Basketball Louisiana Style

LSU practice at the Pete Maravich Assembly CenterA Happy New Year to all! I'm enjoying the heck out of my visit to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Great hospitaility, good food, golf and a smorgasbord of basketball made for an outstanding way to end 2008. While here I had a chance to evaluate several kids and added them to our recruiting database under the "Texas State Player Rankings" even though they are Louisiana kids. They were 2010 W 6'5" Brian Williams of Glen Oaks, 2011 P 6'6" Trevante Drye also of Glen Oaks and finally 2010 G 6'4" Ronald McGee of Istrouma HS.

The main purpose of my visit was to view the East Baton Rouge Parish Tournament. I was struck by the overal athleticism of the players, especially at the Wing position. I'll recap the tournament in another post. I also visited LSU and watched the Tigers go through an afternoon practice at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. I appreciate old acquaintance, Coach Trent Johnson who recruited two of our Texas Ambassadors players in the past when he was at Stanford welcoming me to their workout. Glen Oaks Assistant Jeff Jones accompanied me to LSU

Kerrville Tivy 61 Elgin 50

2009 G 6'1' Derryl Nash of Elgin. He had one of the nastiest dunks I've seen this year in a high school game v. Kerrville Tivy.

Kerrville's 201 G 6'4" Jonathan Perry. Possibly the San Antonio area's most versatile player at the 1, 2, or 3. I'm here in the Hill Country at Kerrville High School for the matchup between the home team, Coach Brian Young's Antlers and the Elgin Wildcats. Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah to everyone. Special prayers go out to Elgin Coach Dave Schmitt and his family. He is not in attendance today, instead he's in Pittsburgh at his mother's side. God Bless.

The two key players today to watch are Elgin Senior 2009 G 6'1" Derryl Nash who has emerged as a big time scorer for the Wildcats and 2010 6'4" Jonathan Perry an All Region performer for the Antlers as a sophomore last season. Perry missed the early part of th season with a bum knee. After having medial meniscus surgery he's back and looking as good as new averaging around 23 ppg since his return from his injury.

1st Quarter Kerrville Tivy 15 Elgin 14

Out of the gate, each team misses a shot, both have a turnover & then Perry takes a charge for Tivy. Tivy's 2010 6'7" Taylor Finley goes 2-2 from the line to open the scoring. Finley is long and is developing a bit of a nasty streak which could serve him well as he goes along down in the post. Perry and Nash trade buckets. Score is tied 4-4. Perry turns in the lane, draws the foul and the bucket falls as he's being knocked to the floor. Free throw..GOOD. Steal by Elgin's Derrick Falke, bucket. 7-6 Tivy with 4:00 to go in the 1st.

Steal by Nash out of the Kerrville TO. Fouled on the breakaway, he hits 1-2 free throws. Elgin has decided to deny Perry the ball and then double him if he does get it. Nice pull up 10 footer by Finlay. Elgin answers with an offensive putback by Leif Moore. Perry goes back to the line and knocks them both down. Another steal and bucket by Nash, The kid is quick. On the other end, Perry is back on the line. Pop! Pop! You can make a living from there folks. He's 5-5 so far.

Halftime Kerrville Tivy 32 Elgin 23

Perry runs the baseline, and gets open for a three from the corner. Elgin answers back with a weakside layup. TO Elgin with 6:15 left and Tivy leading 20-16. Tivy is making a living at the free throw line, going 11-11 and already in the double bonus. Bucket Elgin, by Leif Moore with the soft touch off the glass. Nice dish by nash to Moore and we're knotted up at 20. Intentional foul against Kerrville, but Elgin's Korey Jones lost his head retaliated and has been ejected from the game. Emotions are running high. Elgin missed their techs, but Perry is money on the other end for Tivy hitting both. Offensive rebound by Nash, he'll shoot two. Miss, Make. Finlay goes to the line for Tivy after missing a tough turnaround. Make, Make. Tivy by 3. The teams trade additional trips to the line. Its a free throw shoot a thon. Perry for three.

Leading Scorers at the Half

Tivy Jonathan Perry 17 Taylor Finlay 8

Elgin Leif Moore 9 Derryl Nash 6

3rd Quarter Kerrville Tivy 43 Elgin 35

Perry on the line, goes 1-2. Offensive rebound putback by Senior Leif Moore. He's almost solely keeping Elgin in the game with his work on the boards. Longgg 3 by Nash. That was Elgin's first perimeter make of the game. Neither team is shooting well. Tivy 34-28. Nash with another nice step back three. Perry with a nice lefthanded take to the rack. He'll shoot two. Make, Make. Perry is a tough matchup when he plays the one. He's long enough and a solid enough ballhandler that once he gets his shoulder a smaller defender, he's at the rack. Tivy 37-31 with 3:04 left in the 3rd. Finlay is back on the line. He has nice footwork in the post, he just has to get stronger and keep from being pushed out of the block so easily. He hits them both. Nice driving layup by Kerrville's Bobby Schreiner. Nash drives the lane and throws down a monster DUNK as the quarter ends.

4th Quarter Kerrville Tivy

Perry drives hard to the bucket, uses his body and draws the foul. Makes 1-2. Wow! Nash just posterized Finlay in one of the nicest high school dunks I've seen this year. Tivy 44-37. Nice make off the glass from 8 feet by Elgin. Finlay has maintained his composure after the dunk job, and is still competing with a 3 at the other end. He actually seems fired up by it and is now on the line after an aggressive move down low. He hits them both. Perry drives hard from the baseline, hits a nice spinning layup and the an one FT. Tivy leads 55-40 with 4:00 left. This one's a wrap. Kerrville made it's living at the free throw line, and Elgin couldn't buy a shot from the perimeter.

Finlay has drawn his 4th foul for Kerrville. Maybe this is the sliver Elgin can use to get back in it as he's been handling the smaller Elgin players on the boards. Tivy will run clock now, and heaven forbid Elgin will have to FOUL....This is a foulfest.

FINAL SCORE Kerrville Tivy 61 Elgin 50

Leading Scorers

Elgin Derryl Nash 18 Leif Moore 12

Kerrville Tivy Jonathan Perry 27 Taylor Finlay 16

Merry Christmas

Top: Coach Max holding the Texas Valero Open Trophy (which I did not win) BUT I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night..lol Actually this was courtesy of my friend Charlie Drago of Monarch Trophy who was good enough to let me hold it. Middle: San Antonio Lee 2010 6'0" PG Paul Garnica who dropped 53 on San Antonio Reagan this past Monday in a thrilling 90-89 win. This was the 3rd time in the month of December that the silky smooth junior sharpshooter has gone over 40 points in a game. He had 42 v. San Antonio Jay, and 49 v Hays Lehman before his 53 point outburst.

Below: Chip Ivany, currently redshirting at UT-San Antonio, shown here playing for South Alabama exiting the Birmingham Civic Center after experiencing the NCAA Tournament last spring in a loss to Butler.

Merry Christmas to all from Texas Basketball Inc. I can only hope your few days were as blessed as mine. I spent Tuesday in Pflugerville playing golf in Assistant Coach David Raigosa's Christmas Classic held at Riverplace Country Club in Austin. After narrowly losing it last year I hacked my way around in the freezing cold and scored a John Daly-like 13 on one hole. YIKES

Christmas day was spent with my son, Chip capped off with an evening at the gym watching his practice at the University of Texas-San Antonio. Surveying practice with me was San Antonio Lee and Texas D-1 Ambassadors G Paul Garnica. I've been blessed to have had some of the State of Texas' best guard play in our program over the years including Bryan Beasley (Rice), Garland Judkins (Arizona), Jason Ebie (TCU), Colorado offeree Brandon Thompson, as well as UT-San Antonio commit Kendric Robinson. Garnica is in the same class plus of these guys.

I'll be on the road this Sunday and headed to Baton Rouge to report to you on Louisiana Hoops.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night...Coach Max

Texas Basketball Inc's Pre Christmas Warm Up Tourny

Lake Travis wins on buzzer beater!

Great early season competition. Props to the young Lake Travis team for hanging in there and competing hard while learning the game from Coach Lance Carter. The three 6th grade groups were evenly matched. The championship game saw Lake Travis come from 12 points down with only a few minutes to play to win at the buzzer v. Westlake Hoops in the championship and avenge their pool play defeat.From Top To Bottom:

Coach JD Florence coaches 'em up in the Warriors Huddle

2015 Harrison Hackney

2015 Hudson Hall

2015 Jake Budde

2015 Jamie Hudson

2016 Jack Wakefield

It's time to take a break from high school ball (for a few hours) and give some pub to the young bucks coming up. We're hosting a small 5/6th grade boys tourny at Akins HS today and wanted to take a minute to give props to the little ballers. Before I go on though, let's make sure that we keep this in perspective and not get big heads. There's a lot of work ahead, be humble, take care of your grades and respect your parents and the beautiful game of basketball. :-)

There was some great early season action with spirited competition amongst the Austin area young guns. Hats off to the parents for being involved with their kids and to the coaches who volunteer their time. You can see the hard work and commitment that goes into helping make these kids better. The Warriors exhibit as good a spacing and ball movement as a number of the high schools in the area. That does not happen by accident.

Lake Travis Select is a program that does a great job of instilling the fundamentals in the youngsters. Program Director Lance Carter played his D-1 ball at Mercer University in Georgia and also doubles as a coach of one of the Texas D-1 Ambassadors high school groups during the summer. It's a joy to watch his littlest new crew do the simple things such as passing and cutting away from the ball. If parents of young players have patience, Lance will instill/reinforce a lifelong love of the game in their kids.

Players to watch:

Class of 2016 (5th Grade)

Jack Wakefield (Lake Travis Select)

Coordinated, quick and not afraid to get in there and mix it up against the bigger 6th grade kids.

Class of 2015 (6th Grade)

Harrison Hackney (Westlake Hoops)

-Excellent court vision, advanced skill set of guard and post up skills. Scored very high at the http://www.texasrecruit.com/ combine.

Hudson Hall (Westlake Hoops)

-Solidly built youngster that competes hard play in and play out.

Jamie Hudson (Warriors)

-Nice handles and a sweet, soft shot.

Jake Budde (Lake Travis Select)

-Skilled and long for his age. At 5'7" looks like he's going to grow into a very nice player.

Pflugerville 57 v St. Michael's 42

Top To Bottom:
2011 G Jake Kocher of Austin St. Michael's dropped 19 points in the 1st half v. Pflugerville.
2009 PG Jonathan Garza of Pflugerville (Lamar University signee) led the Panthers in the 2nd half to their victory over St. Michaels.

1st Quarter St. Michael's 14 Pflugerville 10

Should be a good matchup tonight, as both teams can really shoot from the perimeter. St. Michael's will be without co-floor leader David Rodriguez who is sitting this one out. The key to the game for St. Michael's 2009 Chase Kocher who will have his work cut out for him facing Pflugerville's expected pressure.

For the 2nd game in their own tournament Pflugerville has come out of the gate slower than Coach Murphy would like. St. Michael's has jumped out to a 10-3 lead, keyed by a deep three, and a driving layup from 2011 Jake Kocher. Let me tell you folks, if you don't blanket this Kocher kid he is going to hurt you (and even if you do he still will light ou up.). 2011 Deon Mitchell hits a three for the Panthers. He follows up with a steal and a deuce. So far, the two sophs are the best kid players on the floor. Jake Kocher has 8 for St. Mike's and Deon Mitchell has 8 for the Panthers.

2nd Quarter St. Michael's 25 Pflugerville 25

In an odd move, at the beginning of the 2nd quarter, suddenly Rodriguez is eligible to play in the game. UIL rules do not apply to the private institutions...game on! Mitchell from way downtown...BANG! Another P'ville three by 2011 Sammy Flowers. Jake Kocher wastes no time in answering back with one of his own. TO, and it's a 17-16 St. Michael's lead. Kocher with ANOTHER driving layup in traffic. Kocher with a beautiful catch and shoot triple. 22-16 Crusaders. Jarrell Turner from beyond the arc for The Ville. Kocher drops another one from another zip code. Will somebody D this kid up? Brian Todd with the offensive board and the put back for P'ville. Turner with a bomb and the half ends 25-25.

Leading Scorers @ Halftime

Pflugerville: Deon Mitchell 11 Sammy Flowers 6 Jarrell Turner 6

St. Michael's : Jake Kocher 19

3rd Quarter Pflugerville 43 St. Michael's 33

33-29 Pflugerville as Garza hits the 3, and Brian Todd powers up a layup in traffic. Garza with the 3 on a nice kick out from Todd. 38-29 Panthers. TO St. Michael's. They have to be careful here, or they could get run out of the gym real quick. Timely TO by Coach Mackey Smith. Mitchell sticks the knife in with a triple after the TO. 41-29. Austin Burch finally gets off for St. Mike's. They need his perimeter game to keep the Panthers from keying on Kocher. Big offensive board and putback by Smith. That period was all Pflugerville.

4th Quarter Pflugerville 57 St. Michael's 42

St. Michael's has gone cold with near misses and a few poor finishes around the goal. Mitchell with the transition layup, and a defender hanging all over him..and 1...GOOD! 49-33. This one's a wrap. Texas A&M baseball signee 2009 P 6'6" Kyle Martin gets a layup for the Crusaders. St. Michael's is forced to trap and scramble, and that's just not their game. Steal, bucket Flowers. Da Ville just has too many athletes and Leasure has hit a couple in a row for St. Mike's and it's now 53-40 Pflugerville. Todd hits for 2. Garza drops a nice dime to Smith for 2. Both teams empty their benches to give the youngsters a few touches.

FINAL SCORE Pflugerville 57 St. Michael's 42

Leading Scorers

Pflugerville: Deon Mitchell 20

St. Michael's Jake Kocher 19

Elgin Tournament : Killeen 62 Belton 51

From Left To Right: Killeen Runnin' Roos 2010 Ja'Corie Baker, 2009 Baylor signee Cory Jefferson, and 2009 Titus Barnes

Killeen HS (7-3) v Belton (4-8) @ Elgin HS

1st Quarter Killeen 16 Belton 10

I’m here in Elgin at the Doc Graham Tournament for the 1st round game between Belton and Killeen. This is Killeen’s 2nd game with their football guys back, including three starters who were on the gridiron for the Roos. 6’10” baylor commit Cory Jefferson will now have plenty of help as KHS starts it’s season in earnest.

Immediately 2010 G 6’0” Ja’Corie Baker comes out blazing with two quick buckets and the Runnin’ Roos are out to a 6-0 lead. DUNK!..Jefferson. 8-1 Roos. KHS is trying to apply pressure to Belton’s young backcourt of 2010 Eric Braeuer & 2011 Sean Voss, but the youngsters are handling it well.
2nd Quarter Killeen 25 Belton 22

Nice pullup jumper by Sean Voss. Over the back against Jefferson, followed by a tech. Let’s see if belton can take advantage with the Big Fella on the bench for what is likely the rest of the half (over 7 minutes). A layup by 2010 6’5’ Jeff Lepak has knotted the score at 16. Jefferson comes back into the game in what could be a risky move with 4 minutes left. Coach Fossett obviously trusts his veteran will stay away from his 3rd foul. Two nice takes in a row by KHS 2009 W Jamal Washington and it’s all tied up again at 20-20.

Leading Scorers
Belton Jacob Whitman 5
Kileen Shon Lewis 5


3rd Quarter Killeen 35 Belton 30

The Roos have gotten off to a 9-4 spurt and are taking modest control of the game. Nice offensive board by Belton’s Kevin Saunders for 2. Misses the and 1. 33-28. Jefferson leads all scorers with 7 points.

4th Quarter Killeen 62 Belton 51

Ja’Corie baker hits a big 3, Jefferson blocks a shot and outlets to Titus Barnes for a triple and Killeen has quickly extended the lead to 10. Baker is starting to feel it as he drops another long distance bomb, and then Barnes follows with one of his own. 50-34 with 5:40 left to play. Glad to have your long range bombers back from football Coach Fossett?..lol Jefferson hits a 12 footer with 2 guys all over him. His offensive game is really developing here in his senior season before he heads off to Baylor. Roos 57-45 with 1:50 left to play. Emphatic DUNK by Jefferson off the spin move on the low block.

FINAL SCORE Killeen 62 Belton 51

Leading Scorers
Belton Jacob Whitman 14
Killeen Jefferson 12pts 12 rebounds 5 blocks Ja”Corie Baker 12

Pflugerville Tourny: Pflugerville 74 Round Rock 69 (OT)

1st Quarter Round Rock 10 Pflugerville 7

Out of the gate Round Rock's Richter has dropped a couple of treys on Pflugerville's home court to give the Dragons an early 8-3 lead over the Panthers. Good to see 2009 P 6'8" Osas Ebomwonyi back from his broken tibia earlier in the preseason. Once healthy, the Lamar signee can be a huge defensive difference maker for The Ville. Boom, just like that the "Sauce" grabs an offensive board, gets the layup..and 1..GOOD. RR 8- P'Ville 6.

2009 G J.J. Kearns drops a deuce for the Dragons and once again Osas goes to the line for a couple of additional trips and goes 1-4. As a matter of interest there are three Texas D-1 Ambassadors on the floor tonight who have already signed early. As mentioned Ebomwonyi, Pflugerville's PG Jonathon Garza and a first for our organization Round Rock's Dax Hill has committed to the Texas Longhorns on a swimming scholarship!

2nd Quarter Round Rock 24 Pflugerville 21

Garza drops a nice three on the catch and shoot. It has been an ugly game so far; scrappy, poor shot selection and sloppy ballhandling. We'll see which team settles down first. Round Rock drops another 3, and Pflugerville looks out of synch trailing 18-10. Mitchell, quickly hits his own three off the drive and dish from Garza. Garza drops another nice transition dime to a streaking Jarrell Turner from the wing...and 1 is no good. Mitchell with a midcourt steal and layup. 20-17 Round Rock leads....Swish...Mitchell for a deep dish three. We're all tied up at 20. With 2:00 left, Pflugerville now has the MO. As quickly as I say that Pflugerville has three horrendous trips handling the ball and Round Rock goes into the half up 24-21.

3rd Quarter pflugerville 48 Round Rock 46

Garza starts the quarter with a nice runner in the lane, and one...GOOD! Nice leadership out of the half. RR answers with two quick buckets of their own and they're back up by 5. Garza hits another three, and the pace is heating up. Dax Hill turns and puts a bank shot over Ebomwonyi. Osas answers back. Round Rock will not go away and scores off another turnover. Round Rock leads 37-29 with 5:20 left in the 3rd. Garza is WET..with his third triple of the game. Mitchell and Hill trade buckets. Offensive board by Pflugerville's Brian Todd for 2. He's had a quiet game so far after having a monster game v. San Antonio Madison last week. Round Rock is hanging onto the slim lead, mainly from their time on the free throw line. 43-41 with 1:19 left in the 3rd quarter. garza with the three and Pflugerville has their 1st lead of the game. 44-43 2010 Joseph Omozee is really giving the Panthers some energy here late in the 3rd with a blocked shot and a layup on the other end. Dax Hill ties it with 2 free throws. Omozee with another slashing layup.

4th Quarter Pflugerville 59 Round Rock 59

At this point the happiest person in the gym is Susan Murphy. She's guaranteed a win as the wife of P'ville Head Man Mike Murphy and the mom of UTEP alum Brent Murphy in his first year as the Round Rock Assistant. Garza from wayyyyy downtown... BANG! Big steal by Mitchell..they put him on the line. Miss, Make. P'ville by 1 with 6:20 remaining in the game. It's gonna be a long 6 minutes as the foul count is up there on each side. Big hustle play by Demetris Smith and will shoot two...Make, Miss. Big three by Round Rock's Steinbart and we're all tied up at 55 with 3:48 to go. Todd has fouled out for P'ville. Kearns on the line for The Rock. Miss..Miss Kearns makes up for it with the slashing layup, and then Storm Woods answers for the Panthers. Did I just see a replay? Kearns with the identical bucket. RR by 2. Big time look out of the corner trap by Mitchell and the easy layup for Demetris Smith. 59-59 with 2:08 left. This is shaping up like the Madison game. TO Round Rock with 1:12 left and still tied. TO Round Rock with 15 seconds left, they'll hold it for the last shot. Here we go. The driving layup attempt rolls off the rim, Smith rebounds and it's a 2 second game with P'ville having to go 2/3 court on the catch and shoot. We've got OT

Overtime Pflugerville 74 Round Rock 69

Smith gets the offensive board and the putback. On the other end, Ebomwonyi has just fouled out. Hill on the line..Make, Miss. Big three by Smith on the penetration dish by Garza. Pflugerville 64-60. TO...the Round Rock huddle looks deflated however, there is 3:26 left in overtime. Big bucket off the steal by Storm Woods. 66-60. Big block by Smith. Richter hits the three and it's 66-63 P'ville. Big bucket by Meeks of Round Rock, and Smith answers back...69-66 TO Pflugerville. with 1:19 to play. With 29 seconds left, Round Rock fouls. Jarrell on the line..Miss, Make. Pflugerville by 3. Bucket Richter. Garza on the line to shoot 2. Big timers, make big free throws...with 14 seconds left....Make, Make. The Ville by 3. Turnover, and Mitchell goes to the line for Pflugerville. Make, Make. Mitchell steals it for good measure...Game Over

Leading Scorers

Pflugerville Jonathan Garza 19 Deon Mitchell 16 Demetris Smith 15

Round Rock Dax Hill 13

Hays Tournament: Del Valle 73 San Antonio Lee 71

Top: 201 G 5'10" Rodney Lee of Del Valle
Bottom: 2010 G 6'0 Paul Garnica of San Antonio Lee

In a game that went back and forth for almost it's entirety it was fitting that it ended on a last second buzzer beater by Del Valle's Rodney Lee. Can't say we didn't see it coming as I was sitting with one of Rodney's long time summer coaches, Jim Doolin. "Max, if they don't box out (Lee) Rodney's gonna dunk on them". And, he darn near did. Lee skyed over the collapsed Lee interior D and tipped it in well above the rim for the W. Nice win for the Cardinals.

Best player on the court, in the defeat was Lee PG Paul Garnica. Even with an injured hand he can score from the perimeter, get to the rim at will and has the best court vision in San Antonio. He's a very good student, in addition to being an on the court leader and will be a Big Time prospect...scratch that, he's already a big time prospect.

Leading Scorers

Del Valle: Rodney Lee 12, Braylon Thomas 11

San Antonio Lee: Ryan Pierce 19 Paul Garnica 17

Hays Tournament Leander 79 San Antonio Stevens 76 (OT)

From left to right: 2011 6'6" Mark Nwakamma, 2009 G 6'4" Joel Smith, & 2009 P 6'6" A.D. Jones of the Leander Lions. (All three were also summer mates with the Texas D-1 Ambassadors)

In what has to be the biggest win in recent history for the Leander basketball program, the Lions showed a lot of composure in taking a hard fought 79-76 overtime victory over TexasBasketballinc.com's State Ranked San Antonio Stevens squad. Stevens has a deep roster and a big time D-1 guard in 2009 G 6'2" Brandon Thompson who is currently awaiting his SAT score while he mulls over offers from Texas State, Colorado State and Colorado. Baylor has also entered his recruiting picture, which seems to tell me that the #1 player in the country, John Wall (out of North Carolina) is no longer considering the Bears. This despite the hiring of the brother of Wall's AAU coach to the Baylor staff.

But back to Leander. Perhaps this is a coming out party for the Lions team. They've got plenty of talent but I think it's fair to say that they didn't know how to win big games in the past. They do not have a lot of depth at the guard spot, but when Joel Smith is on he's as good as anyone in the CenTex/San Antonio area. He's long, athletic, can get to the rack and is a deep three point threat. He can be a little streaky, but when he heats up he REALLY heats up. That was the case today. He finished with 22 points. The Lions share of them came in the 4th quarter and OT. Smith is getting lots of bites and will be a sure fire bet to sign D-1 in the spring.

A.D. Jones at 6'6" 230 was simply too much inside for Stevens, along with his 220 lb sophomore mate Mark Nwakamma who had 4 power dunks in the contest. I love Stevens, they are one of my top picks to get to State, but they live a little bit much on the perimeter for my liking and lack an interior defensive presence when it comes to defending teams with beef inside as Leander has. Having said that, Coach Hirst's crew can shoot it with the best of them. I love his little slips creens he has his wings set as the guards come up from the corners, allowing them to get the looks they want.

Nwakamma is the Big Time prospect. At 6'6" this kid runs the floor like a guard and as I witnessed this summer v. the New York Metro Hawks this guy will spring up and punch it on anyone at anytime. The ACC & Big East coaches watching the game would concur with that.

In closing, Stevens will recover and have a great year. For Leander this may give them a new perspective on what they are capable of and springboard them into the elusive playoff berth they seek and perhaps even a District title in what looks like a bunch of teams that are very equal at this point early in the season.

Leading Scorers

San Antonio Stevens: Josh Orta 30, Julian Stallworth 21

Leander: Joel Smith 22, Mark Nwakamma 16, A.D. Jones 15

Player Spotlight: 2009 Ryan Springer

2009 P 6'6" Ryan Springer of Austin Hyde Park HS Meet 2009 P 6'6" Ryan Springer of Austin Hyde Park High School. Springer and his family relocated from Phoenix, AZ last season where he attended Dripping Springs HS. Nagging ankle problems kept him from playing for what amounted to almost his entire Junior year. In a family where academics take a priority, Springer has taken his game to TAAPS Private League's Hyde Park HS for his Senior campaign.

He is currently averaging 19 pts, 9 rebounds, 5 blocks

Springer, like most young big men has plenty of work to go before he's a finished product. He has to improve his strength, aggressiveness, court awareness and overall skill set. Having said that, he has size 17 flippers and a baby face which are pretty good indicators of potential further physical growth. He missed a complete high school season last year, however he's very coachable and in the 10 months I've been watching him you can see improvements in his coordination, athleticism and touch around the goal. His footwork is also better than average. This leads me to conclude that he has lots of upside.

The gem in all of this is that Springer has a 31 ACT score! He will be a very good D-3 player (possibly D-2) that can make a program better. He's getting a ton of mail at the moment from high academic schools and already has several academic scholarships in the bag.

College coaches interested in additional info, feel free to call Coach Max Ivany at 512-791-5455 or via email at TexasBasketball@aol.com

The Springer File

Parents: Al & Melinda Springer of Dripping Springs, TX

School: Austin Hyde Park HS

Club Team: Texas D-1 Ambassadors/Cen Tex Shooters

ACT: 31

Academic Interests: Law

Austin Westlake 79 San Antonio East Central 52

Austin Westlake's 2009 G Cliff Houston Today's 2nd round matchup comes from UT-san Antonio. Austin Westlake is off a solid victory over Alamo Heights 70-50 while SA East Central pulled an upset of Houston Chavez thanks in part to an eye injury to Chavez G Jamaal Fenton who is committed to New Mexico. East Central's 2010 G Darryl McPherson put up 35 against Chavez last night

1st Quarter Austin Westlake 23 San Antonio East Central 12

Westlake jumps out to a 9-0 lead as Doolin and King hit 3's and East Central tries unsuccessfully to presure Doolin in the backcourt. They are getting beat for layups. Westlake is up 13-2 on a nice dish from Doolin to Meyertons. TO East Central with 4:52 left in the 1st quarter. Nice entry pass by Houston, Meyertons turns and hits the soft 8 footer. Big Leeper enters the game for Westlake, runs the floor...DUNK! Westlake 20-EC 9. Leeper makes a strong move and is on the free throw line. Miss, Make. Houston with the 12 ft jumper for Westlake. 23-9

2nd Quarter Austin Westlake 42 San Antonio East Central 28

Kemper goes to the bench with his 2nd foul at the beginning of the quarter. He'll have to sit, which will make the Chaps smaller. Leeper immediately answers the bell with a block. Nice dish to King for 2. Doolin gets the dime. Nice take to the hole by 2010 Calvin McGhee for East Central. EC is in the one and one. Andrew Johnson at the line...Make, Make. EC now looks to be employing the box and one against Doolin. Good idea, to see if Westlake can run it's offense through their other players. Doolin picks up his 3rd foul. With 3;46 left, this is a key point in the game. EC needs to make a run with Westlake's go to guy out of the game. Westlake leads 36-23. Some of the Westlake youngsters will have to step up. 2012 6'5" Drew Wikelius and 2011 G 6'0" Hagen Fell get their chance to earn some varsity burn. Wikelius gets a big offensive board and the putback. The speed of the varsity game is still a little much for him, but he's skilled, smart and is going to be a very good player. A Division 1 player, in fact. Nice layup by Fell in transition. Other than the free throw line, it's all Westlake at the half. EC has not hit from the perimeter. Leeper blocks another shot, followed by a Wikelius block/steal. The kids have passed the test and given Coach Ellis a 3 minute rest for his foul plagued starters. Props to Senior Cliff Houston who is stepping up and has hit several early shots.

Leading Scorer

Cliff Houston 14

3rd Quarter Austin Westlake 57 East Central 40

P 6'6" Big Dalton Aberanthy drops a jumper for EC. Kemper gets a turn around swish in the lane. He's now off the schnidely after being in foul trouble and drawing a 1st half goose egg. Doolin with the layup in transition. Westlake 48-32 with 4:00 left in the quarter. Nice dime by McPherson at the other end for EC. Nice take to the hole by 2009 W Andrew Johnson of EC. Kemper swishes the three. 51-36. Transition jumper by McPherson. Jumper Abernathy. Doolin for 3 as Leeper steals it out of a halfcourt scrum. King with the bucket..and 1 is GOOD!

4th Quarter Austin Westlake San Antonio East Central

Kemper hits another 3...steal Meyertons...and 1 is no good. Westlake has opened up a 62-42 lead. Doolin threads the needle full court to Meyertons for another deuce. Sweet look! With 6 minutes left, it's effectively game over. Coach Ellis can rest some of his guys and get others experience. They're headed for a date v . State Ranked #1, San Antonio Madison at 6PM tonight right here at UT-San Antonio.

FINAL SCORE Austin Westlake 79 San Antonio East Central 52

Leading Scorer

Austin Westlake

Cliff Houston 16 pts

Austin Westlake 70 San Antonio Alamo Heights 50

Too much of Cody Doolin & Conner Kemper as Westlake pulls away from Alamo Heights, as they beat the Mules on their home court 70-50

In the 2nd game of the Lone Star Invitational doubleheader Austin Westlake is going to take on the the Alamo Heights Mules on their home floor. Westlake is fresh off a big win in the Championship of the Georgetown Jack Frost Invitational. They beat a very good Midland HS team along the way to the title. MVP 2010 G Cody Doolin and All Tournament 2010 W Conner Kemper lead the way for Westlake. Alamo Heights will be led by Senior G 6'4" Keith Hartle and 2010 G 6'2" Thomas Villanueva.

1st Quarter San Antonio Alamo Heights 17 Austin Westlake 15

Westlake comes out of the gate with a deep three by Doolin from the top. Alamo Heights looks like it's committed to the half court trap and Westlake to its full court pressure. AH is well coached by veteran Charlie Boggess. His team has beaten the Chaps for a couple of early layups for an 8-5 lead. Westlake is getting the perimeter looks it wants, but the last several have not fallen. Nice passing by Westlake and an easy layup by Kemper. Kemper with a strong offensive board and a put back. Westlake 9 Alamo Heights 8 with 2:46 to play in the 1st. Nice high low pass from Big Gus Leeper to Kemper for another easy layup. Leeper with a block on the other end. If Leeper plays this well on a regular basis Westlake can beat anybody. Hartle strokes a 3 for AH and it's tied at 11. Out of the scrum, Doolin puts in a reverse layup. Hartle with a full court pass to Villanueva for 3eeeeeee! Doolin back the other way to the rack for Westlake, and another AH three by Dent. Good basketball. The AH student section has the gym rocking.

2nd Quarter Austin Westlake 35 San Antonio alamo Heights 27

Nice give to Kemper off the drive by Doolin for 2. Doolin shows mad range with the three. You cannot back off this guy because he will shoot it. This is as good as I've seen Leeper and Kemper rebound. Westlake is up 22-19. To this point it looks like it's going to be whoever hits the most threes will win though because that's what both teams are settling for. Steal Doolin. Inbounds to Leeper and another nice pass by the Big 'Un to Meyertons for 2. Villanueva right back for the Mules...and 1. Westlake 24- AH 22 with 3:28 left in the half. Hartle at the line. Miss, Make. Nice board and outlet by 2010 Jeremy Cox to Doolin for the layup. Doolin the length of the court with the hesitation dribble for 2, and a shot at the and 1....GOOD. Westlake by 6 for the biggest lead of the game. Nice fall away bank shot by Dent . Doolin with the NBA triple. ...then it's Kemper from long distance. Westlake 35- Alamo Heights 25.

Leading Scorers

Alamo Heights

Thomas Villanueva 10

Westlake
Cody Doolin 18
Conner Kemper 11

3rd Quarter Westlake 53 Alamo Heights 43

Hartle hits a short jumper. Rebound Kemper, blocked shot Kemper. He's flying around the court with his Texas D-1 Ambassador summer team mate Doolin. Hartle called for the charge. Doolin called for one on the other end. TO Westlake as they hold onto a 7 point lead. Long three by Kemper. Doolin for 2 off the halfcourt trap. TO Alamo Heights as Westlake leads 42-30. I can hear Coach Boggess telling his troops to keep shooting, keep shooting, keep shooting....He has confidence in his kids to get hot and start draining some of those trey balls. Nice drop down low to the AH big man, 6'6" Knox Schroller for 2. Nice loose ball hustle by AH. AH missed three straight deep balls on that possession. Nice pull up jumper by Misquez to pull AH to within 7. Big frosh Drew Wikelius has entered the game for Westlake. Looks like Leeper needs a break. Will the pace be a factor down the stretch? Villanueva with the weakside rebound and bucket for AH. Doolin answers back, followed by an and 1 by King for Westlake. Nice dish by C.J. Shapiro for an easy AH bucket. The son, of another Coach Shapiro at St. Mary's Hall. Funny how those kids seem to make the right play more often than not. Kemper with the long triple. Banks are open. did he call it? lol They put the 3 up on the board. Leeper with the 8 foot shot. Villanueva for 3 at the buzzer and it's a spirited game.

4th Quarter

Kemper snags two rebounds to open the quarter. He has a double double. Dolin powers up a layup in traffic off the offensive rebound. Doolin with another hesitation dribble to the rack. TO Alamo Heights. Westlake 57 Alamo Heights 44 with 5:28 left in the game. Nice offensive board and put back by AH Ross Thomas. Kemper answers back on the other end. Shapiro is on the line as Leeper picks up his 4th foul. Make, Make. Houston for 3 and the Chaps lead by 14. Kemper at the line. Make, Make. He has 21 for Westlake. Another unforced AH turnover, and this could turn into a rout. With 2:30 left Westlake is emptying it's bench. Doolin drives for another deuce. Villanueva for 2 the other way. Doolin on the line..Make, Make. He has 30, and is done for the day.

FINAL SCORE AustinWestlake 70 Alamo Heights 50

Leading Scorers

Alamo Heights

Thomas Villanueva 17

Westlake

Co-Players of the Game
Cody Doolin 30
Conner Kemper 21 12 rebounds

Lone Star Invitational Austin Akins 56 San Antonio Marshall 36

2009 W/P Rashad Miller of Austin Akins HS

I'm here at San Antonio Alamo Heights HS for the doubleheader which opens the Lone Star Invitational Tournament. Akins HS out of Austin comes into tonight's game 5-0. Being 5-0 is nice way for anyone to start the season but for anyone who has watched Austin basketball for awhile it's nothing short of remarkable. 2nd year Coach David Peavey came back to HS after a one year stint coaching Division 1 basketball at Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches. He has instilled pride and order where there was none. AKins is right there with the standard bearers in Austin basketball this year and may end up messing around and being the best team in the area. Look for supremacy to come from within their own tough District with Pflugerville and Westlake and perhaps even Bowie looking to have a say in the matter.

1st Quarter Austin Akins 20 San Antonio Marshall 7

With 6:40 left, Marshall calls TO. Senior Jonny Drass has scored all 7 points for the Akins Eagles. With 3:50 left Marshall breaks it's goose egg. Akins 15-2 at this point. Akins is employing a 3/4 court zone trap and then dropping back into man and Marshall simply doesn't know how to handle it, lacking both the awareness and athleticism to run the court with the Eagles. They've had only two quality shots in the first 8 minutes.

Half Time Akins 33 Marshall 21

Drass drops another triple for Akins. 25-10. Timeout Marshall. Akins rebounds, and outlets into layups almost every 2nd possession. No adjustment by Marshall to drop a defender back and at least try and make Akins play out of a half court set. Steal at midcourt by Senior Michael Willie for a dunk!!!!!!! Akins 33-12. With a 20 point lead, Coach Peavey is making his kids work and be accountable. One Akins player lost his guy for a back door bucket and out he comes. Non nonsense. I like it. Marshall goes on a mini run to end the half and make the score respectable. These are high school kids so anything can happen, but I just don't see this becoming a game.

Leading Scorers

Marshall
Shawn Caldwell 7

Christian Maldonado 11
Jonny Drass 10

3rd Quarter Akins 49 Marshall 29

A quick 4-0 run for Akins to start the 2nd half and another TO by Marshall to stop the bleeding. Nice turn to the bucket for a power layup by Rashad Miller. Miller follows it up with an almost identical deuce. He really does a good job of making himself big when posting up and has a great power move from the left block.

4th Quarter Akins Marshall

Nice jumpstop by Marshall's Cooper Sylestine as he drops in a layup. The lanky 2010 player is fundamentally sound, and why not..his pop Steve coached John Jay for years and is now the girls coach at Stevens HS. Akins is subbing freely to the end of their bench. Play is getting sloppier, with lots of unforced turnovers at each end. Deep three by soph Yolonzo Moore. Akins 56-36. TO Marshall.

FINAL SCORE Austin Akins 56 San Antonio Marshall 36

Player of the Game

Rashad Miller of Akins HS 17 points

Boerne Champion 72 Austin St. Michael's 67 (and other scores)

From Top:

1. 2009 Zach Burdick dropped 21 on St. Michael's tonight
2. 2009 P 6'5" Chuck Thornally had a double double, including 15 pts.

TexasBasketballinc.com was in Boerne tonight at Head Coach and Athletic Director Stan Leech's new "Palace" at brand spanking new Boerne Champion HS. That's right, don't choke on your Thanksgiving leftovers, we actually have a couple of AD's here in Texas who are basketball guys. After the game Coach gave me a quick tour. Beautiful weight room and basketball fieldhouse. Kudos to Boerne.

Boerne led all the way against a solid St. Michael's team. The Crusaders showed poor shot selection periodically and could never quite close the gap against Boerne. Boerne is well coached, do not beat themselves, is patient offensively until they get the look they want (often a layup from guys constantly moving and cutting) and can close out games by hitting free throws. This is a formula that could bring them back to the Drum for a second consecutive trip this March.

2011 G 6'1" Jake Kocher led St. Michael's with 24 points. Boerne got balanced scoring down the line with 2009 6'2" Zach Burdick leading the way with 21 and 2009 P 6'5" Chuck Thornally had a double double, controlling the boards and dropping 15 points for the Chargers.

I really like Thornally. Everything goes through him, starting with the press break, and then when he gets into the offense Boerne goes through the high post to Big Chuck. He shoots it well enough, but is a very good passer, many times catching the cutter in stride for easy layups. He is a footballer first and is considering Holy Cross among others.

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Austin Lake Travis 73 Cedar Park 50

2011 Cedar Park G 6'3" Dylan Cox led the Timberwolves with 11 as he came fresh off the football field, played a couple of JV contests and was baptized by fire against a tough Lake Travis team in his first varsity game. Look for big things from this kid.

Killeen Ellison 93 Killeen High 63

Ellison had balanced scoring with Marquavius James 18, Cameron Gunter 18 Devante Brown 15. KHS are still wthout a couple of footballers but they've got 6'10" Baylor signeee Cory Jefferson and other talented guys. Big win for Ellison and new Coach Alberto Jones.