The true object for the offense is to score as easy as possible. If a team can come down the court and make one pass to score, it would be bad basketball to make it more complicated than that. Unfortunately that never really happens. The offense has to execute a series of actions to misdirect the defense. When the all 5 offensive players work together properly, scoring can be a thing of beauty. Lights, camera, ACTION!

It's that time of year again... March is here. It happens every year, and there does not seem to be a cure for it, this condition is called March Madness. For all of those basketball junkies out there, who just can't get enough of high school and college hoops, this is the best time of year.

Where did March Madness originate and why? March Madness began in Illinois in 1908, as what just started as an annual invitational tournament. By the 1930's it grew to be a statewide event with more than 900 teams competing. The remaining 16 teams in the tournament known as the "sweet sixteen" would draw sell out crowds. This was before the time that college and pro games were on television. 

The term "March Madness" was given to this tournament by an assistant secretary (Henry V. Porter) for the Illinois High School Association after seeing this event. He was so impressed by it that he wrote an essay to commemorate the tournament. The press loved this term and they continued to use it. The tournament was officially called March Madness by the 1940's and 1950's.

Today March Madness is an annual event for both high school and college basketball. March Madness now includes the Elite Eight and Final Four. This year's Final Four for Georgia High School includes 3 Elite Hoops Trained Teams (St. Francis Boys and Girls, and Greater Atlanta Christian Boys) Sit back, grab your favorite snack, and enjoy the talented young men and women who love to play this game... March Madness is HERE!!!

Henry Porter's Poem: Basketball Ides of March

The gym lights gleam like a beacon beam
And a million motors hum
In a good will flight on a Friday night;
For basketball beckons, "Come!"

A sharp-shooting mite is king tonight.
The Madness of March is running.
The winged feet fly, the ball sails high
And field goal hunters are gunning.

The colors clash as silk suits flash
And race on a shimmering floor.
Repressions die, and partisans vie
In a goal acclaiming roar.

On a Championship Trail toward a holy grail,
All fans are birds of a feather.
It's fiesta night and cares lie light
When the air is full of leather.

Since time began, the instincts of man
Prove cave and current men kin.
On tournament night the sage and the wight
Are relatives under the skin.

It's festival time, sans reason or rhyme with nation-wide appeal.
In a cyclone of hate, our ship of state Rides high on an even keel.
With war nerves tense, the final defense
Is the courage, strength and will

In a million lives where freedom thrives
And liberty lingers still.
Now eagles fly and heroes die
Beneath some foreign arch
Let their sons tread where hate is dead
In a happy Madness of March.

Michelle Manfredi
Elite Hoops Basketball
#ReleaseYourPotential

Do you know what all basketball teams have in common? All basketball teams have is that ONE player the team trusts to be the best player. I'm not saying a team only has one player like this, or the one player is the whole team. My simple definition of this factor is the one player you trust with the ball, ultimately helping the team become better. Best of all...helping OTHERS to become ONE.

Today's playset is called "1-4 FLAT ATTACK". Ball starts at the top of the key with the one player you trust with the ball. For example I will use P1. The other players will be lined up across the baseline creating a 1-4 flat look. P1 begins to attack the defense as P5 comes to set a screen for P1. After the screen, if P1 has a open lane to the basket then attack. If not, P1 comes off the sceen and P5 rolls to the basket. As P5 rolls, P4 will rotates up to the high post looking for the shot. If P4 does not have the shot, P4 passes to either side for another pick and roll.

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Special opportunities during a special time in a basketball game can end in a special way with a special play. Too much? Let me break down what I mean by the word "special" in basketball terms. Special simple means  taking advantage of that rare chance to surprise the opposing team with something different or "special". As I discussed in a previous blog, baseline and sideline out of bounds plays need to be used effectively and not lightly. Lets find out what happens when we give the other team a SPECIAL gift!

Today's playset is properly named "Sideline Special". The play starts when the team has the ball on the sideline. Make sure a good passer and decision maker is in-bounding the ball, and your most athletic player is on the receiving end. P2 takes the ball out and the rest of the players are in a box set. P1 and P4 are on the elbows, and P3 and P5 are on the block. P4 sets a cross screen for P1 to come off, then P3 sets a cross screen for P5 to come across. Immediately after P3 sets the first screen, P3 will quickly set a back screen for P4. P4 rolls off the back screen toward basket for an ally oop pass by P2. If the defense covers P4 properly, P2 will inbound the ball to P1 to avoid a 5 second call. After inbound pass, P2 will go set a screen for P3. P3 fakes to come off P2's screen then simultaneously P4 comes back up to set a back screen for P3. Now P1 can pass a second ally oop.

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What do most basketball fans think about when the name Christian Laettner and Duke is mentioned? I doubt the answer would be the 1992 Olympic Dream Team, but instead his memorable last second buzzer beater against Kentucky would ring some bells. Sometimes to win a game you need extra time or maybe just enough time. Laettner needed just 2 seconds to make history!

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Some people are born with an insane amount of talent and somehow don't succeed. Others are born with little talent, but somehow find a way to become crazy successful. So what separates the two? No one knows for sure, but continue reading to discover at least one key attribute to being successful.


The Celtics play at home tonight against the Knicks.  Game time is 8:00 p.m. That means Ray Allen will enter the building around 4:30 p.m. so that he can start shooting by 5:00 p.m. Check out Ray 3 hours before a playoff game two years ago. Before EVERY game he shoots at least five shots from 25 spots (corner, wing, top, wing, corner and varying distances) and shoots at least 25 free throws. That's a minimum of 150 shots before EVERY game. That consistency and pre-game routine has allowed Allen to make over 2700 3s in his career and still be considered one of the Top 5 shooters in the league at the age of 37.

Two of his paintings have sold for over $100M each and more of his paintings have been stolen than any other painter. As impressive as that is, what's just as impressive is that seven days a week, Pablo Picasso woke up at 10 a.m., ate breakfast, and then painted until 10 p.m. He would take a break for dinner and then paint again until 2 a.m. He would go to sleep and do it all over again, a la GroundHog Day with Bill Murray. That consistent work ethic and scheduled routine allowed him to produce over 50,000 pieces of art in his lifetime.

At the age of ten, he requested a visit to the New York Stock Exchange. At the age of 11, he bought his first stocks. He filled out his first tax return at the age of 14 and by the time he was a sophomore in high school he had a successful pinball business. With a net worth of $46B, Warren Buffett is currently the 2nd richest person in in the US. He lives in the same house he bought over 50 years ago, reads the same business magazines he did 20 years ago and eats a prime rib with a coke float from Piccolo's once a week. Whether it's his business decisions or his weekly schedule, Buffett is consistent with his routine.


Coaches always tell players to have the same routine before their free throws. Most players routinely high five their teammates after their first free throw (make or miss). Check out how serious James Harden takes this advice in a recent game against the Miami Heat in which no one was on the free throw line.

Successful people in all different fields have a routine. The key is finding a routine that works for you and is something you can do consistently to perfect your craft.

"Sometimes it ain't about being the most talented. Sometimes it ain't about being the smartest. Sometimes it's not even about working the hardest. Sometimes it's just about consistency....Day after day, play after play, minute after minute." Eric Thomas, Hip Hop Preacher

Lee Miller
National Director
Elite Hoops/NIKE Basketball Camps
"Release Your Potential"