King on Campus: The 12 Best College Kicks from the LeBron Line

In a matter of hours, the 2011-2012 basketball season will finally start. No, not the NBA; it’s the NCAA’s Midnight Madness that’s bringing hoops back to the hardwood. And while professional stars won’t be able to give us any ball to watch for some time, one has given us (and select college teams) some great kicks built for the best amateurs in the game.

Nike made news this year when it announced that Miami, Ohio State and Kentucky would all be rocking LeBron-branded gear for the 2011-2012 season, but this is by no means LBJ’s first foray into student-athlete sneakers. In fact, Nike has a long history of dressing King James’ kicks in collegiate attire, as both Player Exclusives and university-inspired designs. So in anticipation of basketball season’s kickoff tonight, we whittled down the extensive list of LeBrons to his 12 best collegiate kicks.

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nike zoom soldier ohio state pes

Ohio State players wearing Nike Zoom Soldier PEs

Starting off our list is the first rendition of the Zoom Soldier line for the Buckeyes. The boys from Columbus rocked two colorways of this secondary signature, and the bold red-toed Brons were the start of a long (and still going) relationship between OSU and the Soldier line.