In college basketball and at Michigan, style points matter on the court

Posted: Feb 9, 2010 at 7:14 PM [Feb 9, 2010]

When DeShawn Sims got to college, he stripped down his look. Gone were armbands, wristbands, headbands and legbands.

The senior from Detroit went sleeker. Jersey. Shorts. Shoes. That’s about it.

“I’m not big into that because the minute that I play bad, I’d blame it on whatever the style issue is,” Sims said. “I’m just a standard old-fashioned.”

Sims wasn't always this way. When he was at Pershing, he incorporated personal fashion by accessorizing the basic jersey, shorts, shoes look to show some personality.

Showing some style has been a common practice across college basketball, dating back to the Fab Five's baggy shorts that helped revolutionize basketball style. From hair to tattoos to uniform add-ons, it has become a part of basketball - so much so Sports Illustrated’s Luke Winn even started a “Style Archive” a few years ago to chronicle the eccentricities of college basketball players and some coaches.

“It’s your own personal style,” Northwestern freshman Drew Crawford said. “It’s like a little bit of a swagger thing. Every player has something they do different, whether they wear two pairs of socks or wear a headband, something like that.

“Every player has their own swagger.”

Crawford's wardrobe is a color-coordinated tight-fit undershirt, wristband on his left wrist and socks. On the road it’s purple shirt, purple wristband and black socks. At home, it’s all whites.

At Michigan, the style is a little more understated. Sophomore guard Zack Novak occasionally wears tape on both of his wrists. Sims has his look - far from the thick, winter-like headband he wore during one game his junior year at Pershing when he scored 35 points.

Sophomore guard Laval Lucas-Perry started the season with a headband, but that has been long gone. Lucas-Perry and junior guard Manny Harris also have T-Shirts under their jerseys. Sophomore guard Stu Douglass scrunches up his socks, because “I always try to find the Pistol Pete style with the socks, but I never had the right socks for it.”

Even Michigan coach John Beilein has unintentionally gotten into the act. Usually before the opening tip or seconds after, any jacket he may have been wearing is gone, leaving him with a shirt and tie.

Michigan’s savior of basketball style is freshman guard Darius Morris with his arm sleeve. What began as a protection for tendinitis in his right elbow at the start of the Big Ten season turned into a color-coordinated complement to the standard Michigan look.

“I have to have it match,” said Morris, who also needs to wear an undershirt. “At first, I
was wearing maize one game and I had to wear the blue one and I didn’t like the way it looked. They ordered a maize one so I have a maize for maize, a blue for blue and a white for white.

“…It’s not really important but I get in here about two hours before the game so you need something to pass the time by before you really focus in.”

Morris and Sims both agree sometimes players can go too far, to where what they look like trumps their actual game.

For Morris, a freshman from Los Angeles, he saw it in high school. There, he saw the craziest basketball fashion statement he’s viewed so far.

“I’d have to say somebody that’s wearing two arm sleeves, a headband and the calf sleeve,” Morris said. “That was pretty interesting. I saw it in high school, in the playoffs.

“He didn’t score that many points, though.”

The point of all the fashion statements is simple. Anything that helps a player feel more comfortable on the court will likely lead to better play. And since basketball is the only major sport where both the entire head, arms and legs are visible to fans, adding personal touch is important.

“You always want to look good,” Douglass said. “If you look good, you feel good, you play good.

“That’s what some people say, but who knows.”

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.