Round Rock McNeil Knock Off Aussies

Round Rock McNeil 61   Australia School of Sport  51
2014 G Trey Dilworth brought his "A" game to a matchup with a touring Australian HS team and left a lasting impression.  The Texas D1 Ambassadors/McNeil Mavs G scored 17 points and put his athleticism on display for the visitors to view. 

College Station A&M Consolidated 49   Round Rock Stony Point  35
Consolidated is beginning to gel now that they have their football players back.  They lost the Championship game of the Mansfield Summit Toutnament last week as 2012 Alex Caruso (Texas A&M) and 2013 P Jimmie Gilbert made All Tourny.  Last night Caruso had 20 and Gilbert 15 in the win.

Killeen Shoemaker 75   Round Rock 68
2012 F Chris Runnels led Shoemaker with 28 points while ever improving 2013 P 6'10" Leonard Allen had 17 in the loss for the Dragons. (Leonard is shown belelow as an incoming FRESHMAN at Max Ivany's All American Prodigy Camp)  To his left is former Purdue and 12 year overseas pro 6'9" Jeff Arnold.

Central Catholic's Cole Martinez @ Air Force

San Antonio Central Catholic and Texas D1 Ambassadors star Cole Martinez will be back in San Antonio December 10-11th to play in a tournament at Lackland (TX) Air Force Base. Unfortunately I won't be able to see him as I will be out of town but the 2010-2011 San Antonio Express News Player of the Year will surely put on a good show.  He's leading his Air Force Prep squad in scoring at over 17 ppg.  The D1 Ambassadors Family is very proud of him.-Coach Max Ivany

Their first game is Saturday morning at 10AM.  Below is info sent to me by Mr. Martinez for those of you wishing to attend.  Pay attention to the requirements or you may not be admitted on the base.

"I know some of you have expressed an interest in seeing Cole and the USAF Prep Team play next weekend at Lackland AFB. In order to get clearance to enter the base I will need the following:

Names of all occupants in the car

Dates of birth

Drivers License (of the driver)

Please shoot me an e-mail to rmartinez651@satx.rr.com with this information if you wish to attend the tourney by next Tuesday, 12/6/11".

If you already have a military ID, this is not required.

Cole is the son of Mr and Mrs. Reuben Matinez of San Antonio, TX

Travon Landry To Tennessee Volunteers

I received a text message this afternoon from Papa John Landry informing me that his son, Travon Landry had verballed to UT.  "Not Texas, says Big John, but the other UT."  Landry a 6'1" G in the class of 2013 will play in the Southeast Conference for the Tennessee Volunteers.  Landry started as a freshman at San Antonio Madison (TX), started alongside J. Mychal Reese (Texas A&M) as a soph at Bryan (TX) and recently moved to Huntsville, AL as his father took a job there and currently starts for Huntsville Bob Jones, an Alabama 6A powerhouse.  Travon's older brother Jonathan played at Coppin State and is now at Alabama A&M.

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Bob Jones basketball coach Danny Petty has confirmed that Travon Landry, a 6-foot-1, 170-pound junior point guard who transferred in from Bryan (Texas) High this past summer, verablly committed to Tennessee this weekend.

Landry had drawn interest from other SEC schools like Alabama, Vanderbilt and Georgia. He is averaging approximately eight points per game through four games this season after averaging 12.3 points and 3.5 assists per game last year as a sophomore.

"He's not shooting that much," Petty said. "He's a great point guard and sees the floor extremely well. He's a great defender, too. "He's a coach's dream in that he's very coachable. He goes hard in practice, which is what you want from your leaders. He's got a lot of basketball knowledge, and he's still learning our guys."

Bob Jones is 4-0 this season and is coming off an appearance in last year's Class 6A Northwest Regional final. The Patriots won the state title in 2009.

Landry is a super athletic point.  Always looking to attack and get into the paint, he's a tough guy to stop when it comes to dribble penetration.  His shot is improving and he defends hard.  Travon played with the Texas D1 Ambassadors starting back when he was in the 6th grade and is shown above with Texas D1 in Minnesota. he began playing 17U with Texas D1 when he was a freshman. Congratulations to the Landry's.-Coach Max Ivany and The D1 Ambassadors Family

Texas Tournament Action December 1-3, 2011

San Antonio Warren Wins South San Tournament
It should be interesting if/when the Warren Warriors meet the Churchill Chargers.  These are clearly the two most talented groups in the Alamo City this year.  We'll see if they are the ebst teams as Alamo Heights and Converse Judson are also tough matchups.  Warren beat the San Antonio Stevens Falcons in the championship game as 2012 G Jordan Corona had 24 points.  Marcus Roper scored 25 for Stevens in the loss.

While going 5-0, Warren disposed of san Antonio Holy Cross 91-43, San Antonio Edison 62-52, New braunfels 86-72 and in the semi final beat San Antonio Christian 62-49.  The All Tournament team was made up of Seniors Uche Ofoegbu and Marcus Roper of Stevens, while Seniors Jordan Corona and Taurean Prince-Waller represented Warren.  The MVP was 2013 G Marcus Keene of Warren the only underclassman.  The athletic Keene gets in the lane when he wants and makes his team mates better.

2013 G Marcus Keene led Warren to the South San Title

Liberty Hill Wins Marble Falls Tournament
How many times do you hear me say that "Them 3A Country Boys From Liberty Hill" are a tough out.  They won the Marble Falls Tournament with a win over a talented 4A Waco University squad in the Championship with a 67-63 win.  They hitched their cart to Texas D1 Ambassadors 2013 G Shane Lacaille who had 29 points in the final.

2013 Shane Lacaille put Liberty Hill on his shoulders in the Championship.

A young Killeen team continues to grow and find it's identity.  There's no doubt that Texas D1 Ambassadors 2014 G 6'3" Brian Long has found his as he leads the team in scoring and averaged 20ppg in the tournament.

2014 G Brian Long of Killeen

The toughest interior play of the event game in and game out was provided by Texas D1 Ambassador and Kerrville Tivy 2013 P 6'6" Zach Overby ashe averaged 14 points and double digit rebounds and was named All Tournament.  Congrats Zach!

Round Rock McNeil Classic
No doubt that Round Rock Mcneil is always well coached and a threat to be in most every game they play but I was shocked by the result of the Championship game where they simply blew out a talented Austin Anderson squad 60-36 to win their own tournament.  McNeil is a different team with 2014 G Trey Dilworth in the lineup.  The talented soph had 16 points in the win and brings an athleticism and swagger to go along with the fundamentally sound Mavs.

Texas D1 Ambassadors and Round Rock McNeil 2014 G Trey Dilworth

Garland Metro PCS Invitational
Harker Heights went to the DFW Metroplex and put on an excellent show, beating powerhouse Garland Lakeview Centennial 51-47 in the semis before falling in the title game to Garland Naaman Forest, 51-38. Naaman Forest is a tough match up with 2012 P 6'10" Prince Ibeh (Texas) patrolling the paint.  2012 G Thomas Cherry had 14 in the cahmpionship game loss for the Knights.  Cherry and 2012  G C.J. Rodriguez were All Tournament.

San Antonio Churchill Cruises To Lonestar Invitational Win
The Lonestar Invitational used to be one of the State's atrongest tournaments in early December.  This year's field was so so.  Churchill ran their record to 11-1 as they dominated, winning back to back tournaments. (They won Georgetown's Jack Frost Invitational last week.) 

Along the way they danced past San Antonio Brackenridge 86-54, over San Antonio Clark 61-52, in the smei they beat San Antonio Johnson 72-53 and then put away Converse Wagner 75-67 to take the title.  Senior F Theron Bray had 20 for Wagner.  2013 G Taylor Sutlive led the way with 16, while 2012 Connor Lammert (Texas) added 13.

Dripping Springs Wins Rockdale Tournament
A surpsirisingly good start for Dripping Springs.  They are now 7-1, winning the Rockdale Tournament easily as they blew out Robinson for the 'Ship.  The seminfinal was a barnburner against always tough Brenham, with Drip winning 69-61.  Texas D1 Ambassadors, 2012 SG Collin Tubbs led the way with another 30 point game. Taw Mann added 23.  Along with Sam Kohler they were named to the All Tournament team.
2012 G Collin Tubbs of Dripping Springs is blooming late.  He can shoot it with the best of them

Riesel Tournament
Mumford beat Valley Mills 88-62 as Texas D1 Ambassador 2014 G Aubrie King had 34 points on 8-10 from behind the three point line. 2015 W 6'2" LaKendrick Hyson, an impressive freshman  nabbed Tourny MVP honors for Mumford.

2014 Aubrie King continues firsing from deep for Mumford

Bouncy 2015 W 6'2" LaKendrick Hyson snatched MVP Honors

San Marcos 80  Georgetown 69
Not a tournament game but one that features several of the area's top unsigned players.  2012 G Michael Hardge had 30 points in the loss for Georgetown while 2012 San Marcos W Allex Austin had 29 in the win and 2012 G Collin hart had 16.

2012 G Michael Hardge is putting up big numbers for Georgetown

Austin Westlake 58  Austin Lanier  43
Westlake cruised to the win despite a so so shooting night.  They were led by 2013 G Will Morse who had 13 and 2012 P Drew Wikelius with 15 .

Texas D1 Ambassadors and Austin Westlake 2013 G Will Morse shown at Five Star Camp (2012 Pflugerville G T.J. Williams is seen trailing the play in the background)

South Padre Island Invitational
A young Converse Judson squad had a good showing in South Padre.  They are getting senior leadership from G E.J. Hubbard and great contributions from 2014 P David Wacker and 2014 F Tanner Leissner. They lost the semi final to the eventual champion Houston Yates by 4, and then dropped the 3rd Place game to a tough Houston St. Thomas squad 66-54. 

2014 F Tanner Leissner is an up and comer for Judson

2012 G Christian Sanders (Stanford) was All Tournament for St. Thomas while back court mate 2012 Chase Brogna averaged 15 points for the event.

Caught My First Arizona High School Games

It's been a busy 5 days in Arizona since arriving back from my D1 Nation Houston Thanksgiving Jamboree held at St. Thoimas High School in the heart of H-Town. I have spent the last two days evaluating players for three NBA teams that asked me for reports on a few veteran player's looking to get invited to camps next week. Once that was taken care of, I spent my evening on the high school scene as I had a chance to get out and see a couple of rivalry games in Phoenix over the last couple of days.

Ahwautukee Desert Vista thumped host Pinnacle. They simply couldn't handle 2012 F 6'6" Danny Powell (Eastern Washington). I had a chance to visit briefly with Arizona State Head Coach Herb Sendek who was there watching 2014 Dorian Pickens of Pinnacle who ASU offered last year as a freshman. The 6'4" WG has a good body. I'll need to see him more to determine what kind of impact he can have at the high major level. 2012 P 6'7" Cody McDavis (Pinnacle) is athletic and long. He's a raw prospect. 2014 Cody MacDougall of Desert Vista has a nice wide body, and can run the floor. Bigs take longer to develop but he's one to watch for sure.

2014 Connor MacDougall (left) and 2012 P 6'7" Cody McDavis squared off

Last night's "Hate Game" between host Scottsdale Chaparral and Scottsdale Desert Mountain was a definitely a spirited affair. Desert Mountain had the game won but two costly turnovers in the last minute sent the game to OT where the home Firebirds pulled out the W. Chaparral has several good looking freshmen, while Desert Mountain is the consummate team. 2012 W 6'7" Austin Cooke is intriguing. He had 16 points and has a beautiful stroke from the perimeter. With improved strength and defensive intensity he could get a nice look in the spring signing period.

2012 W 6'7" Austin Cooke has a sweet stroke

A wise word to a lot of these kids. It's a competitive environment out there for scholarships. I've got to see a higher motor and a sense of urgency that tells me that you really LOVE the game. I'm known for being brutally honest with players and parents, as well as college coaches. -Coach Max Ivany

San Antonio Churchill Goes North & Melts Jack Frost

To date, San Antonio Churchill has one blemish on it's record, a last second loss to San Antonio Stevens as Southern Methodist University signee, Uche Ofoegbu his a long range banked three.  Their record stands at 10-1 and will be tested tonight in the Championship game of the Lone Star Invitational as they play Converse Wagner.

I'm getting ahead of myself though as this recap is in regards to the Georgetown Jack Frost Invitational.  It's less than a 3 hour drive up I-35 for Sir Winston Churchill and once the Chargers arrived they ran roughshod over the field. 
Connor Lammert of San Antonio Churchill shown throwing one down in the summer with the Texas D1 Ambassadors.  The Texas signee is dominating this school season.

San Antonio Churchill  95   Austin Reagan  23
Sadly, gone are the days of mighty, mighty Reagan once the scourge of Austin in football, track and basketball.  Shifting demographics and the Austin ISD turning a blind eye to "magnet schools" pillaging their players have left them with almost nothing on the athletic scene.  Churchill played everyone but the waterboy in this rout.

San Antonio Churchill  75   Austin Akins 68
2012 G P.J. Rivera led Akins with 20 points, while 2012 G Scott Mammell (Army Prep School commit) had 23 in the win.

San Antonio Churchill 96    Conroe Woodlands College Park  77
College Park's Evan Cooper dropped 32 points but Texas signee Connor Lammert dominated inside and out with 27 points.

2013 G 6'3" Taylor Sutlive of Churchill shown below at Max Ivany's Austin-San Antonio Challenge.  He's coming into his own is an excellent shooter and is showing some of Momma Sutlive's genes (she played for Virginia Tech).

San Antonio Churchill 76   HCYA South 48
2014 Justin Jackson of HCYA is big time in the National Rankings and he didn't disappoint as he scored 19 points.  However, Churchill has too many weapons and 2013 G Taylor Sutlive's 21 points supported by 2012 P 6'9" Connor Lammert's (Texas signee) 18 allowed the Chargers to cruise to the "Ship".

D1 Nation NCAA Alumni: Week In Review

It was a busy week and I didn't get a chance to do aalumni updates for a few days.  It's gotten to the point now where I simply can't acknowledge every D1 Ambassadors alumni after each of their games.  There are just too many of you guys and I love ya'll! Here's some big numbers and breakout performances by different players.  Keep working men!  The D1 Nation is strong!

Tre Demps       Freshman   G  6'3"       San Antonio Reagan (TX)                    Northwestern
Playing for an unbeaten Northwestern squad, Demps suffered a shoulder injury prior to the season.  He decided to forego surgery and rehabbed instead.  Last night was a break out as he played 26 minutes had  8 points and 4 assists.  Stay healthy Tre!

Joel Smith        Junior       G 6'4"          Leander (TX)
Smith continues to dominate as this time he put up 29 points, 10 rebounds 3 assists against Big East's St. John's in a convincing win.

John Henson    Junior       F 6'10"    Round Rock (TX/Tampa Sickles (FL)     North Carolina
Our McDonald's All American is really putting the pedal to the metal as he had 11 points, 8 rebounds in a surpsrise loss ot UNLV and backed that up with 8 points, 17 rebounds and 5 blocks in a nailbiting win vs Wisconsin.

Royce O'Neale Freshman  G 6'5"    Harker heights (TX)                                   Denver
Royce give solid numbers every night out and is playing a key role in Denver's surprising start to it's season.  he had  7 points, 3 rebounds and then followed it up with 5 points and 4 rebounds

Jake Kocher     Freshman  G 6'2"   Austin St. Michael's (TX)        Texas A&M-Corpus Christi  Kocher got 20 minutes against Texas A&M and although his shot didn't fall (3 points) he battled hard, played good D (shown taking a charge) and snagged 6 rebounds.

Paul Garnica   Sophomore  G 6'0"  San Antonio Lee (TX)              Northern Colorado
Garnica had 8 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists then followed it up with a 14 point, 5 assist effort. Don't be shocked if Garnica (below right) leads Northern Colorado back to the Dance.

Jordan Clarkson  Sophomore  G 6'5"   Converse Wagner (TX)      Tulsa
Clarkson is really hitting his stride and shows signs of being DOMINANT.  He had 23 points and 6 rebounds then followed it up with 18 points and 4 rebounds.

Cody Doolin          Sophomore  G 6'2"   Austin Westlake                  San Francisco
Doolin had 5 points, 7 assists and 3 steals in a loss to a tough New Mexico State team and then followed it up with 11 points, including his 5th game winning basket for the Dons as they beat Montana in OT. (Doolin shown winning the MVP Award at Max Ivany's Texas Super Showcase in Sept/2009)

Deon Mitchell       Freshman      G 6'0"  Pflugerville (TX)                  Northern Iowa
Mitchell had 7 points and 3 assists as his game was cutrailed by a bruised wrist and tailbone.  he has become the starter on a revamped UNI squad who are now 6-1.

Mike Byron          Sophomore     P  6'9"  San Antonio Churchill (TX)    Gardner-Webb
Byron who was lightly recruited out of high school shows how hard work pays off as he had two excellent performances this week with 18 points and 13 rebounds  and then a 16 point and 9 rebound encore.

Cameron Moore   Junior        F  6'10"  San Antonio Roosevelt (TX)   Alabama-Birmingham
Alabama-Birmingham is struggling this year but Moore is not part of the problem.  He had 15 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocks followed by a 13 point and 6 rebound effort.

J.J. Avila               Sophomore F 6'7"    McAllen (TX)                           Navy
One of SEVEN D1 Ambassadors playing for the Academies (Army, Navy and Air Force) J.J. Avila had 19 points and 2 rebounds followed by a 14 points and 11 rebounds game.

Brandon Thompson  Junior    G 6'2"    San Antonio Stevens (TX)       Long Island
Thompson is beginning to work his way into the rotation after transferring from Arizona State via South Plains JC.  He had 9 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals followed by 8 points and 4 rebounds.

Cameron Catlett      Junior      G 6'3"    San Antonio Madison (TX)     Texas-Arlington
Catlett had a 9 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists game.

Andre Roberson      Sophomore F 6'7"  Converse Wagner (TX)            Colorado
Roberson may end up leading tha country in rebounding.  He's on everyone's NBA draft radar for the summer of 2013.  He had 15 points and 15 rebounds and in his next game was saddled with fouls, only took two shots but still had 12 rebounds.

Cory Jefferson       RS-Sophomore P 6'10"  Killeen (TX)                        Baylor
Jefferson averages about 17 minutes a game on a loaded Baylor front line.  He scored 12 points, 2 rebounds and 3 blocks.

Mark Nwakamma Freshman          P 6'6"   Leander (TX)                       Hartford
Nwakamma  had a solid outing with 8 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists

Jason Brickman    Sophomore        G  5'11"  San Antonio Clark (TX)            Long Island
Brickman is an outstanding playmaker.  He had 11 points and 6 assists

San Francisco Sophomore Cody "Do It All Doolin"

While many of Central Texas' naysayers were dismissing Austin Westlake's Cody Doolin 2 years ago as "not being good enough" I was singing his praises.  Today those same people shut their mouths and avoid the subject as Doolin continues to play at a high level for demanding San Francisco Dons Coach Rex Walters.  The true soph has averaged over 30 minutes a game for both of his campaigns by the Bay.

Doolin continues to add to his legacy by scoring the 5th game winning bucket of his young career.  This was nothing new to me as I saw him hitch talented Texas D1 Ambassadors squads on his back during the summers and lead them down the stretch.  The tough as nails guard scored the equalizer in the last minute of the game against Montana, a three pointer.  He finished with 11 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in 32 minutes.  He saved his best for overtime though as he scored the game winning layup with 35 seconds to go in the extra session.

From the Helena (MT) Independent Record:

MISSOULA — Sophomore guard Cody Doolin scored on a layup with 35 second remaining to lead the University of San Francisco Dons to a 65-62 victory over the host Montana Grizzlies on Thursday evening in Dahlberg Arena.

The Grizzlies (4-3) took a six-point lead over the Dons (6-3) with 3:58 left to play on a lay-up by senior forward Art Steward. USF scored six unanswered point after that, though, and tied the contest 59-59 with 2:07 to go on a lay-up by senior forward Angelo Coloiaro.
Montana then regained the lead on a three-point play by sophomore guard Kareem Jamar, making it 62-59 UM at the 2:02 mark. But Doolin’s three-pointer with 1:40 left tied it at 62-all, and then Doolin made the game-winner about a minute later.

Texas D1 Ambassadors alum, Cody Doolin of Austin Westlake, the Justin Bieeber look alike of the West Coast Conference. All American boy with an assassin's mentality.

Explosive Athletes Institute Training

Coach Max Ivany of www.d1nation.com with 6'10" Tommy Smith (Phoenix North HS, Arizona State) Chicago Bulls 2003 Draft Pick and Houston native 6'11" Jake Voskuhl (right) Houston Strake Jesuit HS, member of UConn's 1999 National Championship squad and 9 year NBA veteran. For those of you who only see NBA guys from afar it's hard to understand how big and strong these dudes are.  (I'm 5'10" and 205 pounds to give you a point of reference.)

Today I was invited to the Explosive Athletes Institute in Phoenix, Arizona by owner Sid Sharma.  I've seen more trainers doing their thing and claiming to be the "best" than I have fingers and toes.  I watched Mr. Sharma's workouts and was impressed with some of his thinking outside the box as well as his technical expertise as he holds two advanced degrees in biomechanical engineering.  He certainly brings a unique scientific background to the business.  Anyone who gets NBA guys to buy in have to be doing something right.

The most enjoyable part of the day was interacting with Tommy Smith and Jake Voskuhl, two really nice guys who are both looking to be in The League this year and getting their bodies ready.  Both swore by Sid's methods.  Jake and I both being Houston guys exchanged a lot of stories and of course know many of the same people.  He got a chuckle out of recounting how John Lucas tabbed him with the name "Old Franchise" back in the day when he was getting up at 5AM to go to Luke's workouts....anyway, this is good stuff.  Enjoy the video.-Coach Max Ivany

2012 W 6'6" Allex Austin Update

San Marcos (TX) and Texas D1 Ambassadors 2012 W 6'6"  Allex Austin

Allex Austin, (above) is a long and super bouncy athlete.  He's a quality perimeter shooter and continues to improve on his handles.  He holds the top high jump in the country in the Class of 2012 (7'2").  That's world class.  He's the son of Olympic Champion Charles Austin.  Allex has excellent academics and has a long list of track scholarships in his hip pocket.  He's made it abundantly clear that he will play basketball in college too, so I encourage any high level track school that also would love to get a steal in a basketball player too, to contact me at 512-791-5455 or via email at TexasBasketball@aol.com

The first video is from this past July as Allex goes up and blocks 7'0" Baylor commit, Isaiah Austin (no relation) at the Great American Shootout in Duncanville, TX.

Austin in action with his San Marcos High School team last week doing his thing.