Under Armour reportedly playing role in top-ranked basketball recruits' decision

Aaron and Andrew Harrison, top-five twin guards from Texas, may choose to play at Maryland rather than Kentucky thanks to an Under Armour deal, reports Big Lead Sports' Jason McIntyre. Aaron, a 6' 5" shooting guard, is ranked third in the country, and his brother Andrew, a 6' 5" point guard is fourth. According to McIntyre, "every college basketball coach in the country wants the Harrison twins."

Both play for the Houston Defenders, an AAU team sponsored by Under Armour, and USA Today's Eric Prisbell tweeted the following about the recruiting situation:

https://twitter.com/EricPrisbell/status/253154289604763648

In the same way that Nike, headquartered in Beaverton, Ore., played a strong role in recruiting decisions at Oregon, Under Armour may be looking to do something similar at Maryland:

By all accounts, Duke and Kentucky are in the mix, but Maryland might be the favorite. Maryland, of course, is a school that wears jerseys courtesy of Under Armour. Guess where UA is headquartered? A three-pointer away from the Terps’ College Park campus in Baltimore.

The competition between Under Armour and Nike extends far back to when Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank would send a Christmas card to Nike founder Phil Knight that said, "You will hear about us one day." And during a game between Under Armour school Utah and Oregon (also Knight's alma mater), the two had the following exchange, according to Forbes:

“Sorry about the weather,” Knight said.

“We’ll be ready because we’re Under Armour,” Plank replied.

Knight then started to walk away when Plank asked, “Want to make a bet on the game?”

Plank says Knight turned and smiled and then said, “I think we already have.” (Knight remembers the exchange the same way.)