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Before the 1991-1992 basketball season, North Carolina introduced new uniforms for their team. The announcement at the time was huge, as Carolina had been going with the same look since the 1970’s.
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The 90’s being a time when how you looked on an ever-growing amount of time on TV was important, Dean Smith enlisted the help of Alexander Julian to create the new design. Julian is credited with the design of the original Charlotte Hornets uniform, and it was only fitting the Chapel Hill native and huge Carolina fan would be behind a new look for the team.
What Julian created, the thicker “North Carolina” font with the argyle on the side was a unique look to all of college basketball. It was bold, for Carolina at least, and it quickly became the signature style for the team. I mean, look at these uniforms through the years. The shape of the jersey has shifted to keep up with the times, but Julian’s argyle has remained.
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On Friday, the staff at Sports Illustrated released their rankings of the top uniforms in college basketball. The kicker was that it could only be based on the ‘17-’18 set, but when you have a theme and you stick to it, Carolina was always going to come out on top:
The Tar Heels cruised to the top spot in this ranking as the SI staff’s clear favorite uniform in college hoops. The Carolina blue-dominated unis are a staple of the sport, and the argyle stripe down the side of both jerseys adds a unique touch
There are so many things to like about the UNC set: the simplicity of the design, the use of arched lettering which is seen less and less, the argyle that is a simple yet distinctive pattern, and the blue that is all their own. It’ll be interesting to see what the next tweak will be as they’ve had this template for two seasons, and for sales Nike/Jordan Brand likes to shake things up as you’ve seen above.
Which uniform was your favorite? Is there one you wish they’d bring back? Let us know below!