By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

It’s become an old cliché — the young basketball player that dreams of getting to the NBA, and of course, getting his own shoe deal to go along with it.

No, the players of Reserve Christian may not have been able to sign for the millions that go along with such deals this week. But they did at least get the shoe.

That’s because on Wednesday, representatives from Nike stopped by Reserve for a special project — with the two Nike reps help, the players would get to design their own shoe for the team.

“They contacted us in November,” said Reserve coach Timmy Byrd. “They’re doing this for some select Nike-sponsored programs across the country.

“It’s nice because in their case, you don’t have to be a pro to have your own shoe.”

Reserve Christian is one of three Louisiana teams to be selected for the process, the others being Peabody and Zwolle.

The players split up into two teams — one with Nike’s Brian Deal, the other with Nike’s Ozzie Myers — and each “competed” to come up with a shoe design to best the other’s side using Nike ID’s Website software. That software allowed them to customize everything from the color patterns of the shoe, to its fabric and design, to the logo displayed on the shoe’s tongue (the players settled on an Eagle. Go figure.), to an individual player’s nickname to be displayed prominently.

“This is definitely a first for me. I never thought I’d get a chance to do this, especially as a freshman,” said Reserve’s Ricardo Gathers.

Said senior Chris Roussell: No, I never, ever thought I’d have my own shoe. It’s different. It’s nice to know we’ll be the only team out there wearing this specific shoe.”

Each side got a chance to give their input and go through a number of different options in hopes of their creation being chosen to be the team’s footwear of choice.

“We’ve already won,” Reserve’s Ed Gallina joked after sneaking a peak at the other side’s shoe midway through the process.

In the end, sides — believe it or not — came up with two very similar creations. A compromise was reached, with the different aspects between the two ironed out.

A hybrid of both creations, the red, blue and black shoe will adorn the players’ feet during the postseason.

“Being a fan of Nike, it’s a dream come true to design a show for them,” said junior Cedric Jenkins. “Everyone doesn’t get that chance.”