What's The Buzz In Del Valle

It's been a great start for the Del Valle Cardinals 7th Grade Team. Behind the play of 2015 G Japreece Dean the Cardinals have a 6-0 record on the season.

2015 G 5'5 Japreece Dean

2015 G 5'5 Japreece Dean is a high caliber player with a bright future. The 7th grader has excellent ball handling, passing, and shooting skills with the ability to take you off the bounce. Japreece has excellent range from the perimeter and finishes very well with both hands at the basket. Dean who averages 28 points and 12 rebounds per game for the Cardinals seems to be unstoppable. Two weeks ago I witnessed one of the best performances I had ever seen. The cardinals went up against Elgin Middle School in a game that everyone knew would be good. Japreece really did a number on the Elgin team dropping 37 points, and grabbing 9 rebounds with 4 assist in a 47-41 win.

Pictured here with the Texas D-1 Ambassadors Dean goes up for a rebound

Looks like Coach Angel at Del Valle High School will have another D-1 Prospect headed her way.

Bastrop Coming To Life

2011 G 5'4 Vanessa Winston

2010 F 5'9 Tamleasha Moore
The Lady Eagles was so gracious to let me capture this photo.


2011 G 5'7 Hillari Raemsch

2011 F 5'9 Danille Lofton

The Lady Bears of Bastrop High School (1-5) get thier first 25-5A win Tuesday night over the visiting Akins Lady Eagles (3-3). The Lady Bears shot the ball extremely well all night getting 33 points from 2011 G 5'7 Hillari Raemsch. The junior guard is pretty quick with the dribble and does a good job getting the team out in transition. 2010 F 5'9 Tamleasha Moore dropped 19 to heap get the victory. Tamleasha plays very aggressive around the basket and is quickly getting better from the perimeter. The Lady Bears led the game from beginning and never looked back. The Lady Eagles were led in scoring by 2011 F 5'9 Danielle Lofton with 24 points. The junior post has good footwork around the basket. She continues to show that she is a competitor and not to be taken lightly. 2011 G 5'4 Vanessa Winston added 13 for the Lady Eagles. The D-1 Prospect has great range on her shot and one of things that impresses me is her ability to hit the open man.

Great Job Ladies

Coach Dean

Austin-San Antonio Round Up

Daniel Alexander (Below) drops the game winner against Lanier.

Austin Westlake 63 Austin High 60 Cody Doolin's (San Francisco) 23 led Westlake to a close victory over their arch rival Maroons.

Austin LBJ 61 Austin Reagan 51 In another matchup of fierce rivals, LBJ continues it's decade long dominance despite Reagan getting 13 from 2011 G Brandon Golden.

Dripping Springs 50 Austin Lanier 47 A last second three pointer from Daniel Alexander (Texas A&M) gave Drip the W.

Below: Reagan's 2011 G Brandon Golden continues to impress.

Pflugerville Hendrickson 63 Manor 34

2011 W Jalen Washington led the Hawks with 19

Austin Bowie 75 Pflugerville 68 Cleveland Smith's (Lamar) 25 were not enough as Bowie got 26 from Robinson as Bowie cruised past the Panthers.

Austin Akins 88 Bastrop 83 OT 2011 G Yolonzo Moore had 29 for the Eagles in the win, and 2011 G Josiah Monroe dropped 43 in the loss for the Bears.

Bryan 57 Temple 34

Below: J. Michael Reese as seen in ESPN The Magazine during the summer of his rising 8th grade year. Now 2 1/2 years later he's coming off All State Honors, the only freshman to do so in the State of Texas. I went all the way to Bryan, TX tonight and a soccer game broke out...well, not quite. But, the Vikings did hold Temple to 4 first quarter points and ultimately at the half Bryan led 23-13. This is the least hard nosed Bryan squad I've ever seen. Perhaps it was just a bad half, but I just didn't see the fire I've become accustomed to in a John Reese coached team. Temple had double digit first half turnovers, but they were for the most part unforced and not caused by Bryan's trademark full court pressure. On top of that, Reese was held scoreless. Perhaps for the first time in his high school career...and maybe ever???? The best player on the court in the first half was 2010 W Terrance Tucker who had 9 rebounds in the half.

It was great to see my old friend, Coach Reese looking healthy after the unexpected heart attack he suffered back in the fall of 2008. I also had a chance to visit with new Temple Coach Tim Thomas, no stranger to the hardwood. He had taken a few years off in an administrative capacity but now he's back behind the bench having come from a successful coaching career at Lubbock Estacado.

In the 3rd quarter, Bryan picked up the pace and now their press has exposed the Temple backcourt. Turnovers, along with 3 point shooting by Seniors Jecory Washington and Alan Green (who both had a pair) is causing this to be a rout, 45-20.

This one's in the books, with nothing much to add. Underclassmen 2012 Avery Polchinski of Temple and Bryan frosh, Chris Johnson both show signs of future stardom. Senior forward Aaron Burke led all scorers with 11 points. Senior P Terrance Tucker, who would be a nice JuCo catch had 6 points and an impressive 15 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Young Reese was held to 3 points. I say held, but he really just cruised through this one. They didn't need him to score. so he elected to play the role of playmaker. He finished with 9 assists but could easily have had 5 more if his team mates had finished.

Senior F Donald Robinson had 10 points to lead Temple. I'd heard good things about this Temple group, but tonight they were flat. I'll reserve major judgment for now.

Bryan 9-14-22-12-57

Temple 4-9-7-14-34

Brownsville Hanna vs Weslaco Panthers

The Battle of the BEST:

If you want to be the best, you have to beat the BEST. This was the case for a highly anticipated match up between the #1 Brownsville Hanna Eagles and #2 Weslaco Panthers (ratings are given out by Valley Freedom Papers for the RGV area). It's the first game of district play and both teams are vying for the top spot. The presents have been unwrapped, the tamales have all been eaten, and the fireworks of a new year have all but lit up the sky to welcome the first game of the district. The Weslaco Panthers boast two kids who have participated in the Ambassador program, #30 JT Lopez (SG) (photo below) and #3 Andrew Rangel (PG).

The Panthers struck first with aggressiveness and drive to the hole by Lopez for a 3-pt play. Weslaco continued its drive to the basket and led 6-3 in the middle of the first quarter. The game was physical from the beginning, but every time Weslaco thought they could extend their lead, Hanna was there to fire back. Weslaco played great transition basketball in the first half, showing why they have such a great coach, Gabe Valdez. Weslaco knows how to run the lanes and was able to quickly move the ball down court to score. First quarter score 12-12. As in any game, momentum can switch in the blink of an eye. JT Lopez showed once again why he is such a great player. His hussling allowed him to turn a bad pass into a scoring opportunity. With Weslaco getting into some foul trouble, and Hanna being succesful at the charity stripe, the Eagles tied it at 20 a piece. To my surprise, Hanna had a "lethal" weapon that fired endlessly all night, senior forward #10 Anthony Garza.

Standing a little taller than six feet, with a body-type like Tayshaun Prince, this kid showed why he is so special. With so many weapons, I witnessed strong rebounding, both offensive and defensive, 3-point shots from way behind the line, jumpers that melted into the net, some impressive ball-handling (for a big guy), baseline drives, and an endless variety of layups, all while having a defender or two in his face. He wrapped up his game with a nice breakaway dunk in the final quarter. I was left speechless. This kid is a gem waiting to be discovered. The first half ended with Hanna leadin 38-25. The second half showed what Weslaco's point guard, Andrew Rangel, is capable of. With quick moves to the basket, he was able to get some points on the board for his Panthers. Hanna's lead continued going into the 4th quarter with a score of 48-31. The Eagles showed great ball movement as Weslaco's fire began to slowly burn out. Lopez's hussle never diminished and his efforts were endless. Hanna outscored the Panthers 25-9 in the final quarter giving them a final score of 73-40. As with all districts, there will be a rematch and it will be at home for the Panthers who thrive on their fan base to add to their success. It can still be said that the Hanna Eagles are still one of the best teams in the valley, until another team attempts to knock that crown, but until then, Congratulations to the Eagles on an impressive win.

Congratulations to Coach Don Denson from the Brownsville Hanna Eagles for the great win! Good Luck to Coach Gabe Valdez and the rest of the Panthers as this district 32-5A will be a tough powerhouse this season.

** Special thanks to Joshua Jurado from Weslacosports.net for the picture of JT Lopez**

Texas D-1 Ambassadors High School Girls Tryouts

“The Texas D-1 Ambassadors One of the Nation’s Top Showcase Programs For College Basketball Prospects.”

The Flagship team will lead the way for the Ambassadors Girls Program.

•Gain good recruiting status in various regions of the country
•All Players will be added to our College Prospect Database to help enhance recruiting efforts
•High level basketball specific training during the spring and summer seasons
•Quality Exposure Tournaments & Camps
•Access to the best custom uniforms & shoe packages for our teams
•VIP pass to attend the All American Prodigy Camp

2010 Scheduled Events for Varsity Flagship Team.

March 2010 All American Prodigy Camp(2Day Camp)

Players will be evaluated by our ranking service for the College Prospect Database

April 17-19 USJN California Classic(Nike Event)
May 1-2 Hidden Talent(San Antonio)
May 15-16 Fury Invitational(Georgetown)
June 5-6 Battle on The Border
June 26-28 5 Star Shootout(Georgetown)
July 5-8 Big State Flava Jam(Nike) Dallas
July 10-12 Best of Summer(Atlanta)
July 22-25 Battle On The Plains(Kansas)
July 29-30 USJN Mountain Madness(Denver)

More Dates to be added

Please submit a letter of interest to txambassadorsd1@yahoo.com

Tryouts will be conducted starting February 2010

Texas D-1 Ambassadors 2016 Off To A Great Start

(R) Head Coach Brenton Christian

(L) Assistant Coach Ricky Funderburke

Texas D-1 Ambassadors 2016

Tourney Champs

Our girls program is really getting off to a great start for the 2010 summer season. One of our newest teams to the Ambassador family played in their first tournament as an Ambassador team this weekend. Team 2016 came out on fire Saturday to capture their first victory. Going up against Dripping Springs was not a test for the young group as they went up twenty well before the half.

On Sunday they went up against the Cedar Park Timberwolves for the championship. The girls got out to a slow start but really picked things up to take a 16-1 lead early in first half. The girls really picked things up in the second half to put it out of reach for the Timberwolves. I will not publish any of the game scores however I will tell you they out scored their opponents 114-19 .

The 2016 group is coach by Brenton Christian along with Assistant Ricky Davis. As I Visit their practices I have seen lots of good hard work form the staff and players. Sometimes finding kids are very committed takes time, but I believe we have a solid group of girls who are committed to doing good things.

Congratulations Ladies & keep working hard.

Coach Dean

Garnica's Record Breaking Pics

Many thanks to Antonio Morano, contributing photographer to KENS5 and SASports.com for being kind enough to share the following three photos with basketball fans and followers of the Texas Prep Report.

Here's Paul in vintage form, hitting the three pointer which broke Devin Brown's City of San Antonio scoring mark. Garnica now stands at 2770 points and could hit the 3000 mark for his storied career. What a great photo! Below: Garnica goes in deep, challenging Madison's 6'6' Tyler Wood (UT-San Antonio) at the goal for 2 of his 25 points last night.

At the conclusion of the game NEISD gave a nice tribute to Paul, citing his accomplishments. The ball will be inscribed and put in the Lee HS Hall of Fame for display for future youngsters to aspire to.

I feel confident that Paul will have continued high level success at Northern Colorado University once his prep career ends next month.

Garnica Crowned King of San Antonio

Finally, the night many San Antonio HS basketball fans have been waiting for. With 18 points left to tie Devin Brown's career scoring record (2763 points) for the City of San Antonio, a crowd of well over a 1000 people were on hand. To the average viewer, the unlikeliest of heroes of the hardwood was a 5'11" Hispanic kid who weighs 150 lbs soaking wet. To those of us who follow the scene closely, we see a deadly three point shooting assassin in Senior PG Paul Garnica of San Antonio Lee.

Below: Garnica in a familiar pose during a summer game shooting over a Memphis Magic player while representing the Texas D-1 Ambassadors.

Folks, this is no cheap record. Tonight (as in many nights past) San Antonio Madison were doubling Garnica as soon as he got off the bus. The ultimate compliment paid to a great player. Less mentally tough kids would get frustrated, but not Garnica. Although he took a twisting three, and hit it with his first shot over two defenders, for the most part he let the game come to him. It's really not that hard for Paul Garnica to do, because despite his scoring role at Lee HS he is first and foremost a point guard that enjoys setting a team mate up for an easy bucket.

I've had the pleasure to coach him for approximately 150 summer games on the toughest circuit in the country. Most people would be surprised to know that despite an occasional 20 point outing Garnica was more likely to put up double digit assists as he dropped sweet "dimes" to such team mates as D.J. Stephens (Memphis), Garland Judkins (Arizona), Cory Jefferson (Baylor), Daniel Alexander (Texas A&M) and Brian Williams (Oklahoma State) just to name a few. It was this skill and aptitude that landed Garnica his multiple D-1 scholarship offers, ultimately deciding on playing for Coach Tad Boyle who is building a nice mid major power at Northern Colorado.

Having said that, this was Paul's night to etch his name in the scoring books. After 3 quarters he was dead even with Brown (now with the New Orleans Hornets) as he scored 18. He was stuck on that total for about 5 minutes until with 6:44 left in the game he hit a 22 foot triple with two defenders all over him. With the score tied at 57, Garnica snagged his 10th rebound of the game and raced 3/4 of the court before he was almost gang tackled just inside the arc on the sideline. With 0.6 seconds, he shot free throws. He missed the first, and capped his record breaking night with a game winning shot from the charity stripe to finish with 25 for the night. Lee is now 25-2 on the season.

Garnica now has 2770 points and figures to add 200 plus more. I'd bet on him eclipsing the 3000 point plateau. An amazing feat. Tonight, most everyone gave Paul a minute long standing ovation. There were a few "haters", but for one night most basketball fans were Paul Garnica fans.

Paul, congratulations from everyone in the Lee HS community as well as Coach Max, Chip and the rest of the Texas D-1 Ambassadors Family.

G.M Blackman Tourney Recap

Coach Dean blogging and hanging out at the scores table with the Coaching Staff from Bastrop Athletics. The Bears really put on a good tournament this year with lots of schools competing.

2011 P 6'3 Angela Beadle did a bang up job In the Bastrop Tournament, Angela really shined. She averaged 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocks. She was particularly great in the 3rd game, against Bastrop. Angela scored 25 points, gathered 17 rebounds, blocked 7 shots, had 3 assists, and stole the ball 5 times.

The Hutto Lady Hippos is a great athletic team that shoots the ball very well. they are young this year with a lot of fire power. look for Hutto to do good things as district plays is underway.

2010 G 5'5 Jessica Peralez has great range on her shot and plays really good team ball. The senior guard plays very hard and will burn you from deep.
2011 C 6'2 Tara Dunn has great athleticism, moves very well without the ball, and can quickly get up the floor in transition. She has great size and works very well around the basket. look for the Poth Pirettes to do big things in district play.
I had a chance to catch up with the Lady Cougars from Crockett as they prepared for Del Valle. I believe the cougars will do great things in the near future as they are now under the leadership of Coach Jennifer Shuttlesworth
2011 P 5'10 Post Kathryn Tolbert did an excellent job in the tourney. The junior from Hendrickson runs the floor very well with the ability to make good passes. Kathyrn has a nice mid range shot and don't mind taking you to the basket.