Tell me MORE about AND1 Ballers!

[bizzare]

Call me outdated, call me primitive, call me whatever - I don't care. What I know now is that I'm totally curious plus interested about AND1. I've done research on it and most websites tell me that "it's a company that makes basketball shoes and apparel". Uh yeah, that I know from the number of new cool AND1 bball shoes my friends have. But then, who can explain to me how The Professor, Sik With It and AO [and the rest of course] GOT into the AND1 team and become famous streetballers? Who discovered them? Are the ballers originally NBA players or what?

Do educate me on this. =)

and yeah, I do play basketball

[youngtricker]

ok. And 1 does these things called Open Runs. They go to cities (philly, new york, etc.) They crash the courts, and thats where the new talent is discovered. if the people in the city do good, And1 chooses some ppl to come on with em and play against the AND 1 team. They compete for the And 1 contract.

[§P¥ÐÄ]

ok this is how ALL THAT SHIT STARTED:
And1 was just a Clothing brand in Philly going around the local courts sellin trash talk ts then one day this coach of a New York basketball team sent in a mixtape of Main 1/2 and Shane Playing doing all tricks and powerfull dunks they had game with flare (whihc they had been doing a while). and 6 monthes later it became and1 mixtape vol.1
a month after that in linden,nj and1 played their first streetball exhibition game featuring Main half and shane. now 7 years later theres 8 volumes of the mixtape a huge global clothing empire and over 60 nba players wear and1 shoes.

"AND 1" You get fouled, you score anyway. AND 1! Two points for the basket AND 1additional free throw.

AND 1 made its mark with the trash talk tees and hook ups that included
"Back in the day" 1996: a milestone year in AND 1's history. AND 1 defies odds by designing and introducing its first shoe- the Stephon Marbury.

Since '96 AND 1 has created innovative footwear for the ball player- both on and off the court. In 1999 AND 1 introduced its off-court shoe, the ToChillin that sold out of stores across the country. In 2000 AND 1 introduced the first technology created specifically for the ball player- the Mad Game Mid. What's next?

When Marbury was drafted in (Minnesota Timberwolves, 1996) AND 1 signed the rookie to a multi-year deal. When Latrell Sprewell, four-time NBA All-Star returned to the league after his suspension AND 1 signed him and launched one of the most acclaimed advertising campaigns-the American Dream.

Since that watermark moment, AND 1 has aggressively sought out over 70 NBA athletes that represent the brand with attitude and currently outfits over 20% of the League. With this large a presence on the highest performing athletes in the world and the attitude of streetball to back it up, AND 1 represents the ballplayer better than any other brand out there. You see it in our products, you hear it in our voice, I BALL.

AND 1 products are available at top line specialty retailers, including Champs, FootAction, Foot Locker and Finish Line and selected independent retailers across the country.

AND 1 also has international distribution in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Caribbean Islands, China, Columbia, Costa Rica, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Luxemburg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, North Ireland, Norway, Panama, Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, Venezuela and Wales.

Since 98% of all high school athletes will not receive an athletic scholarship, let alone get to the NBA they have another option 2 earn money and ball the AND1 Mixtape Tour

[bizzare]

Thanks, you guys for replying =)

I read and reread the articles, so many times, Spyda, but i juz couldn't get it in. They didn't exactly tell how the streetballers got involved in making the company famous.

=)