The 2022 Madness Rounds 1 & 2 Roundup | Orange Ya Glad to See Me?
Where is Tom Hanks When You Need Him?
Three words are causing armchair NCAA fan-critics to meltdown: Pantone Orange 151. If you watched ANY of the games from the Madness the past four days, you’d be forgiven for even attempting to understand what the hubbub was all about. To everyday laypeople, ALL basketballs are the same: they look the same, they bounce the same, they’re boringly…the same. And just as well, as game equipment, facilities and officiating are to be the height of impartial common denomination and neutrailty. Well, enter Wilson Sporting Goods. Debuting officially last June for optional school use in-Season, the so-called Evo NXT game ball tipped off last week into a hornet’s nest of controversy. Chiefly because of its neon-Halloween seeming illumination and other more substantive characteristics, Wilson’s sparkly showcase of its prized next generation basketball didn’t quite roll out as planned. In what ought to have been a promotional layup, Wilson executives are instead wondering how they got dunked on so hard.
It all started out innocently enough. In 2014, Wilson introduced its Evolution Game basketball to the masses and was quickly adopted as the de-facto standard for all indoor basketball action. Features including a bespoke Cushion Core Carcass (sponge and butyl rubber) encased in a trademark Evo Microfiber cover mated together for unparalleled soft touch while affording maximum grip. Its durability and consistency are trademarks that competitors are still seeking to decrypt to this day. In the many years since it became available for purchase, the Wilson Evolution Game basketball went on enjoy runaway success as the best-selling basketball worldwide. It’s the official standard for high school basketball. Wilson is the official basketball provider to the NBA. It’s also the partner-of-record to the NCAA. With all these accolades, bona fide street cred and the center of a profligate cash machine, what could possibly go wrong?
Well, plenty. Never wanting to be seen as resting on past laurels, Wilson sought out several years ago to perfect its Golden Goose. With arduous back-and-forth trials with the NCAA and member schools, Wilson tinkered dangerously with a question that nobody was asking: How can the Evolution Game basketball improve? What players of all stripes appreciated about the Evolution was its consistency, familiarity and reliability; its machined precision. Last June 23rd, Wilson with quite a bit of fanfare noisily introduced its Evo NXT basketball. In a controversial move, Wilson engineers replaced the Evolution’s Evo Microfiber with a new Micro-Touch leather composite cover supposedly providing an extra layer of grip and moisture management. The inner bladder was also reimagined to optimize weight balance for better long-range shooting. Also, it was painted in Pantone Orange 151 — the easier to spot. Taken together, these seem like wholly reasonable, logical refinements of a sporting icon. But in reality, it seems like more time in the lab might have been merited. Or at the very least, more PR workshopping.
Wilson’s sparkly new Evo NXT basketball was officially introduced as an optional game ball to all NCAA Teams for the 2021 Season. The take rate in-Season was not good. Wilson executive partly blamed existing school sponsorships. So if a Team, for instance had a sponsorship deal with Nike, Team players would be all swooshed up. Basketball equipment? You named it, Nike. Executives also pointed to NCAA rules outlining that Home teams enjoy the right to dictate the game ball. Why award you opponent with the familiarity of world’s bestselling brand? Nope, we’re going off-brand to gain a competitive advantage. Or so the theory went. With the NCAA tournament, all Teams would be forced to use the Evo NXT and that’s where the ball would shine brightly. Executives were certainly right on that count.
When March Madness tipped off officially last week, Twitter lit up with alarm at the appearance of the new Evo NXTs. They glowed as if illuminated with a megawatt tangerine LED lightbulb from within. Critics lobbed the balls as $5.99 Walmart specials. For the record, at $94.95, they are certainly NOT Walmart specials. But really, who cares about the looks of the mundane. Looks are one thing. Quote unquote performance quite another. Players and coaches supplemented the superficial criticisms with buzzy complaints of the Evo NXTs being too grippy and just off. Inconsistent. The balls in some quarters where even blamed for St. Peters’ miraculous upset of Kentucky on Thursday night. At this point, separating legitimate concerns from mere sour grapes became a fool’s errand. Now that Rounds 1 and 2 are firmly behind us, all that ninny chatter has subsided. Players are adjusting, Wilson and the NCAA are moving on and everyday fans like you and me scoff at such first world problems. We’re also reminded of the old adage: A craftsperson NEVER blames his or her tools. AS for Wilson, their entire initial run of NCAA Evo NXT Championship basketballs has SOLD OUT. Slam dunk? Time will tell.
Turning to the actual Tournament, so far the only upset people are talking about — still — is Kentucky’s quick dismissal in Fort Worth. St Peters, 15 seed, played bracket spoiler and Cinderella in equal measure. Michigan powered past Colorado State, New Mexico State ousted the Huskies, Iowa State outmuscled the “better” LSU Tigers and the Crimson Tide failed to wash away the Fighting Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. Other than that, all expected Teams advance into the Sweet 16. With that, armchair critics are already calling this year’s March Madness by a new name, March Moderation. To which one would have to reply: Uhh, what were these armchair critics doing when they were 20? Judging from afar certainly. NO matter, the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 beckon this weekend with near certain upsets galore.
