Top 10 Most Popular College Basketball Jerseys –Holiday ‘09 Gifts for NCAA Fans

Posted by Stiletto Jen 134 views

One of the best gifts you can give a sports fan is a team jersey of his or her’s favorite player. But it’s not enough to just know who has the hottest, most-coveted and best selling jerseys. Sure, that will help narrow the player search down but there are also a few other factors to consider before buying a jersey.

First off, NCAA, or college, jerseys are different from pro sport jerseys. A college jersey does not have the players name on it. Why? Because if they used their name, they would be entitled to a percentage of the sales. And NCAA regulations state that college players are not allowed to be paid or receive kickbacks for playing. So instead, college fans look for jerseys with their favorite player’s number on it! (Which works well because you never know, down the road, someone else on the team may have the same number and you can totally reuse!)

The best sports jerseys, NCAA or other, can run you anywhere from under $50 to over $350. That’s a big spread! Here are the things to consider before picking out an NCAA jersey for a holiday gift:

There are typically three different kinds of jerseys:

Authentic Jerseys: These are the most expensive because they are, well, authentic! Meaning players wear this kind. Heavy weight and flawless quality with all the details sewn into the jersey.
Premier or Swingman Jerseys: These are high-quality, brand name imitation jerseys and are mid-priced usually in the $100’s. These are usually a medium weight/texture (nylon or polyester) and the deails are usually sewn as well.
Replica Jerseys: These jerseys run from $20-70ish and are a great alternative if you can’t afford the authentic or premier jerseys. They are usually light-weight quality with the details screen printed on, not sewn. They won’t last as long over the years as the other kinds but they are still great gifts!

Also there are Fashion Jerseys: These are novelty jerseys, usually for women but not always. Brands like Majestic make awesome jersey-looking tees and tanks that are embellished with sparkles!

You’ll notice in the cool scrolling amazon widget at the top that there are a few of each kind so you can see the difference. Teams are available in each kind of jersey, it’s just up to you on how much you want to spend, and how much your sports fan is coveting that jersey!

There are also different types of jerseys that the players themselves wear:

Home Jerseys: okay so in most sports, including college basketball, when a team plays at home they wear their white or light colored jerseys. However, in college football, they white jerseys are for away. Except LSU.
Away (Road) Jerseys: On the road, teams usually wear a dark or primary colored jersey (in their team colors of course)
Third or Alternate Jerseys: Sometimes teams make up a third kind of jersey to increase jersey sales to make sure they always look fabulous and in style. It’s still based on their team colors but will be a secondary color instead of their primary one used for their away jerseys.
Practice Jerseys: Jerseys that the teams practice in, not play in games with.

One final note, always be careful who you order your jersey from. For the Top NCAA Jersey’s I’m linking directly to Amazon.com because they offer the biggest variety and ease of shopping. But always ensure that your seller is credible!

Here are the Most Coveted, Most Popular, Best Selling, Top NCAA College Basketball Jerseys for the 2009 Holiday Season!

Top 10 College Basketball Jerseys

UNC Tar Heels Last years National Champions and one of the most storied college basketball programs in the country. Specifically you should be looking for Jersey #50 who was Tyler Hansborough, arguably the best player in the country last year. And you can always go for old school #23 Michael Jordan!
Michigan State Spartans: Last year’s Cinderella Team that stole everyone’s hearts and almost stole the National Championship!
Duke Blue Devils: Duke and UNC often battle for the number one spot in the country, and in jersey sales! Their rivalry is one of the fiercest in NCAA history.
Kansas Jayhawks: KU is known for producing some big names in the NBA like Paul Pierce, Mario Chalmers, Danny Manning and… Wilt Chamberlain.
Florida Gators: The Gators were on a hot streak under coach Bill Donovan for a while. Gator Nation’s fans are just a bit rabid fanatical…
Oklahoma Sooners: Blake Griffin (#23) and brother Taylor (#32) took over the team and really transformed it’s program. Blake was rated top in the country last year and went #1 in the NBA draft.

These schools may not produce the best NBA players but they feature the NCAA’s best coaches and always dominate the March Madness Tournament.

Kentucky Wildcats Especially now that John Calipari has taken over the coaching duties in one of the highest paid NCAA coaching contracts. More and more fans are jumping on the Wildcats bandwagon!
UConn Huskies: Head Coach Jim Calhoun
Syracuse Orangemen: Head Coach Jim Boehiem. And also, there is just something about that smiley orange man makes fans flocks to their jerseys!
Louisville Cardinals: Head Coach Rick Pitino

About the author: Jennifer Taglione is the owner of this fabulous website Stiletto Sports. Despite writing well over 500 posts, she still maintains that she is not a sports writer! She is however a huge fan of Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, Mark Sanchez, the Celtics, and totally kicks butt on March Madness brackets! Connect with her by following her on Twitter @StilettoSportsJ and subscribing to her weekly newsletter. For more info check out the About the Editor page!