Money, it's GOT to be the Shoes!

The influence of the big sneaker companies on high school, college and pro basketball cannot be denied. But every once in a while, that's a good thing.

Case in point: last week Ron Hunter, coach of the IUPUI Jaguars, coached a game with bare feet. Lost luggage? Nope. Hunter was barefootin' as a way to raise awareness of Samaritan's Feet, a charity that seeks to provide sneakers to impoverished children.

As luck would have it, the stunt attracted the attention of ESPN's Mike and Mike radio show. Hunter was interviewed by Greenie and Golic on Thursday morning's show, and during the chat a Converse spokesman called in with a pledge of 15,000 pairs of shoes.

Nice work, coach.

For anyone feeling a sudden wave of nostalgia for the Michael Jordan/Spike Lee Nike commercials that inspired my headline, yo, Mars Blackman is here.