adidas yesterday unveiled its adiZero uniform that will be worn by the men's basketball teams at Baylor, Cincinnati and Louisville during their conference tournaments and the NCAA tournament. The uniforms are on average 28% lighter than the schools' previous uniforms and adidas bonded the player names and numbers to the jersey to help reduce the overall weight. Louisville will debut its uniform during the Big East tournament today, followed by Cincinnati tomorrow. Baylor will debut its uniform during the Big 12 tournament tomorrow (THE DAILY). YAHOO SPORTS' Jeff Eisenberg graded the three jerseys and gave Baylor's a “D.” He wrote the “flashy lime green jerseys require sun glasses to stare at and the black and green ones simply are not aesthetically pleasing.” Cincinnati got a “B-plus,” as they "don't stray far from Cincinnati's traditional black, red and white color scheme.” Louisville’s grade was incomplete because adidas “only released the single picture of the gray jersey.” However, that color trend “is way overdone in college basketball these days and tiger striped jerseys simply make no sense for the Cardinals.” The colors and camouflage patterns “are a break with tradition for all three schools, yet there are obvious advantages to adopting a new look for March despite the inevitable angry letters from alumni that will surely pile up.” It provides the schools a “money-making opportunity since alternate jerseys introduce a new product to sell at campus shops or sporting good stores.” It also can “aid recruiting to send the message to prospects that they'll always be outfitted in the freshest, most up-to-date gear if they choose your school” (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 3/6). CBSSPORTS.com’s Jeff Borzello wrote Cincinnati and Louisville's uniforms “are pretty solid.” Borzello: “Then we have Baylor. I would say it's a disaster. … It's tough to look at for a long time.” Baylor also “had a black uniform released” yesterday, and “it's awesome” (CBSSPORTS.com, 3/6).
TWITTER REAX: CNBC's Darren Rovell wrote, "Uniform shocker of the day: Adidas has made Baylor basketball players highlighters for postseason." CBSSports.com's Bryan Fischer wrote, “Baylor now looks like Oregon." USA Today's Nicole Auerbach wrote, "I don't mind Cincy/Louisville/Baylor's black uniforms. Think the neon yellow is a bit tennis ball-ish." ESPN.com's David Ubben wrote, “The new Baylor Big 12/NCAA Tourney uniforms are OK, but the third alternates are by far the best."
