New Georgetown Basketball Shorts

[NickSixers]

The new Georgetown basketball shorts arrived in an on-campus shop Thursday. Here are the pictures:

Front

Side

Detail of side

These are the "swingman" shorts. Unfortunately, no authentics have been for sale in my 2+ years here. Maybe if we are very good this year.

Now for my editorial comments:

-I was surprised the kente cloth is still in it, but I like it. When I think back to my youth, when I wasn't exactly a Hoyas fan, just a basketball fan, the kente is one of the things that I think of. Maybe that doesn't please all of us, but whatever.

-I also think that the kente in the real authentic shorts (These are the "swingman" quality, although they are some of the nicest swingman shorts I've seen) may be more prominent, because the design is screen printed on the mesh in these shorts. I can only imagine that the authentics will have a cloth insert in this area.

-I think the grey blocks indicate some grey striping or grey blocks in the jerseys. I think that white will be used as an accent on both the blue and the (hopefully) grey home unis.

-I'm very happy there's no small word on the butt as so many shorts have now.

-Right now without the jerseys, the HOYAS on the side looks out of place. Hopefully it won't when the jerseys arrive.

Don't know if there are any Georgetown fans out here, but just FYI. Will post when the jerseys arrive.

[nwtrailtrekker]

they remind me of swim trunks.

[leafs13]

they remind me of swim trunks.

Took the words right out of my mouth.

[Discrim]

glad to see the gunmetal & black crap's gone and GTown's back in their real colors.

[JetsLuvver]

glad to see the gunmetal & black crap's gone and GTown's back in their real colors.

That color scheme never made much sense. Every other Georgetown athletic team is in navy and gray.

[andrewharrington]

I'm happy to see them in navy and gray, but these are probably the ugliest shorts I've ever seen. I like the kente pattern all right, but the arbitrary grey and white blocks, plus the HOYAS wordmark are just ridiculous. Why is the Jordan logo on them. That's pretty weird, too. I hope they get some sense and realize that these are puke-inducing before they put them on the court.

[dpnation]

I had thought that only Carolina had the Jordan logo, everyone else just had the swoosh. I've never seen the Jordan logo anywhere else (on the athletes that is).

Being a Villanova alum myself, I could never actually like what G'town's doing.. but I'm glad they've stopped with the light blue uni's since that came out of nowhere (yeah.. let's make up a new school color!)

The kente cloth is classic as long as they use it in smaller doses (now that we're out of the 90's).

[ROCHitman]

Ugly!

Of course, everything GU is ugly to this 'Cuse grad and fan

[NickSixers]

Why is the Jordan logo on them. That's pretty weird, too.

Not to state the obvious, but our unis will be sporting the Jumpman instead of the Swoosh because John Thompson III/Athletic Department signed the deal with the Jordan Brand subsidiary of Nike when he arrived at G-town last year, not Nike. UNC, Cal, St. Johns, NC A&T are the other schools that wear Jordan Brand. (I don't think I left any out there unless some others have signed recently.) However, the deal was signed too late to have new uniforms last year. However, the Hoyas did wear Georgetown-specific Jordan Brand shoes last season. This is the first piece of Jordan Brand merchandise sold to the public. More is on the way.

As several have mentioned, the Hoya faithful are VERY happy and satisfied that the team will be wearing the school colors (navy and grey) instead of the arbitrary carolina blue, black, and white we were wearing in the past few seasons.

I too agree that the grey and white blocks are rather odd now, but i think the grey block will continue from a stripe/block on the jerseys. The HOYAS is also rather sketchy, but we'll have to see. I think most of this depends on the jerseys.

However, they do look pretty sweet on.

One more note, this is the lowest that I've ever seen the manufacturer's logo on a pair of NCAA b-ball shorts. One advantage (for Jordan Brand) is that it is low enough that it is not covered up by a t-shirt when being worn.

[Jigga]

I know Cincinatti used to wear Jordan, but I don't know (or care) if they still do.

[NickSixers]

I know Cincinatti used to wear Jordan, but I don't know (or care) if they still do.

Correct. (But I guess who knows with Huggins gone) Thanks for the correction.

[redsfan39]

I know Cincinatti used to wear Jordan, but I don't know (or care) if they still do.

maybe some of us do

[tajmccall]

What is the signifigance of the kente cloth and Georgetown? Historically i mean? Basically, why do they have it?

[WSU151]

but I'm glad they've stopped with the light blue uni's since that came out of nowhere (yeah.. let's make up a new school color!)

You didn't watch much college basketball in the '80s, did you? Ewing was one of the many that wore light blue for Georgetown.

[jr79]

I know Cincinatti used to wear Jordan, but I don't know (or care) if they still do.

Hey, I've found Kenyon Martin!

That kente cloth is a strange look. I've not seen Georgetown unis before, but I take it that its a carryover element from past uniforms?

[VitaminD]

Jordan beats them in '82 (GO HEELS!), and now he dresses them in '05. I can't say I saw that coming.

I'm glad Georgetown is finally settling into an identity. I liked the Carolina blues, but the return to the navy and gray makes more sense. Not sure about the gray sqaure up by the waistband; it looks like somebody forgot how to color inside the lines... I do like the kente swatches, although the random gray squares disrupt its presence somewhat.

Of course, I grew up in a Villanova household, so I've gotta side with the Hit Man and say little, if anything, nice about the Hoyas.

[dpnation]

but I'm glad they've stopped with the light blue uni's since that came out of nowhere (yeah.. let's make up a new school color!)

You didn't watch much college basketball in the '80s, did you? Ewing was one of the many that wore light blue for Georgetown.

I guess not, since I wasn't born until then!

My point was that their school colors were always the navy and gray.. why stray from those?!

[Jigga]

The Kente is nothing new, but I don't understand its significance. Anyway, they're hideous. They need to go to something simple and classy. Georgetown is one of the top 10 academic institutions in the U.S. and should look like it. Hell, last years unis, especially the white ones, looked pretty damn good. They didn't need to change just for the $ake of changing...

[keynote]

The Kente is nothing new, but I don't understand its significance....

I'll take a stab at this one. As a young Black kid growing up during G'Town's tenure as a national NCAA hoops powerhouse in the '80s & '90s, I remember that Thompson's Hoyas were *extremely* popular in the African American community. Other than Temple, G'Town was one of the few prominent teams led by a Black coach, and the team was almost always all Black--with a good portion of international African students to boot. And, John Thompson was a *serious* brother--closer to Jim Brown than to, say, Lynn Swann--so, there were subtle overtones of racial solidarity associated w/ the Hoyas team. Individual players and teams like Jordan and the Tarheels were popular, but it felt like Black folks on a national scale rooted for G'Town as a general rule the same way that they tended to root against Duke, Notre Dame and the Celtics as a general rule (I know, I know: Thompson himself is a former Celtic. And I know the Celts were pioneers in breaking down racial barriers in the NBA. Even so: during the Bird/Magic era, rooting for the Celts was frowned upon by most Black folks outside of Boston).

During the early-mid '90s, rap groups like Public Enemy, BDP, and eventually Arrested Development led Black youth culture through an Afrocentric phase, w/ folks wearing leather Africa medallions, kufi hats & crowns, and kente cloth accents (many Black folks I know who graduated from college during that period bought a kente cloth sash to go along w/ their school-issued cap and gown). Nike/G'Town seized upon that fad by adding the kente accents to the G'town uniform, thereby subtly underscoring the Hoyas unstated position as "the Blackest college basketball team in the country." The fact that G'town was a mostly White college run by Jesuits only seemed to further legitimize Thompson's pro-Black image--obviously, we thought, it took a serious brotha to force the G'Town powers that be to accept such an Afrocentric uniform design.

Anyway, by the mid-90s, there were more Black coaches, political hip hop had given way to party music and gangsta rap, and kids were more inclined to wear Fab 5-esque XXXL shorts than rock the Ewing-esque heather grey tee under their jersey. Even so, Thompson III's decision to resurrect the kente accents is not just a nod to previous uni styles; it's a nod to his father's image and standing in the Black community.

Of course, this is just my opinion.

[NickSixers]

Even so, Thompson III's decision to resurrect the kente accents is not just a nod to previous uni styles; it's a nod to his father's image and standing in the Black community.

Just to clarify, the kente cloth has been present in the all the uniforms since the prominent placement in the Iverson-era unis. It never went away. It just seems that they made it a more prominent part of these uniforms again.