wow. it's amazing what this post became. i hope you can all realize that it's not just the one scapegoated individual that turns the nike forum into anelementary shoving match. i could also do without the propaganda machinery, but i guess it's cool, it's not that hard to read between the lines andsift out the nuggets of wisdom here and there.
anyway, as someone who actually plays ball - i never felt any sort of energy return from shox. at least not in a good way. the first time i played in BB4s,they killed my shins and calves. maybe, as prof k wrote, the first iterations of shox were tuned more for the needs of pro players than the average baller.however, after breaking them in, they worked okay, almost as if the shox adjusted to my weight over time.
in a full-length implementation such as the VC2 or the shox elite (i think? it was jermaine o'neal's first finishline exclusive shoe), shox give me alot of stability, at the sacrifice of a bit of court feel. i haven't ever had the misfortune of landing on the edge of the shox plate, but i could see howthat could potentially lead to a very bad ankle sprain. however, insofar as my own experience goes, those two models are pretty good for balling. while the VC2is a sentimental favorite, i think the elite is the superior shoe, with a softer shox ride, and with the mesh cutouts providing some much needed ventilationand a slightly lighter shoe.
my favorite shox shoe has got to be the stunners though. yes they're a bit on the heavy side, and yes, they're kinda ugly.. but as a performance shoe,they work well for me, whether indoors or outdoors. i think the combination of a zoom forefoot and shox heel is butter, and the one piece bootie feel as wellas the lace cover (so as not to have my laces flapping around and potentially coming undone during the game) work for me. the strap doesn't, so much, asit's kinda narrow, but i just take it out of the loops and strap it by itself, and they work.
anyway, i'd like to see some more implementations of shox, not just in team shoes where they switch out the cushioning setup from zoom to max to shox, butsomething just for the shox. shoes like the horribly failed tuskegee VC3s have shown that shox isn't really for casual wear, but for people that actuallyhoop. so yeah, give us something to play in, and it will definitely be appreciated. might not sell through at retail in all sizes.. but do any nike basketballshoes anymore these days?