I still don't get the shoe company influence in Basketball Recruiting

[benjazz 0]

but Griciunas signing with Auburn at a table with a huge Nike swoop banner attached to it has some other boards chattering about us and UnderArmour again.

[mustache eagle 2,410]

What are they saying

[AuburnBasketball 0]

A kid that plays on a Nike AAU team is going to be influenced by his AAU coach to sign with a Nike school. Alot of illegal recruiting goes on in AAU. Mostly having to do with the AAU coaches and shoe companies. Nike is just more appealing to kids than Under Armour.

[DANSBY 0]

It seemed more to me that Nike was an established brand among the AAU circles over the past decade or so. During these big AAU tourneys, I think I read that "Nike" colleges were invited to the tourneys and given special privileges which might have granted them access to the AAU recruits. I have read several times that the recruiting that went on through these AAU channels was much slimier than most would think, but AAU set up the network and used the Nike brand to help fund it.

Now that Under Armour is establishing itself as a brand in all sports, it's just a matter of time before they make a dent in the Nike/ AAU setup.