Nike is at again and they are stepping their game up major for the USA Basketball team with some new futuristic innovations. Using the lightest and most advanced textiles, the Nike Hyper Elite Basketball Uniform is going to help improve performance of the players and emphasize the pride we have for basketball here in The USA.

The team at Nike has engineered a fabric that acts as a cooling solution that allows for more flexibility for graphic designs while at the same time allowing room to create mesh areas without the addition of seams. Nike Aerographics is what the design team is calling it and it was first introduced back in 2008. This lets the fans see a graphically appealing logo that is actually contributing to the player’s game-time performance by increasing air circulation. The USA Basketball team will be sporting these Nike Hyper Elite Shorts and by using this progressive technology the shorts will weigh in at 14 ounces less than the shorts currently worn by the players. Even the waistband is designed with ventilation perforation and an internal drawcord that will allow for a better more comfortable fit around the waist.

The Hyper Elite Jerseys are the lightest jerseys Nike has ever made. The Dri-FIT fabric will help draw the sweat away from the player’s skin while a useful flock screenprint on the reverse side of the collar will also help with sweat control. These new and improved slim fit jerseys will be less bulky which will be way better for the player’s mobility on the court. But what will make these jerseys memorable, aside from the crazy amount of science put into them, will be the bold graphics that accompany them. The backs of them will have a Nike Aerographic on them and on the inside of the necks there will by an inspirational battle cry for each team’s specific country.

For all the green folks out there, each jersey is made up with approximately 96% recycled polyester. The Nike Hyper Elite Basketball Shorts are made from an impressive 100% recycled polyester material and come equipped with the same Dri-FIT abilities like the jerseys. Nike utilizes recycled PET plastic bottles by melting them down to produce new yarn and the yarn is then converted into fabric for Nike’s superior performance apparel. Each Nike Hyper Elite Basketball Uniform also saves an average of 22 recycled plastic bottles.

What do you think about these Nike Hyper Elite jerseys? What about the new team USA design?

In the summer of 1992, fifteen American men came together to form the USA’s Olympic Basketball squad. The team was the first to be made up of active NBA players. When they traveled across the pond to Barcelona that summer, they were unstoppable. Team USA, nicknamed “The Dream Team”, won every game by an impressive average of 44 points. Needless to say, the team went home with the gold and were forever etched into history as one of the strongest teams in any sport ever. That summer was a major turning point for many fans, young and old alike. People who liked basketball, now loved basketball.

20 years later, Nike Sportswear is commemorating that epic run with the release of The Dream Team Destroyer Jacket. The jacket is very traditional looking with patches that tell the story and pay homage to The Dream Team’s journey. In a sense it is a classic Destroyer jacket with the leather sleeves and a wool body, but the attention to detail is what will distinguish this as a true one of kind piece.

Russell Stott, Nike Sportswear’s Graphic Design Director, and his team have covered every aspect of that historic summer with an array of patches on both sleeves and on the front and back of the jacket. The right sleeve is adorned with the starting five players jersey numbers, while the left side consists of three chenille patches each one telling a story. The top patch tells of the average point differentiation, 43.8, and also has an XXV that refers to Barcelona as the 25th of the ‘games’ in sporting history. The lower patch is the USAB logo and the middle patch states some of the places this year’s team will be visiting before the summer.

The right breast of the jacket is embroidered with U S A in a vertical towering effect, and includes a USAB pin-badge. The left breast shows a USA flag inspired mostly by space travel and military. Stitched in underneath the flag is the score of each game the team played. The back is embroidered with a large XX to celebrate the 20th year since that momentous summer. Stitched in above each front pocket it says, “Land of the Free, Home of the Brave” in italicized font. For the tag, Nike is re-imaging the tag from a replica of the Dream Team jersey they found that had a special message to the team on them. This jacket is a must have for any Nike head and although winter is almost over, this is a truly timeless piece and will never go out of style. Release date is TBA.

Check out more detailing of The Dream Team Destroyer Jacket after the jump.

Last week, I experienced Nike’s new SPARQ Sensory Performance innovations in action. I have no doubt in my mind that this new approach to vision training in conjunction with all other aspects of physical training will give an edge to the athletes who utilize these advancements. What’s most interesting is that vision training can be used by athletes of all levels to increase focus, reaction times & anticipation in any sport. I could rattle off a list of athletes off the top of my head that could use vision training immediately: Ahem… Josh Hamilton… Ahem…

SPARQ Sensory Performance is a system of technologies, products and programs designed to assess, analyze and improve an athlete’s visual and sensory performance. It’s another step in Nike’s nearly 40-year legacy of delivering game-changing innovations to help athletes perform at their peak.

“Sensory training is at the cornerstone of how we can build better athletes,” said Paul Winsper, SPARQ Performance Director. “With SSP we’re able to integrate both sensory and physical training together. This performance philosophy has resonated with some of the top athletes, teams and clubs throughout the world.”

Nike SPARQ Sensory Stations

As the first step in improving an athlete’s performance, the SSP “assess” phase uses the Nike SPARQ Sensory Station, an interactive touch screen device, to evaluate athletes on 10 sport-relevant visual and sensory performance skills. The personalized station then translates that raw data into next steps for the athlete, which can guide a training program. The resulting SPARQ Sensory Performance profile compares an athlete’s results to others in their sport, position and skill level to provide a roadmap for improvement.

I underwent these tests and compared my results to all other professional soccer defenders in Nike’s database and I’ll post my results as soon as I get over my embarrassment at my scores. Welp, it seems that countless hours spent pushing pixels isn’t great for my vision or health.

Once the assessment and analysis are complete, Nike SSP provides two key tools designed to help an athlete improve: The Nike SPARQ Sensory Training Station and Nike SPARQ Vapor Strobe Eyewear. Athletes at any skill level can integrate both into their training programs to hone their sensory skills.

Nike SPARQ Vapor Strobe Eyewear

Following visual testing to evaluate different aspects of the athlete’s visual skills, a crucial tool to improve key areas is the Nike SPARQ Vapor Strobe Eyewear. By blocking or disrupting vision using a strobe or flicker effect that can be varied in speed, an athlete can develop quicker reaction times and motor skills. The strobe effect improves reaction time by switching between clear and blocked vision, which trains the brain to anticipate what‘s coming when the eyes are blocked. Features include an adjustable head strap for a secure fit and liquid-crystal lens technology with variable speeds for different levels of training.

“After years of tireless testing, we’ve discovered an innovative way to help increase athletic performance,” said Dr. Alan Reichow, Global Research Director of Nike SPARQ Sensory Performance and Vision. “The SSP ecosystem of testing and products allows our team to serve the athlete with a clear and actionable plan that helps them see sport better.”

The system is already proving effective. Two recent studies* showed that training with the Nike SPARQ Vapor Strobes improved:
1) The ability to pick up subtle motion cues
2) Visual information processing
3) Timing of motion

When looking at the list of athletes that participate in SPARQ Sensory Performance training, I’m not surprised that they’re at the top of their game. Kevin Durant, Larry Fitzgerald, Greg Jennings, Misty May-Treanor, A.J. Pierzynski all get an edge.

“I catch balls for a living. What I do is eye-hand coordination, so any way that I can improve my eye-hand coordination is going to be pivotal throughout my career. The Nike SPARQ Vapor Strobes are a total game changer, a training game changer. You take vision for granted, you take catching the ball for granted but the Vapor Strobes force you to focus on the fundamentals.” -Greg Jennings

Nike SPARQ Sensory Training Stations use software-based training modules to improve multiple sensory performance skills. The stations can be used regularly as an integrated part of training programs for athletes at all levels. Top collegiate and professional programs have purchased the Nike strobe eyewear and stations, with a full global rollout now in action.

The Nike SPARQ Vapor Strobe Eyewear is $300 USD and available Internationally at NikeStore.com. Both the Nike SPARQ Sensory Station and Nike SPARQ Sensory Training Station are available through the Nike SPARQ Sensory Training Help Desk (1-855-870-6778 or NSSTsupport@nike.com).

* Duke University Study: Appelbaum LG, Schroeder JE, Cain MS and Mitroff SR (2011) Improved visual cognition through stroboscopic training. Front. Psychology 2:276. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00276

* Southern Utah University Study: Smith, T.Q. (2011) Sensory Training: Nike Strobe (Master’s thesis). Southern Utah University, Cedar City, UT.

While I was in New York last summer for World Basketball Festival, there was much talk of how Kevin Durant had not yet played at NYC’s outdoor basketball mecca, Rucker Park. Well, it seems that an appearance of KD at Rucker was well worth the wait, because he scored 66 points in 1 game the other day. Whaaa?!?!? Video after the jump.

German design collective, inges idee, have created this wild basketball court at the Occupational School Center in Munich. From the looks of the photos, it’d be impossible to hold an actual 5-on-5 style game on this court, but perhaps an interesting game of H-O-R-S-E could ensue?

What do you guys think about this? Is this considered smart art? Or is it a waste of space and resources?

More photos and inges idee‘s explanation of the court’s purpose after the jump.

“A regulation-sized basketball court was erected on the grove-like forecourt of the school building of the occupational school. The court consists of a soft orange-red tartan covering and two normed baskets and seems to be forced over the grid of the lamps that have been set up. The playable court has been “morphed” as in a 3D program on a computer and looks like the grounds of a rollercoaster, with heights and depths and calm and dynamic zones. The resulting paradox, which moves between a normative set of rules and pleasurable, anarchic change, requires creative engagement for its use.”

From the looks of the photos, there is no actual ball in sight. It seems that most of the students are merely using the space as a place to socialize and relax. #OkayThen

Congrats to the United States Men’s National Basketball team. They won the FIBA World Championships in Turkey, bringing a Gold Medal in this FIBA tournament back to the US for the first time in 16 years. For highlights of the Gold Medal game, visit ESPN’s YouTube.

I’m not sure why they are fighting, but it looks like the Serbian team has some dirty fighters… There’s really no reason to fight during this international friendly match-up because both teams have qualified for the FIBA 2010 World Championship in Turkey, starting on the 28th. Maybe it’s because neither team likes their Adidas jerseys? I’d be crying too if I didn’t have a Hyper Elite jersey to play in.