The PK80 tournament, which kicks off Nov. 23, is the brainchild of Nike and Phil Knight. The event brings 16 top Nike-sponsored college basketball programs to Portland in celebration of Knight’s 80th birthday.
These are what the uniforms look like.
First off: what a great field. The Motion Bracket is headlined by Duke, Texas, Florida, and Gonzaga, while the Victory Bracket has North Carolina, Michigan State, Oregon, and UConn, among others. The winners are these brackets will not play each other, so we aren’t getting another Duke-UNC game during non-conference season.
OK, back to the uniforms. The first thing that jumps out are those colors. This will not be the standard Team Wearing Whites vs. Team Wearing Colors that we see in every basketball game ever. Instead, each team is darker colors that should create a stark on-court viewing experience.
The teams will also be wearing all-black shoes as an ode to Knight’s personal style.
A few impressions:
- Those Gonzaga uniforms have actual zags along the side. Also the all-black get ups are a big change of pace from their typical color scheme.
- The gold lettering and numbers on the Michigan State uniforms look fresh.
- Carolina blue forever looks great
- UConn’s gray uniforms are boring
- Why do those waist bands look so high?
The PK Tournament will be televised on ESPN’s family of networks.