Central Catholic Continues To Build For District

San Antonio Central Catholic competed in the Boerne Tournament on Monday and Tuesday.  The event was pool play only, with no clear cut winner declared as the various pools didn't play bracket play vs the others.  The CCHS folks were good enough to update me on how they did.

San Antonio Central Catholic  59  New Braunfels Canyon 57

Seniors Cole Martinez (22) & Alec Senioris (16) led the Buttons.

San Marcos 77  San Antonio Central Catholic 62

revenge is sweet, as San marcos returned the favor from the pre Christmas Harlandale Tournament where CCHS beat them going away.  2012 W Allex Austin had 22 for the Rattlers and 2012 G Collin Hart added 17,  while Cole Martinez led all scorers with 38.

2011 Cole Martinez (left) is the best pure shooter left unsigned in the San Antonio area, while 2012 Allex Austin (right) continues to put together impressive performances for San Marcos.

CCHS 71  Spring 57

Central went on a 20-0 run after falling behind early & once again Martinez rang up big points in the win (25).

CCHS 62  Seguin 59
Martinez scored 18 in the win and Seguin's 2011 P Brig Gehrlich, the coach's son led all scorers with 20.

Austin Westlake Holiday Tournament-Tuesday

Coppell  54   A&M Consolidated  39

Coppell goes 12 men deep and they all know their roles.  Scoring was balanced with nobody in double figures.  2012 G Alex Caruso had 14 in the loss.

Duncanville  53  El Paso Montwood 46

This is a great matchup between a larger, more athletic team in Duncanville and a fundamentally sound Montwood team whose sum is greater than the individual parts. To this point in the tournament Duncanville's three point shooting has been limited to Jeremy Atkins.  On the other side of the fence, not only does Montwood constantly cut and run their offense with precision but it's their readiness to RECEIVE the ball when making those cuts that makes them dangerous. 

A 4 point half time lead for D'ville has evaporated as Luke Mergerson picked up a tech late in the 3rd.  With him out of the game Montwood upped their lead to 7 points.  This one was nip and tuck down the stretch as the lead changed hands several times, the last when Senior guard Jeremy Atkins hit his most important three pointer of the game.  He finished with 14 points.  Big Man, Luke Mergerson had 12 points and 14 rebounds. Nobody could hold him.

Seniors Robert Lopez and Gabriel licon had 12 each for the Montwood Rams.  Missed free throws down the stretch killed them and allowed Duncanville to get out and run to end the game.

A&M Consolidated  49 El Paso Socorro  32

After a lackluster effort earlier this morning against a good quality Coppell team, A&M cam out stronger in the afternoon tilt (albeit vs a weak Socorro squad)  Not too many times you see a donut in a quarter of a high school game but after one, it's Consolidated up 12-0.   A&M subbed regularly, going deep into their bench as the coasted to the W.  2012 G Alex Caruso continues to impress as he dropped 22 points, 5 rebounds & 5 steals.

2012 G Alex Caruso



Coppell  77  Austin Westlake 38

This is my second time watching Coppell and other than looking at the roster names/numbers the kids are interchangeable.  Nobody puts up big stats but at the end of the day there's been a butt whuppin'..and Coppell's the one giving it.  After 1 quarter, Coppell leads 13-4. 

Coppell wins this one going away as the Cowboys brought their six shooters & Westlake was firing blanks in a terrible shooting game.  Coppell is dangerous.  They can make shots, they fly around the ball, they rebound well & because they have no real "go to guy" they will be tough to scheme against in district and playoff contests.

Senior Tom Fisher worked hard for the Chaps as he had 9 points, & 2012 G R.J. Rowan had 13 .

Pflugerville  72 Duncanville 50

Both are Panthers, "The Battle of The Villes"..and to top it off a couple of key P'ville guys were late for the bus (Mitchell & Dempsey) so they won't start today's game.  With youngster 2013 T.J. Williams distributing the ball for the first 6 minutes,  P'ville jumped to a 16-7 lead, upping it to 20-11 after one. The half time score is Pflugerville 36 Duncanville 24.  Senior Jordan Major had his best half of the year as he deflected, stole, rebounded and scored the ball for P'ville.

2011 W Cameron Blue

For the most part, both teams exchanged buckets in the quarter and P'ville leads after 3, 55-41.  D'ville has no answer for the superior quickness and multiple perimeter shooting threat the P'ville guards and wings pose. Deon Mitchell has really asserted himself after sitting the 1st quarter.  Who'd a thunk it, that the State's #10 ranked team in 5A would take a solid trouncing from #12 ranked Pflugerville to the point where P'ville was emptying their bech with 3 minutes to play. Impressive wins P'ville has notched include quality wins over "tempo control" programs Austin Bowie, Converse Judson & El Paso Montwood and now over athletic DFW powerhouse, Duncanville. 

Deon Mitchell had 15 points & 5 assists while 2011 W Cameron Blue also added 15 in the win.  Cameron Lenzy had 9 for D'ville and Mergerson had 7 & 6 boards. 

El Paso Montwood   45 ston Westbury  28
Seniors Robert Lopez (left) & Gabriel Licon (right) are two integral parts of this year's version of Montwood.  Licon is one of the better perimeter shooters in the tournament while Lopez always knows where the soft spot is in the high post defense. 

At the half, it's Montwood leading 19-10.   Gabriel Licon has 13 of their points and grabbed 5 boards.  Not too shabby for a 5'10" guard.  Montwood won this one going away in methodical fashion.  Licon finished with 25 to lead all scorers while Robert Lopez had 13. Props go to Senior Ricardo Nova who does a lot of the dirty work. He's not going to fill the stat sheet but he does a little bit of everything it takes for the team to win.

I was speaking with the Montwood staff prior to the game this evening. What a nice group of guys.  It didn't take but a minute to see how much pride they took in the defensive intensity and precision which their Montwood teams operate at, year in and year out.  Coach Tony Harper has 800 plus wins, which is pretty impressive.

One of the most interesting tidbits I acquired in the conversation is that Coach Harper played for The Bear, the legendary Don Haskins.  He was there at UTEP (known as Texas Western at the time) during that 1966 season which was immoratlized in the movie Glory Road.  Apparently, Coach Harper was also a pitcher on the baseball team so after playing 20 basketball games that season he left the basketball team before their historic run head to his field of dreams.



Kerrville Tivy Tournament

Kerrville Tivy 81  Bandera 36
The Tivy Antlers came out of the holiday break with fresh legs as they demoralized the Bandera Bulldogs in early action play 81-36. Freshman Matt Perry came down the floor on the first possession after Tivy won the opening tip and hit a trey. The Bulldogs would not score until 56 sec were left in the first quarter. It was 24-1 Tivy after one and 40-8 at half. 12 players for the Antlers scored and Perry led the Antlers with 14.

Kerrville Tivy 61  San Angelo Central 53
At noon the Antlers took the court again against San Angelo Central. Freshman "Mattie Ice" Perry started the game out again with two 3s early. The Antlers led 26-20 at the half. After an ugly 3rd quarter in a physical game, senior Deron Belford(Texas State)took over to rally the Tivy troops in the 4th. Perry was high scorer with 24 (6 threes) and Deron Belford had 19.
2011 G Jake Kocher (left) is up to his old scoring antics as he dropped 35, 12, 31 & 27 in four games at the Tivy Invitational. Meanwhile super frosh Matt Perry (right) has posted another season best as he had 24 points v San Angelo Central.

San Angelo Central 99 San Antonio Steele 95 (4 OT's!)South San 70 New Braunsfels Unicorns 62
SA Steele 58 Bandera 41
South San 50 Austin Lake Travis 44
San Antonio Madison 90 Somerset 48
Austin St. MIchaels 71  Corpus Christi King 49 (Jake Kocher (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 35)
Austin Lake Travis 50 Converse Judson 48
San Antonio Madison 64 Dripping Springs 46
Somerset 64 New Braunsfels 60
Dripping Springs 57  Austin St. Michaels 50
Converse Judson 82 Corpus Christi King 31

San Antonio Clark 60 San Antonio Stevens 55

2011 G Jacob Palacios paced Clark with 20 points, including a three pointer which allowed Clark to take the lead with 30 seconds to play.  He overcame 2012 W Marcus Roper's late pair of three pointers which allowed Stevens to come back from their deficit before Palacios last minute heroics.

2011 G Javob Palacios (below) led Clark with 20 points

2012 WG Uche Ofoegbu led Stevens with 15 points.

Kingwood Tournament (Del Valle Updates)

Del valle is in the Houston area representing Central Texas.  Del Valle Coach Brad Alexander reports back that the Cardinals are living dangerously.  Every game is a nail biter.

Del Valle 48, Langham Creek 47
The Cardinals were down by 12 and hit the winning shot with 3 seconds left to play. Karim York (Santa Clara) led with 16 points.

2011 W Karim York will take his talents to Santa Clara in the West Coast Conference

Kingwood Park  59  Del Valle  58 (OT)
Roles were reversed this time as Del Valle LOST a 10 point lead in the 4th quarter.  Karim York's 25 points were wasted in this affair.

Del Valle   Humble Atascocita  (2OT)
Del Valle gave up a 10 point lead in the 4th but snagged the win in the 2nd extra session.

Austin Westlake Holiday Classic-Monday

First blood at the Westlake Holiday Classic has been spilled.  A&M Consolidated came into Westlake and beat the home team, 64-58.  Westlake trailed for most of the game, taking their first lead 39-38 near the end of the 3rd quarter.  The Chaps clawed back in in after being down by 10.  They took advantage of 2012 PG Alex Caruso's foul trouble.  Consolidated is a different team with him out of the game. It was nip and tuck the remainder of the game until a questionable tech swung the final momentum the Tigers way.

2012 PG 6'5" Alex Caruso of A&M Consolidated, shown below with the Texas D1 Ambassadors

Caruso is indeed establishing himself as the real deal.  At 6'5" he has superior court vision.  His improvement since the summer has been dramatic and you can really see that the game has slowed down for him.  He led the way with 20 points, 5 assists, 4 steals & 5 rebounds.  He's climbing up the charts from mid major to a serious candidate for high major looks this coming summer season.  2013 P 6'5" Jimmie Gilbert had 5 points & snagged 12 rebounds in the win.  Senior KeeKee Williams hit some timely shots and finished with 14.

Austin Westlake was led by 2013 PG Will Morse with 19 points.  He also did  nice job of taking care of the ball.  2012 P 6'6" Drew Wikelius had 13 points and 8 rebounds.  Missed free throws down the stretch really hurt Westlake's chances.  2012 G R.J. Rowan added 15 for the Chaps.

Coppell    65   El Paso Socorro  38
This one was a runaway as Senior D.J. Feitl led a balanced Socorro attack with 12 points.  Senior Enrique Jimenez had 13 for a game, but overmatched El Paso Socorr squad.

Pflugerville   El Paso Montwood

It's easy to see why Montwood rules El Paso basketball on a regular basis and is always a threat to go deep into the State playoffs.  They're well coached by Tony Harper and the players understand their roles.  However, there is no 6'7" Roman Martinez (New Mexico) this time around so they are undersized.  It all came down to not being able to handle Pflugerville's guards (but then again not many teams can).

Deon Mitchell (Northern Iowa) had a smooth 20 while also grabbing 5 boards & 5 steals.  2011 Jamaal Shabazz had 15 points & 5 boards, while 2011 Darrian Dempsey also added 11 for The Ville.  Montwood consistently scored from the free throw line as Senior Robert Lopez dropped 25 to lead all scorers. The majority of them came from the same spot on the floor, off the same cuts.  Senior Gabriel Lincon had the hot hand early for Montwood from the perimeter as he scored 16 before Pflugerville started to deny him the ball. 
Deon Mitchell, seen below signing with Northern Iowa, was cashing the checks for Pflugerville as he went to work today as he dropped 20 on El Paso Montwood.

Duncanville   75      Westbury  40

Duncanville began to dominate halfway through the first quarter and as it progressed the game became a track meet.  With 2011 P Luke Mergerson controlling the boards (6 points & 12 rebounds) and 2011 W 6'7" Devane Carter finishing on the break (3 dunks in a 40 second span) on his way to 15 points, they were too much for Westbury.

Duncanville's 2011 Luke Mergerson (left) and 2011 Davene Carter (right) were too much for Houston Westbury to handle.

Austin Westlake  60  El Paso Socorro  38

Westlake played an uninspired first half with their best play being a half court 3 pointer by Will Morse to end the 1st quarter.  After trailing 18-13 at the half, Coach Eliis must have gotten in their ears pretty well as Westlake came out with guns blazing and scored 30 in the 3rd period to take command 43-25.  The entire Chaps roster contributed something to the effort.

2012 G R.J. Rowan had an inspired 2nd half as he scored 17 points, 2013 G Vince Deblasio added 8 points and fellow soph Will morse had 8 points and 6 assists.  For Socorro, Seniors Kyle Brito had 11 and Enrique Jimenez added 10.

Pflugerville  71  Houston Westbury  51

This one was never in doubt from the opening whistle.  At the half, with Pflugerville subbing liberally they go to the locker room with a 36-17 lead.  Pflugerville rested the majority of it's starters from the midpoint of the 3rd.  Deon Mitchell led with 16 points, getting to the goal whenever he wanted.  Cameron Blue & Jamal Shabazz both had 6 boards.

2012 G Chris Hynes dropped 16 for Westbury.  Their best player was 2013 F Donivan Jones who had 16 points & 7 boards.

There's a New Kid In Town (Same Old Family)

The name Perry is synonymous with Kerrville Tivy basketball.  Papa Rick Perry moved his clan to the Hill Country 28 years ago. Who'd a thunk it that his eldest son, Keith who started his sophomore his sophomore year would begin a string of 11 straight years with a Perry starting on the hardwood.  This opens up a joke that Rick, a tennis player at Oklahoma State (aka Cowboy High) may well have taken 11 years HIMSELF to get through school, but luckily he married above his pay grade and the kids got Mrs. Perry's smarts...lol

Keith started three years for the Antlers & went on to play college basketball at Schreiner and Howard Payne University.  As soon as Keith graduated. middle son Jonathan became a 4 year starter and a two time All Region Player who also captured All State recognition this past year.  Tim Floyd had just taken the Head Coaching job at University of Texas-El Paso and after watching Jonathan in Las Vegas & Phoenix with the Texas D1 Ambassadors offered him a scholarship this past July.

With an off day between Vegas & Phoenix, Rick, Jonathan (r) & Coach Max (left) hit the golf course.  There is no official record who won that day, only vicious rumors...lol

The Perry's are unique folks in this day and age of "me me me" and "now now now".  A few weeks before Jonathan had committed to do a prep school year at Fork Union Prep in Virginia.  Believing God has a plan for his son, the Perry's stuck with that original plan and Jonathan (no surprise) is prospering in that environment which is causing his recruitment to heat up.

After a heck of a run to last year's regional semifinal, and graduating most of his impact players Kerrville Coach Brian Young could understandably expect a let down with this year's team.  He did have 2011 G Deron Belford (Texas State) coming back to run the point, but he had almost no other experienced players in the mix. 

2014 WG 6'1" Matt Perry, shown below at Max Ivany's All American Prodigy Camp: March 2010

BUT, hold up a minute.  For the 8th straight year there's a Perry in the Tivy starting lineup.  This time it's freshman Matt Perry, a 6'1" wing guard.

Speaking with Pops Rick tonight, he told me that Matt got his opportunity early in the season when several Tivy players were benched for disciplinary reasons prior to the Marble Falls Tournament.   The younger Perry saw the floor and after initially feeling like a deer in the headlights, Matt seized the opportunity and let his basketball instincts take over.  He scored 16 points vs. powerhouse Killeen High, Perry followed that up with 20 vs Austin Travis, 13 vs Cedar Park Vandergriff, 12 vs Converse Wagner & 9 vs Liberty Hill. He's currently second on the team in scoring averaging 12ppg on the year.

His dad credited Matt's time with the Texas D1 Ambassadors in preparing him for the basketball opportunity. I appreciate his support. However the Perrys are fortunate to be coached by a fundamental, hardnosed guy in Coach Brian Young.  He's an intense teacher who I respect very much.  Matt Perry will have an opportunity to build on that legacy tomorrow as he laces them up in the Kerrville Tivy Classic.

1st Annual Westlake Holiday Classic Preview

Good Afternoon & Merry Christmas to all.  I hope everyone's enjoying their day, good health and good food.  I just sat down and loosened my belt after a nice turkey and lobster dinner.  On Monday, I'll be heading up Interstate 35 from San Antonio to Austin. I'll be spending December 27-29th in the State Capital evaluating some great high school hoops talent in action.  The Inaugural Westlake Holiday Hoops Classic Tournament promises to deliver the basketball goods.  It's Santa's gift to Austin, TX.  The brainchild of Austin Westlake Head Coach Tres Ellis, Craig Carlton & John Rowan it's their intent to build this into one of the most outstanding holiday tournaments in the country.  I've pledged my assistance.

I was delighted to accommodate them when they asked Texas Basketball Inc. & The D1 Nation to provide media coverage.  It's a great beginning although there's a slight disappointment when both Fort Bend Bush ( #7 in Texas 5A & Houston Yates (#4 in Texas 4A) dropped out to take all expense paid trips out of state.  However, there's more than enough talent & tradition to make this inaugural event an exciting one. And with the teams and high level players in attendance, how could I refuse?  Let's handicap the field and introduce you to some of the key players/prospects in the event.

Austin Westlake

2012 P 6'6" Drew Wikelius has nice footwork with his back to the goal.  One of the few traditional back to the basket players in the area.  Always good for 10 plus rebounds per game.

2012 G R.J. Rowan has a smooth stroke and the confidence to pull it at any time.  Rowan is neck and neck with sophomore Will Morse as the team's leading scorer. Rowna's's also beginning to go to the basket more often as he gains confidence in his new role this season.

2013 PG Will Morse is quickly becoming a seasoned veteran.  Likes to get his team mates involved but if you leave him alone he'll bury the shot on you.  Has two games of 30 plus points in the past few contests.

2013 PG Will Morse

2011 P 6'5" Tom Fisher is a burr in your saddle.  Never spectacular, but always solid Fisher comes to get his nose bloody and brings the young Chaps squad a degree of toughness.

A&M Consolidated
Like Westlake, this team is a year away from being REALLY good as most of their leadership consists of underclassmen.

2013 P 6'5" Jimmie Gilbert goes to the boards with abandon and always plays with lots of energy.  His Pops, Big Jimmie was All Southwest Conference for the Texas A&M Aggies back in the day.  If Gilbert grows a little more he'll be a mid major plus guy.

2013 P Jimmie Gilbert

2012 G Alex Caruso is the straw that stirs the Consolidated drink.  Capable of playing the one, two or three. He can shoot it,  get to the hole, has great court vision and is a crafty passer.  Did I mention that Caruso has major hops too?  Definitely on the radar of mid majors and high majors in the Big XII.  Pops Mike (now Associate AD at Texas A&M) was a PG himself back in the day as he ran the Creighton Bluejays squads under the great Eddie Sutton.

2012 G Alex Caruso

Coppell

2012 F 6'6" Jett Raines is athletic, rebounds well and is capable of hitting the midrange jumper if he's not guarded closely.

2014 Simi Socks.  I don't know a darn thing yet about this kid, but as a frosh on varsity if this isn't the best name in the tournament ("Simi Socks") then I can't wait to see the other contenders.

Duncanville (10-3) # 10 Ranked in Texas 5A
The Dallas area powerhouse is not as strong as in years past but they come to play every time out and they'll have guys hungry to carry on that winning tradition.

2011 P 6'7" Luke Mergerson has an offer from Southern Methodist University and is being courted by a host of others including Notre Dame, Georgia Tech & Colorado.  A well built, hard nosed competitor who hits the boards hard, finishes around the goal and can hit the face up shot.

El Paso Montwood (11-2)  #23 Ranked in Texas 5A

Coach Tony Harper's teams are as well coached as anybody's in the State of Texas.  They like to control tempo, keep the possessions to a minimum, get the best look available and go home with a 40-39 win. 

2012 P 6'9" Joey Martinez is a long presence as he patrols the interior defense for Montwood.

Pflugerville  (10-4)  #12 Ranked in Texas 5A

Former district foes to the host Westlake squad, Coach Mike Murphy's Panthers bring another high octane offensive crew to the gym. 

2011 G Deon Mitchell (Northern Iowa) is tough.  He can do it all on the offensive end and scores at will.

2011 PG Deon Mitchell

2011 W Cameron Blue can hit from the perimieter, but he's most valuable to The Ville when he's grabbing rebounds and altering/blocking shots inside.

2013 G T.J. Williams, the heir apparent to Mitchell gives great depth and leadership off the bench.

El Paso Socorro

I have not seen Socorro play so I'll reserve judgment until then.  They do have a hefty Senior in 6'7" Alonso Langarrica.

Houston Westbury
Watch out for Junior G Chris Hynes

The tournament begins at NOON on Monday, December 27th at Austin Westlake High School.  This is a must see event for all high school hoops fans.-Coach Max Ivany

Merry Christmas From The D1 Nation

From My family to yours, I hope you have a blessed Christmas.-Coach Max Ivany

Coach Max Ivany, Chip Ivany, Judy Jones & Julian Ivany (2 months)

D1 Nation Alumni Report

With high school basketball taking a short Holiday reprieve for the Christmas Break, it's a perfect time to visit with some of the Texas D1 Ambassadors who are currently playing at the D1 level. Four alumni of the D1 Nation had very nice nights tonight on the college front. 

In only 10 minutes of action,  sophomore D.J. Stephens of Harker Heights/Memphis Tigers had 6 points and 2 rebounds.  In a National game vs Georgetown , Memphis suffered their first home loss of the season.  However, if you've watched ESPN SportsCenter tonight they've show D.J.'s dunk over and over.  In fact, it was the play of the night.  Be sure to catch it early tomorrow, as he threw down a nasty baseline effort on the noggin' of an unsupsecting Georgetown player.  After recording his first double-double a couple of weeks back Stephens was diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his pelvis which required him to miss several games.

Junior A.J. Hardeman (below left) of Del Valle/New Mexico led the Lobos with 16 points and 7 rebounds in a tough loss to Northern Iowa.  True freshman, Cody Doolin of Austin Westlake/San Francisco is averaging 34 minutes a game running the point for the Dons.  Tonight they lost on a last second shot.  Doolin poured in 12 points and 4 assists.
 
 True freshman, Andre Roberson of Converse Wagner/Colorado has got to be one of the most efficient freshmen in the NCAA.  As the 6th/7th man off the bench for the Buffaloes,  In 14 minutes, Roberson had 8 points.  He also leads Colorado in rebounding, averaging 7.6 rebounds per game while only playing 19 minute pg.

Congratulations to all these kids and their families.  This is the legacy of the Texas D1 Ambassadors program.