I caught a little bit of a University of Minnesota game on TV a few nights ago and was taken by the wood finish of the court. It has a very light, cold, grayish tone. Watching the game reminded me of the photography special-effect of selective colorization, with the players and certain court features (e.g., the center-court "M" and the keys) in color and the background in black-and-white.
This Daily Gopher article includes not only a photo of the new court, but also shots of some earlier ones in team history.
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Monday, November 5, 2018
UIC Fans the Flames
(Via the usual sources) The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) has a new floor, whose combination of two design elements makes it unique. The school's nickname is the Flames, a reference to the Great Chicago Fire. The lower-right and upper-left corners of the floor show burning flames. Running diagonally from lower-left to upper-right is a waving version of the City of Chicago flag.
Sports Illustrated has an online article showing the UIC floor, along with other wild and gaudy ones from around the nation. Most of these, we've covered here over the years. Note also that not all of the court designs shown in the SI article remain in use. Long Beach State, for one, has toned down its floor.
Sports Illustrated has an online article showing the UIC floor, along with other wild and gaudy ones from around the nation. Most of these, we've covered here over the years. Note also that not all of the court designs shown in the SI article remain in use. Long Beach State, for one, has toned down its floor.
Saturday, November 3, 2018
2018-2019 Uni-Watch Preview (Which Also Includes Court Designs)
(Via Matt Rachmiel) Uni-Watch is out with its annual college-basketball design preview. The focus, of course, is on uniforms, but there's plenty of court coverage, too. Most of the floor-design changes look minor to me, such as changing the color of the out-of-bounds area. One substantial change that I really like is how Rutgers has gotten rid of the huge free-standing "R" at center-court and gone to a smaller "R" with a shellac-based shape of New Jersey behind it.
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
Rockets' Mid-1990s Court Included in NBA's "Absolute Absurdities"
ESPN.com writer Zach Lowe's compilation of items for the "NBA Hall of Absolute Absurdities" includes, under the heading of "most regrettably garish design elements in league history," the "jumbled Houston court... complete with sneering cartoon rocket." An illustration of that court is included in the above-linked article.
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
NBA Live 19 Offers Court Customization
If you're into basketball video-gaming, NBA Live 19 will offer extensive court customization (via Matt Rachmiel). According to this article, one starts by selecting a theme, defined as follows:
Themes are presets of line colors, paint colors, and court textures that transform the look of your court with the push of a button.
From there, one can choose from numerous additional templates and designs, including old-time NBA courts, player images, and non-basketball images (e.g., animal prints).
Themes are presets of line colors, paint colors, and court textures that transform the look of your court with the push of a button.
From there, one can choose from numerous additional templates and designs, including old-time NBA courts, player images, and non-basketball images (e.g., animal prints).
Thursday, August 9, 2018
Charlotte Hornets' Throwback Floor
Matt Rachmiel directed me to this Uni Watch story on the Charlotte Hornets' announcement of a throwback floor to be used on nights the team wears throwback uniforms. This is not the first instance of a throwback court (see here, here, and here). However, there are a couple of features of the Charlotte one that warrant notice, in my view.
First, I like the "fade" inside each of the three-point arcs, as the teal (bluish-green) transitions into the bluish-purple (see official team color guide). Second, the honeycomb design inside the keys is also interesting.
For some of you, the keys and painted-in areas inside the arcs may have already crossed the line into realm of excessive gaudiness. If not, the orange basketballs in the free-throw circles may do it!
First, I like the "fade" inside each of the three-point arcs, as the teal (bluish-green) transitions into the bluish-purple (see official team color guide). Second, the honeycomb design inside the keys is also interesting.
For some of you, the keys and painted-in areas inside the arcs may have already crossed the line into realm of excessive gaudiness. If not, the orange basketballs in the free-throw circles may do it!
Monday, August 6, 2018
Memphis Grizzlies Go Old School
Announcements of new court designs for the upcoming NBA and college seasons are starting to come quickly. Via the usual sources, the latest team to release a new schematic is the Memphis Grizzlies.
Other than the center logo and the light-blue keys, the rest of the Grizzlies' court is pretty much just natural wood. Even the out-of-bounds area surrounding the court has no color paint (other than some lettering and stripes). Further, the limiting of dark blue to the logo and the near-total phase-out of yellow soften the look even more (compare to the previous court). The new Grizzlies design -- particularly its empty out-of-bounds area -- reminds me of some old-school college courts (here, here, and here).
A subtle difference between Memphis's new court and most existing ones, pointed out by Chris Creamer of Sports Logos, is that, "The floorboards don’t run goal to goal like most courts, instead sideline to sideline."
Other than the center logo and the light-blue keys, the rest of the Grizzlies' court is pretty much just natural wood. Even the out-of-bounds area surrounding the court has no color paint (other than some lettering and stripes). Further, the limiting of dark blue to the logo and the near-total phase-out of yellow soften the look even more (compare to the previous court). The new Grizzlies design -- particularly its empty out-of-bounds area -- reminds me of some old-school college courts (here, here, and here).
A subtle difference between Memphis's new court and most existing ones, pointed out by Chris Creamer of Sports Logos, is that, "The floorboards don’t run goal to goal like most courts, instead sideline to sideline."
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