2011 Trevante Drye Narrows It Down

Silver, blue & black  OR silver orange & black?  2011 W/P Trevante Drye of Baton Rouge Glen Oaks looks good sporting either one.  In the summer of 2009, Drye suited up with the Texas D-1 Ambassadors and did a great job playing up as a 16 year old at the highest level.  In the summer of 2010 with D1 having a stand alone crew out of Louisiana, Drye was able to stay closer to home and run with the New Orleans D-1 Ambassadors Elite. It's all good in the D1 Nation!

Below: 2011 Trevante Drye shown with the New Orleans D1 Ambassadors Elite

The 6'6" Drye is one of my favorite players to have personally coached.  He goes to work and gives you 100% at all times and NEVER complains. He's had a great high school career and would like to get back to the Cajun Dome one more time for a crack at a Louisiana State Championship.  Drye handles pressure as well as anyone.  He's had a heavy load to bear from the time he laced up his sneakers as he's the son of Louis Earl (LSU) & nephew of McDonald's All American  Lester Earl (LSU & Kansas).

Tre is his own man though, and in addition to his basketball talents is also academically off the charts with a 4.2 GPA.   Numerous colleges have called and many have offered too.  I had a chance to speak with Coach Jeff Jones this morning regarding Drye's recruitment.  Jones, a longtime friend of mine is extremely close to Drye's family and has been both an on and off the court mentor over the years.  He coached Drye for 3 years as the Assistant at perennial powerhouse, Glen Oaks.  Jones has now earned his Master's and has moved on to become the Dean of Students & Head Coach at Madison Preparatory Academy in Baton Rouge.  The common theme here is education.

Drye, shown below in the summer of 2009 with the Texas D1 Ambassadors

"Tre's had lots of action, and has narrowed down his options to UNC-Charlotte, UNC-Wilmington, Tulane & SMU.  Because of the importance of education to his mom and him both, SMU & Tulane are the clear leaders at the moment. The lure of a $250,000 education and the alumni connections of the latter two schools may be too hard to pass up.  I believe he could be a 3 time all conference player at either of these spots. He's setting up visits now and will likely head to SMU for an official in the 2nd-3rd week of September."- Coach Jeff Jones

Drye is now topping out at 6'6-6'7" but he competes so hard that he's much "bigger than that.  His handles are improved and so is his intermediate shot.  Drye does most of his damage around the hoop as he is a relentless rebounder and will dunk on anyone in traffic or out.-Coach Max Ivany

I expect Tre Drye to be a success both on and off the court.  He'll be a nice get for either of these programs.  They say SMU doesn't get enough Texas kids, but if the Mustangs and Matt Doherty can pry him away from the new staff at Tulane (45 minutes from Baton Rouge), they will quickly adopt him as a Texas at Southern Methodist University.

Memphis Sweeps Opponents In The Bahamas: DJ Stephens 19 Points

Some guys highlights are their high school career, or signing their scholarship papers.  Not DJ Stephens.  The 6'5" swingman from Harker Heights has embraced his opportunity with the Memphis Tigers, becoming a fan favorite in the process.  The Texas D-1 Ambassador had a couple of offers, but none were of to his liking so he decided to play as an unsigned senior one more time as he donned the orange and black of D1.

Who can forget the AAUslugfest in Houston between the Houston Hoops & Texas D1 Ambassadors as Stephens traded highlight reel dunks with Brandon "Snap" Peters (Western Kentucky) before a standing room crowd in basketball crazy H Town?  The crowd was electric as the two skywalkers went toe to toe with Texas D1 grabbing an OT win.  You could tell from this spring event that Stephens was destined for greatness.  Always shy, he had a new swagger. (And why not, we measured him as having a 43 inch standing vertical on the electronic jump pad).                                   Memphis photos courtesy Mr. Joe Smith

August of 2010 saw Stephens get offered by Tulsa and others but it wasn't until this time last August that I got a call from old friend, and new Memphis Head Coach Josh Pastner asking for additional character info on Stephens.  In a matter of 72 hours, DJ was on the Memphis campus and enrolled in class.  He averaged 8 minutes, 2pts & 2 rebounds as a true frosh.  But who could shake the vision of his two monster dunks on the road against the Syracuse Orangemen on National TV, or his incredible between the legs windmill dunk at the Memmphis Midnight Madness where none other than judges Rudy Gay, Penny Hardaway & Allen Iverson gave him perfect 10's?

Fast forward to this preseason where the Memphis Tigers went on an exhibition trip to the Bahamas.  Stephens had 19 points, 4 rebounds & 3 steals.  Last year Stephens was a fuzzy faced frosh playing with Elliott Williams who is now in the NBA.  This year Memphis has a ballyhooed recruiting class including McDonald's All Americans Will Barton & Joe Jackson, but don't expect Stephens to be a shrinking violet. You can expect leadership from him in games, practices, as well as the classroom.  As he told me this morning: 

"Coach, I am having the time of my life.  I am doing things through basketball (like his trip to paradise, aka the Bahamas) that I would never experience otherwise."-DJ Stephens

We are all proud of you back home, DJ.  I'm sure there are more folks on your bandwagon now.  I know Ms Love is proud of you.

Coach Max & The D1 Ambassadors Family

Austin St. Michael's Jake Kocher Weighs Options

Anyone who follows the private school basketball scene in Texas knows that historically it has not been a very fertile recruiting ground for Division 1 coaches.  In recent years things have begun to change, especially in the Dallas-Fort Worth & Houston areas.  As in most basketball issues, the Austin & San Antonio areas have lagged even further behind.  

That's set to change this year as San Antonio Central Catholic, San Antonio Antonian, & Austin St. Michael's will have several very nice prospects.  Antonian's 2011 bookends 6'7" Jonathan Holmes (mulling between Texas, Texas A&M) and 6'8" Darrious Hamilton who transferred over from San Antonio Reagan are D-1 locks.  Look for Central Cathloic's Cole Martinez to really light it up this coming season.  He has as pretty a shot as anyone, and put up big numbers this summer with the Texas D-1 Ambassadors-Team Hargis.

Two of the private school stars who can get it done are SA Central Catholic's Cole Martinez (left) and SA Antonian's 6'7" Jonathan Holmes (right), a high major.

Make no mistake about it though, the PREMIER SCORER in the Austin-San Antonio area this year will be Austin St. Michael's 2011 WG Jake Kocher.  The baby faced kid with the big smile called me last night at about 10PM to give me the heads up that he had received his first D1 offer, from the Southland Conference's Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.  That marks the second Texas D1 Ambassador in less than a week that Coach Perry Clark and his staff have targeted.  (Arizona transfer Garland Judkins committed to them last week).

Kocher can get to the hoop, going left or right

Last season, Kocher averaged 29 plus per game, easily outdistancing everyone in the area with the exception of super scorer 2010 Paul Garnica (they were summer backcourt mates with the D1 Ambassadors) who is now entering his freshman year at Northern Colorado.  St. Michael's loaded up their schedule with 15 different 4A-5A public schools last season and Kocher scored at an even faster clip against the publics. It's likely that Kocher will have to redesign his shot at the college level with a higher release point but for the time being expect him to keep putting up points at a break neck pace.  Not only can he flick it from the perimeter, but he has a knack for getting to the goal and scoring against much taller players with an assortment of moves and "dipsy doodles".

Kocher will take an official visit to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in September.  He's also receiving interest from Texas State, Stephen F Austin, Bradley, VMI, Weber State & Lafayette.  Expect more to follow, although once he visits the beautiful Corpus Christi campus it could be all over.

R.I.P. Joe Phillips

I was informed today that Joe Phillips has passed.  My condolences to his family.  Joe was a constant on the club basketball scene in Austin, TX with his competitive Texas Thunder teams.  Joe succumbed to cancer after a lengthy battle.  God Bless him, he has gone home.

Coach Max Ivany

Texas D-1 Ambassadors Family

All American Prodigy Camp & Dinner Austin, TX October 2, 2010

The Fall Austin version of Coach Max Ivany's All American Prodigy Camp is here! 

OCTOBER 2, 2010 @ Concordia University   Austin, TX

*Skill Stations **Evaluation  ***Rankings

Each Player receives a dri fit jersey, instruction, evaluation & RANKINGS

Staff has a combined 100 plus years experience in the basketball game.

Poster below shows last spring's camp highlights

The camp is located on the beautiful new Concordia University campus in northwest Austin, TX.  

(Mapquest link below)
 http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Austin&state=TX&address=11400+Concordia+University+Dr&zipcode=78726-1887&country=US&latitude=30.4202&longitude=-97.84012&geocode=ADDRESS

BOYS AND GIRLS  6th-12th GRADE   

Cost:   $149.00    includes dri fit jersey and awards reception/ceremony

Online registration will be available as of August 18th.  

First 120 paid players ONLY!

512-791-5455

Max Ivany's D1 Nation is the ONLY National Recruiting Service located in Austin, TX!

Garland Judkins Commits To Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

This is a deeply personal recount of a young man's basketball and life journey.  Garland Judkins is one of my favorite players to have ever worn a Texas D-1 Ambassadors uniform.  He doesn't mind me telling it, and hopes that it's an inspiration and a guiding light for other young players.

The last year has been a humbling time in the life of young Garland Judkins.  After starting several games as a true freshman during the 2008-2009 season on an NCAA Sweet 16 Pac-10 powerhouse Arizona Wildcats team that featured two NBA Draft picks (Chase Budinger & Jordan Hill), Judkins found himself relegated to the bench in what became a frustrating season. 

Fast forward to 2009-2010 and with new Coach Sean Miller coming over from Xavier to coach the Wildcats, Judkins was optimistic that he'd get a fresh start.  However, things just never fell into place as the new staff had their own ideas as to who "their guys" were and Judkins wasn't one of them.  (This is a great lesson for young players who sign with schools where there's a high likelihood of a staff change). 

Arizona Coach Miller called me this past Christmas and communicated with me that Garland would be in a better spot elsewhere and asked me to assist him in a transfer.  We did that, and Judkins was excited about heading to UT-San Antonio and being closer to his home in suburban Houston (Angleton, TX).  It had been a tough fall for Garland though as his grandfather passed away last fall and his Pops Garland Jukins Sr. was ill, and when UTSA evaluated his transcript it had fallen below the magical 2.0 line, rendering him ineligible for D1 transfer.

Garland Judkins shown below with the Texas D1 Ambassadors

To Garland's credit, he went home to Houston and began taking online courses.  The UTSA staff assumed he would not get eligible and they moved along, signing all 8 of their available scholarships.  To add to the challenges, Garland lost his beloved father in late June of this year.  After a long illness he suffered renal failure and went home to our Lord Jesus Christ leaving behind Beverly Judkins and her only son.

Garland has boundless energy on the court, and showed the same great relience off the court with all the challenges he's recently faced.  He completed several online courses over the spring and summer and once again is eligible for D1 basketball!  The next step was to head to Jerry Mullin's "Availables" event in Tulsa, OK.  Judkins was head and shoulders the best player there.  He quickly received interest from Boise State, North Texas, Cal-Riverside, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and an unnamed Big XII school who were (still are) waiting to see if one of their signees was going to get through the NCAA Clearinghouse.

A lot of history, I know.  But today Garland texted me during his official visit with his mother to the beautiful Texas A&M-Corpus Christi campus and told me he really like the environment and the coaches.  I sat in my hotel room with my son, Chip and cried tears of joy for this young man.  The world of NCAA recruiting is a tough, no holds barred business that swallows up more than it's share of kids.  I am so happy that Garland Judkins will not be one of those.

Judkins is an explosive high level athlete that can get to the rim and will mash on you when he does.  A streaky shooter, you still have to respect his perimeter game.  Judkins can defend and handles the ball well, especially when he's pushing upcourt a la Clyde "The Glide" Drexler.   I full expect Judkins to be an All Conference player in the Southland Conference.  He'll be one of  a handful of elite athlets in the SLC and should prosper playing for veteran Coach Perry Clark (prior stops at Tulane & Miami)  You can look for him to fill the shoes of recently departed Kevin Palmer as the Big Dog in Corpus Christi before his career is over.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi will petition the NCAA for a hardship waiver to be able to play immediately and perhaps even to have 3 years eligibility remaining.  I had a chance to be interviewed by an NCAA investigator last summer in Kansas City.  He asked me what I thought they could do to make college basketball a better game for the kids.  Amongst the topics we touched on was getting AAU guys who are friendly with agents (along with the agents themselves) away from the kids. 

However, I feel it's more simple than that.  Just err in favor of the kids.  This is a young man that deserves his waiver.  He's endured the passing of a father & a grandfather.  He did not ask for 3 coaches in a tumultuous year when he went to Arizona.  The legendary Lute Olson absolutely loved Garland's game.  Who knows how this would have turned out if Coach Olson was still in the Head Seat with the Wildcats?

Coach Max Ivany

Jonathan Perry Says NO To A Division 1 Offer

How does it feel to be a 4 year varsity starter, 3 times an All Region Player in the talent rich State of Texas & in your senior year to add All State Honors to your resume but STILL have no Division One offers?  Most players and families would likely panic, or perhaps even turn their backs on the pursuit of college basketball out of frustration.  Not Kerrville Tivy's Jonathan Perry!

After 100 plus games on the highest level of the circuit with the Texas D1 Ambassadors, Perry had lots of D1 nibbles but no offers at the end of this spring.  College staff changes killed sure fire opportunities at the Citadel and Army.  So, the Perry Family made the trek to Virginia this past spring and decided that Fork Union Academy with it's rigorous academic and social policies (no vehicles on campus and limited cell phone usage by the players/student body) was the place he was going to be.  He'd reclassify and look at his college opportunities after an additional year.

My friendship with the Perry Family runs deep so I suggested that Jonathan get back on the circuit with the D1 Ambassadors this summer and let's see if something would break as far as offers.  Perry continued to work on his game and his body (working with my partner TJ Garza of Speed Killz Period to improve strength & quickness).  The result was an even more versatile player.  The 6'4" Perry could already handle the rock and shoot it, but now he'd dramatically improved his first step in getting to the rack and was physically handling 6'6" guys defensively down low as well as coming out to the perimeter to keep his man in check.

All this culminated on Tuesday evening when veteran Coach Tim Floyd (Chicago Bulls, USC, New Orleans Hornets etc) called the Perrys and offered Jonathan a scholarship to the defending champion UTEP Miners of Conference USA. Not only did Coach Floyd offer the scholarship he also said Jonathan would get 8-10 minutes a game as the back up point/combo guard. For good measure let's throw in Floyd's extensive resume of developing players (including a remarkable 3 who did NOT play high school ball, yet played in the pros!)  Hard to turn down, right? Wrong!

 After a day and a half of deliberation the Perrys politely refused and said they would honor Jonathan's COMMITMENT to Fork Union and legendary Coach Fletcher.  It was the right thing to do, in their way of thinking.  I've got to hand it to them, they are people of faith and are staunch in their belief of God's Plan.  I respectfully disagree, as I think it is a great opportunity BUT good people can have differing points of view.  :-)   So, on that note we wish Jonathan Perry all the best as he prepares to head off to Fork Union Academy in the next few days to pursue his educational, spiritual & hoops dreams.  You can bet he will be in somebody's D1 uniform in the 2011-2012 season.

Coach Max Ivany & The D1 Ambassadors Family.

Mississippi D1 Ambassadors Top 20 At AAU Nationals

I wanted to take a minute and thank my good friend, Ted Hutchins of Jackson, MS. Our friendship has resulted in an incresed opportunities for many Jackson area players, including but certainly not limited to 2011 WG Leantwan Luckett who rose to Top 60 in the country this year with the National Ranking Services & 2011 P Donovan Ross who is one tough hombre. Both of these players anchored the roster in this our inaugural season as the Mississippi D1 Ambassadors.


Coach Hutchins, like the rest of our organization's leaders is a professional man who works his "real job" with the Federal Government's Social Security Administration. He gives up his nights and weekends to work his passion, coaching basketball and mentoring young men. My hat's off to him and his lovely wife, Camille for their commitment to the youth of Mississippi and to the D1 Nation!


Sincere Thanks


Coach Max Ivany
D1 Nation

========================================================================

The Mississippi D1 Ambassadors had a very successful run at the D1 Nationals in Orlando FL last week. They finished in the top 20 out of over 230 participating teams with a 6-3 record, losing in semifinal consolation bracket 50-49 to the Wave BBall team out of Connecticut.


The D1 Ambassadors placed 2nd in their pool with a 2-1 record; defeating the NJ Roadrunners 46-43 and Georgia Elite South 57-49, and losing to national powerhouse Boston Warriors 81-74. After losing the first game in Championship bracket play (NC Athletics 62-59), they went on a 4 game tear; beating teams such as the Queen City Prophets from Ohio 46-44, Team NLP from Illinois 59-44, NC Athletics East 56-44 and Georgia Stars 43-42.


LeAntwan Luckett led the Ambassadors in scoring with a 17 pt average, while Donovan Ross lead all rebounders with 13 per game! "Twon" had a great month of July traveling all over the United States participating in camps and tournaments such as the EYBL Nike Tournament. No one had a bigger breakout summer than Donovan Ross! He went from relatively unknown to receiving several offers from D1 colleges! He's known as the "hardest working player in MS", and that's the biggest compliment you can get with this talent rich class of 2011. The Ambassadors picked up two young men who were MAJOR contributers to the team, Quentin Watkins, 6'1 pg from Lanier High (Jackson MS) and Joshua Swan, 6'2 pg/sg from Pace Academy in Atlanta GA. Both players have D1 written all over them as they showed great offensive and defensive skills throughout the tournament. Quentin played for the Jackson Celtics this season while Joshua played with the Future Elite from GA.

2011 WG Leantwan Luckett of Rigleand, MS shown below at a Reebok Breakout Camp

A pleasant surprise came from 6'4 wing Dexter Williams out of Hawaii and 5'7 pg Sean Hutchins from Ridgeland High. After arriving late due to school committments, Sean provided a defensive spark that carried the team to the brink of medaling. After 6 years of AAU competition, Sean should have a great senior season!

Big Donovan Ross of Ridgeland, MS has D1 schools drooling. He's a good student as well!

Additional Mississippi D1 Ambassadors prospects that played in the AAU National Tournament:


Jerrial Dawson, 6'1 guard from traditional powerhouse Murrah High, scored 24 pts against the Boston Warriors including 6 three pointers! He's a pure shooter with range up to 25 feet.


Daniel Francis, 6'3 wing also from Murrah, a three year starter who will receive a lot of looks from the SWAC and LA schools. Very solid fundamentally with a nice baseline jumper.


2012 Corey Cox, 6'3 wing from Yazoo City High started 2 games in Nationals. Tremendous defender with nice stroke from 20 feet. Will be a MAJOR D1 recruit in the Class of 2012.


McDarion Abron, 6'10 center from Canton High, already receiving looks from UTEP, Arkansas State, Alabama State, Jackson State, Missouri State. Raw kid with HUGE upside! Can run the floor like most small forwards, good hands and lane clogger.

2012 C 6'10" McDarion Abram( who has only been hooping for 3 years) is a load

A J Wade, 6'3 pg from N E Lauderdale, one of the best man to man defenders in high school. Great job at ball denial, long arms make it impossible to shoot over him, and he is a good rebounder for his slim size! Receiving interest from regional D1 schools in MS and AL.


Additional Players To Watch:


Clayton Tate, 2012 6'3 guard from Terry High, terrific 3 pt shooter who has no fear of taking the big shot. Will also be a major factor next year on the AAU circuit.


Johnny Rucker, 2012 6'4 fwd from Yazoo City, plays like he's 6-9, actually was the 2nd leading rebounder on team despite limited minutes. Has a knack for getting the tough rebounds, well coached in high school.


Justin Kinsey, 6'4 fwd from Yazoo City, didn't get a lot of minutes due to foot injury suffered earlier this year, but will start for a LOADED Yazoo City team this year. Great leaper with high flying dunks.


Ted Hutchins


Head Coach


Mississippi D1 Ambassadors

TEXAS PREP REPORT

I had a chance to watch a few games over the weekend during the Back to School tourney held out in Manor. 2013 F 5'8 Jonelle Smith & 2013 G 5'5 Taylor Ross, a duo form Pflugerville competed very well throughout the weekend. Ross a nice smooth 5'5 point guard has great athleticism with the ability to shoot the ball. The true sophomore worked hard defensively & stayed aggressive on the offensive side of the ball. Taylor has great ball handling and passing skills with nice quickness off the dribble. Taylor will suit up with the Pflugerville Panthers JV squad this year & should do good things.  Thanks to her dad, I got these nice photos with Taylor suiting  up with Next Level this past summer.  

2013 G 5'5 TaylorRoss

Pflugerville High School

Taylor knocking down from the charity stripe

2013 W 5'7 Jonelle Smith has great potential. With nice size & projected to be right at 5'11 the true sophomore will do great things in the years to come. Smith has a nice mid range shot with the ability to take you off the bounce. The young ssophomore was very aggressive at attacking the basket, and had countless hustle plays throughout the tourney.  Jonelle will also suit up with Pflugerville JV this season & should be an nice impact player for the Panthers. 

2013 W 5'7 Jonelle Smith

Pflugerville High School

Pushing the rock

Great job ladies

Coach Dean

Program Director(Girls Basketball)

txambassadsorsd1@yahoo.com

Texas D-1 Ambassadors - Hargis Go 3-0 In Oklahoma

The Red-River Rivalry; Texas vs. Oklahoma. When these two schools get together on the gridiron, there IS no greater rivalry in sports. So when the Texas D-1 Ambassadors-Hargis trekked to Edmund, Oklahoma, just outside of Norman this past weekend to participate in the BCI International Basketball Championships, the Ambassadors certainly reminded our friends in Oklahoma that basketball too is alive and well in the state of Texas!

Pictured above, Front row: Robert Lee; Ja’Ron McArthur; Blair Williams; Sean Voss; Jake Bronowski (Videographer). Back row: Zachary Chambers; Alex Caruso; Michael Hargis; David Weathers. Not pictured; Cole Martinez; Dylan Elias; L.D. Williams and Coaches Michael Hargis and Michael Williams.

The Ambassadors ended their 2009-2010 season in successful fashion, going undefeated with a 3-0 mark in defeating the Starting Five Phenom Black 67-51; The Cross Over Kings in an exciting matchup that packed the house, 89-75; and blasting the Tulsa Dream, 79-36, concluding its season with a 26-8 mark.

From Austin to Dallas; to Houston; to College Station; to Los Angeles; to Edmund, playing in front of college coaches from the Southland; Conference USA; Big 12; Southeastern; Sun Belt, Southwestern Athletic; West Coast and a host of other conferences ranging from Division I to Division III; the Ambassadors never failed to finish any lower than the final eight in every platinum bracket they entered.

Along the way, the Ambassadors were truly that; whether conducting basketball clinics for the Boys and Girls Club of America; or visiting with the children at the Santa Rosa Children Hospital in San Antonio, the Ambassadors certainly lived up to the lofty expectations placed on them; Not only Win games; but give back to the community as well.

 

True Ambassadors in every sense of the word.

Click on the following link to view video highlights of the Ambassadors in Oklahoma.

Texas D-1 Ambassadors-Hargis Take Over Oklahoma

Jonathan Garza to Arkansas-Fort Smith

2009 Pflugerville High graduate Jonathan Garza who played his club basketball for the Texas D-1 Ambassadors has transferred from Lamar University to Arkansas-Fort Smith in the Heartland Conference.   Garza was a redshirt with the Cardinal this past year so he will have all four years of eligibility left when he heads up to join his new team mates later this month.

Garza, the son of my business partner T.J. Garza of Speed Killz Period is a defensive minded player who has superior quickness both while defending and in his ability to break down a defender.   He is also a capable shooter who needs to look for his own shot a little bit more often.

Follow the link below to Arkansas-Fort Smith's site, along with additional details.

http://www.uafortsmithlions.com/news/2010/8/5/GEN_0805105825.aspx?path=general

Texas D-1 Ambassadors 2013-Team Morse Wins Las Vegas Tournament!

Congrats To Texas D-1 Ambassadors 2013-Team Morse For Their Las Vegas Championship!

Two things never in question about a Ron Morse coached team; they're going to be better than the sum of their parts and each player will show significant improvement over the course of their season.  The kids are developed with an equal emphasis on their physical skills as well as the development of their basketball IQ.  This perfect storm of coaching and player development made it all possible for the squad of freshmen to capture the Swoosh Ultimate Showcase in Las Vegas, NV.

Texas D-1 Ambassadors-Team Morse 59   Tri County All Stars (MD) 45    CHAMPIONSHIP !

Team Morse went a flawless 6-0, culminating in a 59-45 championship win over the Tri County All Stars from Maryland.   The D-1 Ambassadors were led in the championship game by the Coach's Son, Will Morse.  The talented PG scored 30 points (including 6 three pointers) as well as dropping 4 dimes.  Austin Westlake graduated 3 year starter and All State PG Cody Doolin who signed with the San Francisco Dons, but look for young Morse to continue the Westlake tradition of great guard play as he steps into Doolin's considerable shoes this fall to lead his high school varsity team.  

On the frontline, lanky 6'6" Alex Frame of Austin Anderson scored 11 points and dominated the boards with 12 rebounds.  Anderson HS, the former home of McDonald's All American & Texas Longhorn Kris Clack has been a basketball wasteland of late.  Perhaps an influx of young talent such as Frame will signal a turnaround for the Trojans.

2013 PG Will Morse (left) of Austin Westlake shows great lift on his jumper, while super long Alex Frame (right) of Austin Anderson goes high above the competition.

Texas D-1 Ambassadors  73  Utah Swoosh (UT)  39      SEMI FINAL

In what the team deemed their most overpowering performance of the summer, Team Morse shot out of the gate and never looked back in a thrashing of the Utah Swoosh.  Vincent Deblasio lad the way with 14 points,  SG Chris Moore of Austin Bowie scored 13, Will Morse had 10 points, 6 assists and Alex Frame had 10 points, 6 rebounds.

2013 SG Chris Moore of Austin Bowie (left) has a nice perimeter game but can also get to the rack.  2013 Vincent Deblasio (right) of Austin Westlake combines hustle with skill and gets the job done.

Texas D1 Ambassadors  73  CDYC (Calgary, Alberta Canada)  54  QUARTERFINAL

Texas D1 didn't do anything for international relations as their balanced scoring attack was too much for the quick, scrappy Canadian kids.  PG Will Morse had 15 points & 8 assists,  Wing  Stefan Vidovic of Austin Lake Travis added 14 points and 6 assists & Alex Frame had 14 points, 8 rebounds in the quarterfinal win.  Kerrville's Rowdy Winters added 10 points.

2013 WG 6'2" Stefan Vidovic of Austin Lake Travis (left) has boundless potential.  His father Sonny, played professionaly in Europe. Kerrville's Rowdy Winters (right) shown with Pops Todd "Big Rowdy" Winters brings his well rounded game back to Coach Brian Young and the Tivy Antlers this fall.

Texas D-1 Ambassadors  69   Impact Athletics  25

Chris Alfaro of Del Valle had 13 points, 5 rebounds to lead the way.  Will Morse and Stefan Vidovic followed with 13 & 12 respectively in the blowout win. 

Texas D-1 Ambassadors show fellowship with the Tri County All Stars from maryland after the championship game.

A special thanks to Todd "Big Rowdy" Winters who served as the organization's photographer all season long.  Thanks for preserving all these memories for the players and their families! 

Coach Max

Chris Alfaro (left) of Del Valle & Nick Melvin (right) of Burnet provided size and toughness for the D-1 Ambassadors

Dapo Ogunfeitimi (left) of San Antonio O'Connor is one of the most athletic guard prospects in the Class of 2013 in Austin/San Antonio while wing Rwody Winters of Kerrville (right) brings his versatile game and work ethic to every contest.

Great season guys!   Coach Max Ivany