elitebball

According to the only first hand report i've heard so far, the coach went ballistic over an inadvertent whistle call that went against him late in the game. Although it was only a 2 point game, by the time he had been tech'd twice and wouldn't calm down, the game was called.

Who did they lose to in pool play? What was the major drama, problem with referees or playing players on more than one team?

I guess we're not that sophisticated down here. When we played at Boo Williams without Lauren Avant (committed to Tennessee) and Samantha Drake (committed to University of KY) we were the Memphis Elite. When we played at AAU states last weekend without Avant and Chassidy Fussell, as well as 2 of our post players, we were, you guessed it, Memphis Elite. And when we play in July on the exposure circuit, no matter who is and isn't there, whether we win or lose, we will be Memphis Elite. It's not about the name, it's about the girls.

It is competive sports and there is a reason for the scoreboard so naturally the goal is to compete and try to win. But some do go too far and lose the overall focus. When the goal moves from the girls to self-promotion then that's when it starts to go downhill....

I'm speechless NSHD. I should retire now. The Wings do a great job in supporting AAU and getting their girls exposure. We have not had a problem doing exposure and aau. We were fortunate enough to win an AAU National Championship last year, something our girls and parents will always remember. We also competed in several exposure events which has paid off with college interest in our girls. We will use the AAU exposure showcase as a warmup for nationals and get our girls added exposure. AAU has made some moves in the right direction by reducing their nationals to 5 days. What gets lost in all of this is how much fun the girls have as well as the parents. When the emphasis becomes win at all costs, the girls are the losers.....

This is a very interesting topic and hopefully I can share some insight on all sides of the issue. Nothing personal needs to be read into this, it is my opinion in response to the questions mentioned and my experiences and observations. While we tend to see this as a Tennessee or Flight issue, these issues are going on across the country. The world of competitive girls basketball has changed a lot in the last 4-5 years, with the numbers in aau declining across the country and the number of exposure tournaments increasing and including ages as low as 13u. Just as people believe that the best way to get a college scholarship is to play spring and summer ball, now they feel these exposure events are more important than aau and they are starting to attend them at much younger ages. The Memphis Elite decision to work with the Flight, and i would feel comfortable saying the same thing about the Trotters and the Pride, was based on our girls having access to the highest level of exposure events. In some cases it is also about not wantng to compete with the Flight for girls. We felt at the time it benefitted all of our girls to have this access. We quickly discovered that our organization and the Flight were oil and vinegar, nothing wrong with either, they just don't mix well together. The Flight's ultimate priority is to field the most competitve "Silver" team they can. This is their meal ticket, how they are judged not only by Nike but the folks who cover travel ball ie. Hoopgurlz, etc. The desire to accumulate the best talent extends well beyond Tennessee, as this year's team has four of its 5 starters from outside of Tennessee including all 3 of its marquee players from CA, DC and NY. You could make a strong case that they should drop the Tennessee from their name. They do want to roll up the best talent in the state, but have no problem going outside the state to find someone better. It is similar to college recruiting where the coaches are looking for better talent thant what they have every year. On the other hand, organizations like Memphis Elite, Pride, and the Trotters are developing their area talent from the earliest ages. They too are constantly adding talent to make their teams better and it is not unusual to see better kids from surrounding states on their rosters. The challenge is to find the right balance between wanting to get better and kicking current kids to the curb. The same formula of putting the best TN kids together for certain events would work if these clubs worked together. The elite talent enjoys playing with one another, and it does draw the college coaches. However it is hard when the girls have played together for many years to take the best player(s) away. The biggest problem i have with the Flight model is what happens to the second and third tier players. They lose their marquee player and don't get as much attention. Teams that could have competed at a high level are now at a lower level. And the reality is they are not nearly as high a priority as the top team, both financially and in helping them get scholarships. Not saying they don't get seen or get offers, just not as high a level as if they were on a stronger team or a higher priority. Even more disturbing is this is now happening to top TN talent as the net is cast wider for players. Ultimately we felt our Memphis Elite teams could compete at the highest level at these events, and we have done so. We do not need the Flight for access to these events because we have built our own reputation. The Pride and Trotters have done the same thing in the past and could do so again. Our mission is simply to help the girls in our program get better and play at the next level if they so desire. As to the issue of high school coaches pushing players to certain club programs and club programs pushing their kids to certain colleges, i will save that for another post. Suffice it to say there is a lot of politics out there, and a lot of agendas that have nothing to do with what is in a girl's best interests or heaven forbid what she would like to do. In the end, these girls and their families have options, and they should choose the one that is right for them. We are blessed with a lot of talent in TN, far too much for any one program

Wishful thinking. She will be there, just giving her a rest.....

One slight correction. Your club is affiliated with only one "renowned and successful Nike club", that being TN Flight. As the article reads, there is only one Nike sponsored program in Tennessee. As long as you remember that you will be fine. Best of luck to you and your coaches and players. We will try to survive down here in Memphis on our "island" on the Mississippi......

Those 2 teams do play on Saturday but that is not part of the Larry Finch Classic which plays next Monday and Tuesday. I don't have a complete schedule but I do know Lausanne plays Overton on Monday at 4 and Millington Tuesday at 6. All games are at Elma Roane Fieldhouse at U of M

I agree on all counts. It's a great accomplishment for 3 TN teams to finish in the Sweet 16 and another one to finish 3rd in the classic. I want to especially thank the TN Lady Dogs for their support during the tournament, as well as members of the KGC Lady Pride and TN Wings.

Memphis Elite 15u won the championship. Coverage of the event is available at hoopgurlz.com

I think he got the PacMan Jones suspension....but i didn't see him "Make it rain"

Double secret probation

You should become a writer for Desperate Housewives

Yes you are obviously new if you think that was home cooking. I watched that same game and the Elite had the game in their hands on several occasions but let it slip away. Hopefully you will get to travel to some other areas of the state in the future and you will truly experience what home cooking is. I saw plenty of calls i didn't agree with as i do everywhere i go. But every game you have referenced the Memphis team lost. Like I said, stay around long enough and you will be able to put what you saw in Memphis in perspective

You can always debate calls and officials, and since we use an assigner we have no control over who we get or what they call. But I can assure you the parents of the Memphis teams don't feel like they had home cooking. Your club had a great weekend and very easily could have won the tournament. Since you didn't lose to our team in both of the games we played Im surprised you would feel so strongly against the officals, but you're certainly entitled to your opinion. Congratulations on your 3rd place finish....

Thanks for the kind words. The 10u division had some great teams and this group of kids should be a lot of fun to watch over the coming years. TN Team Pride won the Championship over the Rhino's. Both Pride and the Rhinos had close games in the semi finals that could have gone either way. Pride and Memphis Elite played down to the wire, as did the Rhinos and the TN Express. In the 3rd place game, the TN Express defeated the Memphis Elite. Thanks to all of the teams and parents who came to Memphis for the event and good luck to all of the teams going to nationals....

Sherelle Davis is a tremendous talent and UT-Pan American has gotten themselves a fine ballplayer. As you said Coach she is a great kid. Congratulations from the Memphis Lady Elite.....

15U: 1st: Memphis Flight 2nd: TN Wings 15U D2: 1st: Dyersburg Storm 2nd: Team Memphis Elite 16U D 2: 1st: Memphis Flight 2nd: Memphis Glory I amended the earlier post. The Collierville Lady Dragons actually got the 2nd bid to states in the 10U divisions. All of the Memphis Elite or Flight teams qualified for states, including a clean sweep of the D1 divisions. Congratulations to the girls and their coaches for an impressive showing.

Brackets will be posted on Monday at teammemphiselite.org

We have a few spots left for the upcoming AAU Super Regional being hosted by Team Memphis on April 11-13. Information and forms are available at teammemphiselite.org

I was at the game and it was unfortunate that an officials call played such a pivotal role in the decision. Webb, after trailing most of the game, had tied the game and on the inbounds pass, the Ensworth player received the pass, turned and plowed over the Webb defender who had moved herself right in behind her. The official called a blocking foul, sending Ensworth to the line for the winning free throws. Some of us wondered if the basis for the call was that the defender didn't give the player with the ball room to turn. However several officials seated next to me said it was clearly a charge, that once the player has control of the ball the defender doesn't have to give them any room, and if the defender is set and the offensive player plows them over then that is a charge. One can question the wisdom of the Webb player taking the chance on that play when the game is tied, and putting the decision in the hands of the official, but it appeared the ref blew the call. Tough loss for Webb but hats off to Ensworth for coming back from a large deficit against Briarcrest and defeating Webb who had beated them handily just a week earlier for the region title

Congratulations to Bartlett and Millington on your substate victories. Best of luck in the Boro, represent Memphis proudly.

Brackets are finally up at tssaa.org. SBEC plays Harding in the 5:30 game and Lausanne plays Bishop Byrne is the noon game. All memphis affair in Div IIA Boys and Girls

Surprising poll to say the least. Briarcrest at this point hasn't played any of the top competition in the city except for White Station in a Hall of Fame Game (loss) and East in the Larry Finch Classic (loss). They played Wilson Central a good game in the Greeneville Holiday Tournament losing at the end with a little bit of East Tn refereeing. Bottom line is they do not have a quality win outside of their league and they are clearly the best team in their league. However, they will have ample opportunity to earn that ranking if they can get by Ensworth and Webb at the state tournament. Millington is clearly most deserving to be #2 based on their season so far, but after that it becomes a logjam between East, Northside, Central, White Station, and perhaps Bartlett. I agree with philtenn in that at this point Northside should be ahead of White Station and East who they have defeated twice I believe, although East beat them recently. These teams will be battling it out over the next couple of weeks, and it will be interesting to see who will be left standing.