By JOSH NEWMAN & ADAM ZAGORIA
NEW YORK – Mohamed Bamba stands 6-foot-11, so when he isn’t somewhere he’s supposed to be, you’re going to notice.
This was the situation late Friday morning at Gauchos Gym in the Bronx where the players in Saturday night’s Big Strick Classic went through a two-hour workout, sans Bamba, in addition to St. Patrick star big man Nick Richards.
Bamba and Richards weren’t the only two players missing from practice Friday, but the reason they were absent certainly was a topic of conversation.
On the same day Big Strick held practice, Nike held what is called a Brand Activation Event at Brooklyn Bridge Park as it gets set to roll out Nike+ NYC. Part of the Brooklyn event was an EYBL showcase, which included Bamba’s PSA Cardinals and Richards’ Expressions Elite, the Albany City Rocks and New York Lightning.
Bamba and Richards were both expected to be at Dyckman Park Friday night for the Big Strick scrimmage and at Gauchos Gym for the actual event Saturday night. Still, to some at Big Strick, the timing seemed odd, especially given that the big grassroots story right now is Nike coming up with an event in the Bahamas to compete with Under Armour’s Elite 24 game later this month.
“We took a head count last night so we could prepare everything and there was a few people missing,” Big Strick co-organizer Chris Richardson told SNY.tv. “It was explained to me Nike has something going on in Brooklyn. It’s odd they would put on a Nike event when we have a workout. It’s starting to happen more, so they’re trying to drown us out.”
“This has nothing to do with Big Strick or anything else,” City Rocks head coach Jim Hart told SNY.tv via phone Friday afternoon before the Nike+ event. “It’s simply brand activation. Companies are on the go and they put on event after event and the best kids are often involved.”
The Nike-Big Strick conflict on Friday is one thing, but the bigger picture centers around Nike and Under Armour’s Elite 24 on Aug. 22 in Brooklyn.
Elite 24, something of an unofficial end to the summer basketball-wise, has grown into one of the year’s marquee grassroots events, drawing some of the top talent in the nation and airing on ESPN. This year, for the first time, Elite 24 is NBA-sanctioned, meaning personnel from all 30 NBA teams are expected to attend.
On Thursday afternoon, Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com reported that Nike has created an event in the Bahamas designed to draw players away from Elite 24. Among the players shifting from Under Armour to Nike that weekend are top 2016 recruits Harry Giles and Duke commit Jayson Tatum.
A source told SNY.tv Friday afternoon that the Nike group will practice in the Bahamas Aug. 20-21, then play a game against the Bahamian Basketball Federation on Aug. 22 at 5 p.m.
In short, at least two projected 2017 Lottery picks have chosen three days in the Bahamas over a nationally-televised showcase in New York to be attended by all 30 NBA teams. That notion led to Under Armour Director of Grassroots and College Basketball Nick Blatchford to be quoted in Parrish’s story as saying Nike is “trying to play defense.”
“I’m only a team director and I don’t speak for the company, but Nike owns 97 percent or so of the shoe market, so I doubt they’re on the defensive,” Hart said. “Good for them [Under Armour], they should be putting on quality events. Nike is not on the defensive, and never has been. They play offense.”
Hart isn’t exaggerating. According to a 2014 Morgan Stanley report, Nike owns approximately 97 percent of the basketball shoe market in the United States. What that means is, Nike is king and can pretty much do whatever it wants on the grassroots scene, which isn’t really anything new.
“It’s the arrogance of Nike and their arrogance shows because of their success,” legendary grassroots basketball guru Sonny Vaccaro, who had a highly-publicized breakup with Nike, told SNY.tv Friday night. “They’ll never let anybody like Under Armor get to them.”
He added: “Nike owns everything, grassroots, professional, style, USA Basketball. They’ve completely taken over everything. A company like Under Armor and an owner like Kevin Plank is the worst thing Nike wanted to see once I left.”
“For me personally, as a representative of Under Armour, knowing the way Elite 24 is and the magnitude of the event, I would have chosen Elite 24 regardless of sneakers,” New York Jayhawks Under Armour AAU Director of Operations Jay David told SNY.tv. “It has a reputation of being one of the biggest events of the year, if not the biggest. NBA scouts can also come now, so that’s just my opinion.
“I’m not sure how threatened or nervous they are, but I am positive that the growth of Under Armour has been exponential. It’s not something that’s static. Our growth has been insane and other sneaker companies are paying attention to it.”
The roster for the Nike Bahamas event has not been released, but the two obvious questions two weeks outside of the event are who else is going and what sneaker company are they currently affiliated with?
Apples Jones, the mother of top-rated 2016 shooting guard Josh Jackson, a member of Under Armour-sponsored 1Nation, made it clear what her son will be doing in two weeks. Jackson and his mother are both in New York this weekend for Big Strick, which is unsponsored and therefore annually draws players affiliated with not only Nike and Under Armour, but adidas as well
“Anyone would want to take a trip to the Bahamas, but the most important part and what you have to assess is the opportunities,” Jones told SNY.tv. “Going to the Elite 24 with all the NBA scouts that will be there, it’s an opportunity to be seen on a mass scale. You’re not going to pull the NBA scouts out to the Bahamas.
“He prefers to be in front of the scouts because that’s where your opportunity lies.”
