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“One on One” with NIKE Elite Youth Basketball Field Rep D’Andre Archie

By: Jeff Meadows

Folks, today HOOPS REPORT is bringing to you an EXCLUSIVE “One on One” with NIKE REPRESENTATIVE D’Andre Archie. D’Andre’s going to give YOU an insight on NIKE’S roll in grassroots basketball, what’s to come from NIKE GRASSROOTS BASKETBALL as well as his thoughts on the current STATE OF GRASSROOTS BASKETBALL and PLAYER DEVELOPMENT. So sit back, grab yourself some popcorn, a nice cool beverage and enjoy HOOPS REPORT’S EXCLUSIVE “One on One” segement with NIKE REPRESENTATIVE D’Andre Archie.

JM: How long have you been a representative for NIKE?

DA: I was an AAU coach of a NIKE sponsored team for 9 years (California Team Select & West Coast All-Stars) and the most notable players that I’ve coached are Austin Daye of the Detroit Pistons & DeMar DeRozen of the Toranto Raptors, after that, I've been the NIKE ELITE YOUTH BASKETBALL FIELD REPRESENTATIVE for 5 years, so I’ve been in the NIKE family for some time now and I’m very pleased with my position at NIKE and it’s an honor to work for not only the greatest entity in grassroots basketball but the greatest entity in sports.

JM: D’Andre can you tell us a little bit about the NIKE ELITE 100?

DA: The NIKE ELITE 100 is a three day, “INVITE ONLY” camp for the top 100 freshmen and sophomore prospects in the country, which will be held at St. Louis University in St. Louis Missouri. This is the first year of the camp as the “NIKE ELITE 100”, the previous 13 years it was called the “NIKE HOOP JAMBORI” which was also held St. Louis University. This year, not only did we change the name of the camp but we’ve done a little revamping to the camp itself. Players will definitely play games but that’s not where our main focus will be. This year there will be large emphasis on PLAYER/SKILL DEVELOPMENT with our new and intense SKILL DEVELOPMENT SESSIONS that will be conducted each day of the camp. There will also be a large emphasis on personal development with our EDUCATE and MEDIA RELATIONS SEMINARS which we feel will benefit the players in all areas of their personal lives.

JM: What’s your current take on Grassroots Basketball?

DA: Overall, I think that things are very good and they are headed in an even better direction. I can remember years back when I was an AAU coach it was like the Wild, Wild West meaning; that things were getting out of control in all aspects and I wasn’t too sure about the future of AAU basketball but here at NIKE, we’ve made it our mission to do our part in help changing the game in a very positive way and the only way to do it is to start at the grassroots level which is why we came up with the idea of SKILLS ACADEMIES.

JM: Can you elaborate a little on the NIKE SKILLS ACADEMIES?

DA: With middle school and high school players across the country playing a very large amounts of games throughout the spring and summer, which leaves them little or no time at all to work on what is more than likely the most important part of the game itself, FUNDAMENTALS so here at Nike we came up with idea of the NIKE SKILLS ACADEMIES which were introduced with the notion in mind to better develop young players basic skills and knowledge of the game. The NIKE SKILLS ACADEMIES are headlined by some of the NBA’s top players like: Deron Williams (For PG’s), Kevin Durant (For F’s), Amare Stoudemire (For post players) and LeBrone James (For all prospects) to teach and mentor the high school players that are invited to participate in each of the SKILLS ACADEMIES.   

JM: D’Andre, there’s nationwide talk about the NIKE EYBL, can you give us a little insight on what is said to be the HIGHEST COMPETITIVE GRASSROOTS BASKETBALL LEAGUE IN THE COUNTRY?

DA: The NIKE EYBL is without a doubt the BEST and MOST COMPETITIVE GRASSROOTS BASKETBALL LEAGUE IN THE COUNTRY. The NIKE EYBL is a league that consists of all of the FULLY SPONSORED NIKE TEAMS IN THE COUNTRY. All teams participate in a three part league; its first session is in the month of April in Virginia, second session in early May in Dallas, TX and its third session at the end of May in Los Angeles, CA. We cap things off in early July with an “End of the League Tournament” held in Augusta, SC called the NIKE PEACH JAM which invites the top 24, 17U teams and the top 16U EYBL NIKE TEAMS IN THE COUNTRY for a NIKE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. For more info on the Nike EYBL log on to http://inside.nikebasketball.com/news/eliteyouth/

JM: What would you say to those young prospects that would like to attend the NIKE ELITE 100 or any of the NIKE SKILLS ACADEMIES?

DA: My advice to all prospects would be to try and participate in MAXIMUM EXPOSURE TOURNAMENTS AND CAMPS because I will definitely be out at several tournaments country wide each spring to invite prospects that fit the criteria. Also players need to keep in mind that we ONLY invite 100 players from across the entire country so the process is EXTREEMLY DIFFICULT and if for whatever reason you don’t receive an invite, continue playing at your best level because at the end of the day, your main goal as a player should be to earn a college scholarship, to be invited to such a prestigious event is just icing on the cake.

JM: Does NIKE have any new events on the horizon?

DA: We have something new that we’re introducing as soon as next year called the NIKE PREDRAFT CLINICS.  The clinics will be geared toward middle school aged players which we feel will give the players a very good experience without all of the attention geared toward playin games.  Carter DeBouise started the program and we did trial runs in Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York and things went very well. The pilot program for this particular event will be released very soon and we expect for it to be a HUGE SUCCESS so stay tuned. For more info on any Nike events http://inside.nikebasketball.com/news/eliteyouth/

EVALUATION

My EVALUATION of D’Andre Archie is a very good one. I was extremely impressed with Mr. Archie’s knowledge of the game, his knowledge and history of AAU/GRASSROOTS BASKETBALL, the PRESENT and FUTURE of AAU/GRASSROOTS BASKETBALL. I was also very impressed with Mr. Archie’s LOVE for the GAME and his BURNING DESIRE to CONSTANTLY improve GRASSROOTS BASKETBALL along with his need to do things the RIGHT WAY. Mr. Archie is also VERY ARTICULATE and a NATURAL BORN LEADER which explains why he has done such a good job at his current position. In my opinion, not only does NIKE have the right man for the job, I expect for Mr. Archie to continue to do great things in the NIKE ORGANIZATION, helping the game of basketball not just on the GRASSROOTS LEVEL but ALL LEVELS.     

Folks at this time we would like to say thank you to D’Andre Archie for taking the time out of his busy schedule to give us a very solid and informational EXCLUSIVE “One on One” segment which I’m sure we all appreciated and enjoyed. Hoops Report will be attending the NIKE ELITE 100, “INVITE ONLY CAMP” so that we can give you our SECOND TO NONE PLATINUM EVENT COVERAGE. Immediately FOLLOWING the NIKE ELITE 100, HOOPS REPORT will be posting our CLASS OF 2013 & 2014 NATIONAL TOP 100 RANKINGS so you definitely want to stay logged on for more information. If any of you are interested in finding out more about NIKE’S GRASSROOTS EVENTS, log on to http://inside.nikebasketball.com/news/eliteyouth/ where you can view information on all NIKE GRASSROOTS EVENTS. Stay logged on to HOOPS REPORT for future “One on One” segments and the latest news in High School, College and NBA Basketball.