Friday, April 30, 2010

Andre Roberson To Colorado

Who knew that when the Texas D-1 Ambassadors made an unofficial visit to the University of Colorado on April 16th (pictured below) during the midst of a coaching change at the school that 6'7" Andre Roberson (far right) would soon be calling Boulder, CO and the Big XII home?
Texas D-1 Ambassadors in Boulder, CO
Above from left to right:  Coach Max, 2011 G Jake Kocher, 2012 G Alex Caruso, 2011 W Jalen Washington, 2011 W Jaleel Williams, 2011 G Deon Mitchell, 2010 P David Hahn, 2011 W Reinier Strobos, & 2010 W Andre Roberson. (Missing from photeo 2011 G Dylan Elias)

April 16-18th the Texas D-1 Ambassadors took a trip to Denver, Co to play in the Pump Brothers Spring Classic.  We finished 3-1, losing a heartbreaker at the buzzer in bracket play.  Two of our guys have become the hottest commodities of the spring nationwide; 2010 7'0" David Hahn, and 2010 W 6'7" Andre Roberson.  Hahn is on an offcial visit to Marquette as I write this.  Roberson on the other hand is huddling with his family and is poised to make his decision no later than Monday, perhaps as early as today.

NEWSFLASH:  In the middle of writing this story, a decision has been made!

11:14 Central Time   Andre Roberson of Converse Wagner is committed to the University of Colorado!  His Pops, John  Roberson just texted me the awesome news.  I've said for a year plus now that in my opinion Roberson was the prospect with the biggest upside in the Central Texas area in the Class of 2010.

I watched the lanky wing fight 6'9" 250 Keith Davis of Desoto in the Texas 5A State Semi Finals last year and the youngster had 17 rebounds against the burly Texas A&M commit.  Roberson has a superior outside shot, defends bigger guys in the post with his length and is a nightmare matchup on the perimeter when he takes other 3/4 men off the dribble.  Despite his still slender frame Roberson is adept at finishing in traffic and tries to dunk everything.

Roberson had just returned from his official visit to Penn State this past weekend and for a while definitely looked like he was headed to the Big Ten.  A late surge in recruiting from the Denver Tourny had UNLV making a late offer and also drew renewed interest from UCLA.  As soon as Roberson returned from Penn State the savvy Colorado staff had the youngster headed for the beautiful Colorado campus this past Wednesday and Thursday. Roberson opted for the less traditional weekday visit so he could be on hand in San Antonio for his senior prom this Saturday.

Big props have to go out to Colorado Assistant Tommy Abedemarco for keeping the fire burning with Roberson as he was the only coach who made the transition from the old staff and was retained by new Head Coach Tad Boyle.  Great move, Coach Boyle!  Abedemarco is an old hand who had been part of a National Championship with Jim Valvano at North Carolina State, with Lou Carnesecca at St. John's & with Rick Majerus at Utah.  He's a fatherly figure and kept pushing hard even when he didn't know he'd still be at Colorado.

Look for Roberson to make an impact immediately as a freshman. He'll be an outstanding 3/4 matchup as the Buffaloes look to build the program to the upper echelon of the Big XII.   In addition to UNLV & Penn State he also had offers from Wichita State and Tulsa amongst others.

Congratulations to Andre and the Robersons from Coach Max & The Texas D-1 Ambassadors Family.  Andre joins other family members including his father John (New Mexico State), sister Ashleigh who just completed a stellar career at Texas Tech and sister Amber who is a starter for Texas in volleyball as D-1 athletes.