The still young 2014-15 college basketball season has seen plenty of outstanding team-edition shoes, but none so far on Jordan Brand’s famous flagship model. Consider that oversight corrected, with the Air Jordan XX9 Oregon Ducks.
Not merely a colorway that vaguely evokes the University of Oregon, the shoe fully embraces official branding and styling. A subtle, tonal feather-print covers the silver performance-knit upper — that pattern a common theme on Nike’s Oregon shoes — and the school’s “O” logo and duck-head mark adorn the tongue and heel, respectively.
Black subtly offsets the silver upper, meanwhile, appearing on the Elephant-printed midsole, tongue and liner, and a bold yellow on the oversize Jumpman and outsole perfectly play up Oregon school spirit.
Don’t expect a public release for the shoe, unfortunately, but stay tuned to NB in case that changes. In the meantime, look for the Ducks basketball teams to rock the school-spirited XX9 throughout the season.
Update (12/1): The Oregon XX9 is actually a travel shoe for the football team, not a PE for the basketball team. Leave it to the football Ducks to have cooler basketball shoes than most NCAA hoops programs.
Photos via Arik Armstead & Joevan Catron.