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For these high schoolers, passion for college hoops lasts long past March

The Showtime Elite travel team aims to prepare athletes for college competition.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The month of March is now over, but the shine of college basketball dreams hasn’t dimmed for these kids.

"March Madness has been madness," said high school senior Elijah Carroll. "Literally."

Showtime Elite, a Silver Spring high school travel basketball team, draws athletes from across DC, Maryland, and Virginia.

"They're trying to achieve their goal and make it to college and play basketball as well," said Coach Lorenzo Blyther.

It's a goal Carroll says they chase as a team.

"I know what our goal is so I get excited, you know?" said Carroll. "Even walking into here just seeing all the young cats, we're all together."

It's coach Blyther's job to fuel those lofty goals while keeping things in perspective.

"I love it," he said. "It makes me happy because they're doing something they love to do and I'm doing what I love to do and it's all based around basketball and I just want them to have fun."

Lakeisha Wilson's son, Justin is one of Blyther's athletes. She's watched up close as he and his teammates have grown as players and young men.

"I'm 'Mama Wilson' to a lot of them so it's great to see them gel and bond as a team and just continue to grow," she said.

The goal is unambiguous: earn a spot on a college team's roster. 

But sometimes, the biggest payoff is in the journey.

"Everybody that's around me, my trainers, my coaches, they build me to be a better man," said Carroll.

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