama’s Mark Sears in their Sweet 16 matchup in Los Angeles on Thursday.

OK, maybe not that important. But fascinating, nonetheless.

So we asked.

What goes into the decision on which shoes to wear?

The answers are as varied as the colors of the footwear rainbow.

“Honestly, for me, it’s all about comfort and performance,” Cormac Ryan said. “I couldn’t care less how they look. It happens to be nice how some of these shoes look. But for me, I wear whatever feels best.”

While fit and feel are important to everyone, some value style much more than others.

Chief among that group is Seth Trimble.

The sophomore guard is the Imelda Marcos of the Tar Heels. He has a 5-Jordan brand rotation and chooses which ones to wear on a given day based on “whatever comes to mind.”

He’ll always wear the same pair in a game as he did the day before in practice.

At least, at the start of the game.

Trimble has been known to change into a different pair at halftime if things don’t start out well. As he did during UNC’s win against Pitt in the ACC Tournament semifinals in Washington, DC, 2 weeks ago.

Trimble started out wearing pink Tatums. But after a first half in which the Panthers’ Bub Carrington went off for 16 points to help his team build a 3-point lead, he switched over to a less gaudy white and blue model.

The switch must have worked. Because Trimble played 15 minutes of lockdown defense on Carrington and his teammates in the 2nd half to lead UNC to a victory that likely locked up its status as the top seed in the NCAA West.

“I had to go change,” he said after the Pitt game. “The pink ones just weren’t working.”

As Mars Blackmon (aka Spike Lee) used to say: “It’s gotta be the shoes!”

Right?

A classic Nike ad with SPIKE LEE and Michael Jordan. pic.twitter.com/em5iJFYY35

— All The Right Movies (@ATRightMovies) August 12, 2023

Maybe for Trimble. But not everyone.

Teammate Harrison Ingram let out an amused chuckle when reminded of Trimble’s agony of de-feet moment. When it comes to his own shoe game, Ingram’s style is much less seat of the pants.

“I don’t know how he does that,” the junior forward said. “I’m superstitious. I’ve got to wear the same shoe in practice, the same shoe in the games until they break. I can’t do all that switching. My feet will be hurting. My toes will be hurting. I won’t be able to jump. Seth is built a little different.”

A little like the range of shoes from which the Tar Heels have to choose. Among the most popular Jordan Brand styles are the Zion 3, built for bounce and power; the Luka 2, built for speed with premium cushioning; the Tatum 1, built for support and durability; and, of course, the classic Air Jordan XXIII, built for explosiveness and stability.

They all come in a variety of different colors.

While most of UNC’s players can wear their shoes right out of the box and can change to a different style on the spur of the moment, 6-10 center Armando Bacot isn’t as lucky because of his size 16 gunboats.

“I don’t have as many shoes I can play in because all mine are custom 1-on-1s and the other guys get all the other styles,” Bacot said.

His choices were even more limited than usual for the Tar Heels’ 2 games in Charlotte last week.

“I broke both my pairs of pink shoes,” he said. “I had 2 pairs. I’ve got another pair of pink shoes (back in Chapel Hill). They’re in the bag waiting. We’ll see what happens (in the Sweet 16).”

Staying fashion-forward will become even more of a priority with the next 2 rounds scheduled among the glitz and glamor of LA LA Land.

Bacot and his teammates know they’ll have to keep stepping up their game as they continue to advance deeper in the tournament.

Both on the court and on their feet.