Well, that didn't take long
While covering Duke's game against Princeton on Wednesday night, I made a joke in the press room that those retro jerseys would soon be on sale at a store near you. According to the guys at Duke Basketball Report, (link to throwbacks is down on the left side of the page) I was actually - for a change - correct.
First they went with those strange black road uniforms. Is black one of Duke's official school colors? I don't think so, but I'll have to check. Now they've joined the retro craze. They're not quite at the level of English Premier League teams, which change unis every season in order to keep merchandise sales humming, but the marketing folks at Duke are certainly finding innovative ways to squeeze revenue out of a few pieces of cotton fabric.
And I gotta confess. The retro look was pretty cool. Although I did worry before the game that I might have to witness Shelden Williams taking the floor in those 1985 shorty shorts. Thank goodness they didn't completely turn back the clock.