Anyone play with that ball they discontinued January 1? I didnt notice it at first, but I play with it almost every week now at this place (my church) I play ball with competitively, and we use it all the time. The material is actually quite soft on the hands. The only problem is that it does soak water abit easier than the leather (I mean sweat) and your fingers may slip dribbling, but thats if you totally force the momentum of the ball another direction its going. (Probably more likely in the NBA) but overall its a good ball, and its feels good on the hands, very soft. It doesn't really slip as much as the people in the NBA say it does.
I looked at it in SportChek a couple weeks ago, it just felt cheap to me. And I have the sweatiest hands in the history of man, so it's not my kind of ball.
