Adidas Professor

School's Out

The Adidas professor is a cousin of the Adidas Pilrahna.They share similar outsoles but differ in the uppers used.The Professor(NBA) is colorblocked in NBA team colorways.Lightweight and supportive the shoe was built for speed.Lets see if it moves to the head of the class or ends up with the dunce cap.

figure1
note the slightly off-center stance of the shoe

When I picked up the shoe,I immediately noticed how light the shoe was.The padding on the tongue was comfortable and the padding on the collar is lined with mesh to provide moisture management.The shoe emphasizes support with torsion as well as EVA supports throughout the heel and forefoot.Torsion works by allowing the forefoot and heel to move naturally yet provide support.While the technology has evolved over the years,it's latest implementation doesn't sacrifice surface area on the outsole.Adidas was able to cut weight and material in the arch area similar to what Nike did in the Nike Zoom Uptempo 3.0 in the arch area.However Adidas did it right by adding extra material under the arch to make it rigid and cut weight without sacrificing support.While overall support on the shoe is excellent,ankle support is average.The shoe's whole premise of ankle support is based on the shoe's overall stable platform.

figure2
note the cutout of the midsole and outsole along the arch to save weight

Cushioning is decent.Nothing spectacular.Standard CMEVA foam doesn't really provide too much impact protection but allows the shoe to give the wearer excellent court feel.A couple of Adiprene inserts wouldn't have hurt the shoe.Heavier players might want to avoid the shoe if impact protection is high on the list.

figure3
EVA supports throughout the lateral and medial sides of the shoe keep the foot in place during lateral movement

Traction Performed fairly well on hardwood.I found myself wiping the outsoles from time to time.But had alot of problems on the concrete tile.I was constantly having to wipe my feet and even then,I still felt a bit of slippage.The rubber compound is fairly soft however the multi-directional pattern grooves may not be deep enough to keep the dirt from building up on the outsole.The outsole also has flexgrooves that allow the shoe to have excellent heel to toe transition for those who like to play an uptempo game.

figure4
note the flex grooves that offer excellent transition as well as the multi-directional outsole pattern

Overall the shoe was decent.Issues with traction kind of put a damper on the shoe for me.It was built light weight,excellent support and while not the best cushioned shoe,it had alot of the properties that could have made it into a great guard shoe.Unfortunately when you couple a fast shoe with spotty traction,its like souping up a race car and putting plastic tires on it.Cushioning was so-so and it wouldnt kill Adidas to throw in some adiprene inserts in the heel or forefoot.

Comfort and Fit-4/5
Cushioning-2.5/5
Ankle Support-3/5
Traction-2/5
Overall-3/5

I loved how the shoe was extremely stable and running up and down the court was great due to the excellent flexibility of the outsole but its hard to go fast when youre constantly slipping.If youre particular about cushioning or a bit on the heavier side you might want to look elsewhere because the cushioning isnt all that great or responsive but does give the wearer decent court feel.All in all the shoe falls short in some areas but a couple tweaks here and there will bring this shoe up to the head of the class.