Mike Ross glanced back at the 20 or so people behind him in line Wednesday one last time before it was his turn at the cash register.

It was purely coincidence that he wound up at the Foot Locker inside Oak Court Mall, waiting to purchase a pair of Ja Morant’s signature shoes on the day they were finally available to the public.

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Ross had come to Memphis from Hawaii as a converted Grizzlies fan who wanted to be at FedExForum for Games 1 and 2 of their NBA playoff series with the Los Angeles Lakers. But then Nike announced last Friday that the Day One version of the Ja 1s would come out while Ross was in town. It seemed like fate, like a sign he had to do the sort of thing he’d never done before.

He was going to drive around an unfamiliar city looking for a shoe store that had them in stock.

“It’s because of Ja. He’s amazing,” Ross said. “I don’t even like pink, but I’m going to grab these.”

The long-awaited release of Morant’s first signature shoe was equal parts stunning and subdued throughout the city, a reflection both of Morant’s star power and the problems he has encountered off the court that led to a more restrained launch by Nike.

Select stores throughout Memphis were part of Nike’s initial retail release. The Ja 1s, which cost $110, will be available in many more retail stores starting May 4. They were also made available Wednesday on the Nike app and website. By 11:30 a.m., the Nike app was already out of stock on all sizes.

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It left those in the know locally scrambling, calling from place to place to figure out what store had them and what store didn’t.

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That’s why, as Mona Owens approached the cash register at Hibbett Sports on Summer Avenue at around 10:35 a.m., she feared the worst answer to her question.

“Do you have any Ja’s left?” she asked.

At which point, employee Kierra Williams explained how there were people lined up out the door even before she arrived at work two hours earlier. They had 60 pairs of Morant’s shoes when the doors to the store opened. They had four pairs left 35 minutes later, all in kid’s sizes.

“Give me the 4.5,” Owens said with an urgency that suggested this was not the beginning of her quest.

“My boss and my godson got me running from store to store. It’s chaos,” she then explained to a Commercial Appeal reporter watching this unfold. “I want one now because I see the colors.”

At the Hibbett Sports on Austin Peay Highway in Raleigh, word had gotten out to customers that it had a supply of Morant’s shoes.

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While employees were trying to assist those who came in the store looking for Ja 1s, others were calling, trying to be one of the first ones to get a pair. The men’s sizes were sold out within 45 minutes of the store’s opening.

“Our phone has not stopped ringing … Everybody has been looking for them,” sales associate Michelle Patterson said. “We only get traffic like that when it’s Jordan’s, so needless to say, Morant is doing his thing.”

At the Foot Locker, customers were told they could only buy one pair that day.

It prompted one man, who asked not to be named, to buy one pair of shoes, go to his car, change his clothes, and attempt to buy another pair. He had two young children at home and both wanted Morant’s shoes.

Many had been anticipating this for weeks, partly because Nike pushed back the release date.

“He was getting in so much trouble, I thought these would never come out,” said Jackson Estes as he waited in line.

A few people behind him stood Trey Draper, the former Memphis basketball player and a member of Morant’s inner circle. He had already gotten a pair of Morant’s shoes for himself weeks ago. But it was his father’s birthday, and he wanted to deliver something special to his doorstep.

So Draper called around, found out what stores still had them in stock and marveled at everyone else inside Oak Court Mall who had done the same.

“This is hilarious,” he said. “It’s a dream come true.”

Source: https://t-tees.com
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