For most of the history of NCAA College Basketball, players haven’t been permitted to have signature shoes due to their amateur status. That changed recently when Zion Williamson signed with Jordan Brand while still with Duke. These are the most iconic shoes of college basketball prior to the NIL system.
Nike Hyperdunk
The son of sharpshooter Dell Curry, Stephen Curry blasted onto the national basketball scene after leading Davidson to the Final Four in 2008. During his highly watched junior season, he would take the court in Nike Hyperdunks, first debuted by Kobe Bryant.
Reebok Iverson Question Mid
One of the great scoring guards of all-time, Allen Iverson also had some of the best looking shoes on the market courtesy of his deal with Reebok. A custom colored version of the Iverson Question mid was on the feet of the Michigan State Spartans when they won the 2000 National Championship.
Air Jordan XII
Right around when the Air Jordan XII was released, Kenyon Martin and the Cincinnati Bearcats were dominating college basketball. Martin was a fan of the XII and wore them on his way to becoming the first overall pick of the 2000 NBA Draft.
Converse Pro Leather
Michael Jordan would go on to help create several signature shoes with Nike, but the shoes he wore during his college career were simple Converse Pro Leather. That’s not to say that these simple shoes didn’t look amazing in white and Carolina blue.
Nike LeBron 6
It is common for the best players in college basketball to get their own signature shoe once they reach the pros. That is what happened with James Harden, who wore LeBron 6’s during his consensus All-American final year at Arizona State and later released several sneakers through adidas.
Nike Air Jordan VII Olympics
UConn star Kemba Walker thrilled college basketball fans with his incredible plays are just the right moments. The point guard sported a variety of Air Jordan models during his college career with the Air Jordan VII being a memorable example.
adidas Harden Vol. 1
Lonzo Ball was a phenom during his first season at UCLA and he was making his jaw-dropping plays sporting adidas’ Harden Vol 1 sneakers. Ball’s father Lavar would attempt to monetize his son’s popularity his Big Baller Brand, but that was a bit of a disaster.
Nike Air Force STS
The UNLV Runnin’ Rebels were one of the most unstoppable teams in college basketball history and they ran their high-octane offense while wearing the Nike Air Force STS. UNLV won the 1990 NCAA Championship over Duke by 30 points.
Nike Foamposite One
Today, the Nike Fomaposite One is considered to be a classic shoe, but the first time anyone ever saw them was when Mike Bibby and Jason Terry from the Arizona Wildcats during their run to the 1997 NCAA National Championship.
Nike Air Jordan X
Michael Jordan will always be connected to the University of North Carolina and the best players at the school have long worn his signature sneakers. While starring at the school in the 1990s. future scoring champion Jerry Stackhouse preferred the Jordan X’s.
Converse Weapon
There was a time before Nike ruled the sneaker world, and before they did, Converse was the big brand. The Weapon was the co-signature shoe of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird and they were on the feet of many of the best teams on college basketball throughout the 80s.
Nike Air Unlimited
Duke long presented itself as the opposite of teams like UNLV and Michigan. And while they were boring, they were also excellent as the team won back to back titles in 1991 and 1992. Their superstar was Grant Hill and their team sneaker was the Nike Air Unlimited.
Nike Terminator
Nike was never able to ink Patrick Ewing to a deal once he turned pro, but the center did wear the brand when he played in college. Ewing and the rest of the Georgetown Hoyas rocked Nike Terminators with the grey color way perfectly matching their uniforms.
Nike Air Flight Huarache
The Nike Huarache began as a trainer and a running shoe, but Nike quickly wanted to bring the technology to the basketball court as well. The Fab Five Michigan Wolverines famously wore the Huaraches during their second year together.
Nike Air Jordan XI
Upon entering the league, Allen Iverson would sign with Reebok and have a long and successful partnership with the company. But as one of the coolest players in NCAA history, Iverson wore one of the coolest shoes, the revered Air Jordan XI.