NBA Players Association Camp

High level ballers are catching flights to Charlottesville, VA today for the 2011 edition of the NBA Player's Association Camp.  Camp Director, Dave Telep has a bumper crop assembled in the Class of 2012.  It has a heavy flavor of Texans and also a number of players with associations (past and present) with the D1 Ambassadors.
2012 Alex Caruso of College Station A&M Consolidated shown below at the Pangos All American Camp (Photo from ESPN Rise)

Caruso's recruiting action is en fuego, where I've received calls from UCLA, Marquette, Gonzaga & Georgetown yesterday alone. Look for him to continue to build his rep at the NBA Players Camp.  He'll play on a team with man-child Andre Drummond & crosstown rival J.Mychal Reese of Bryan High. What are the odds that two youngsters from the Brazos Valley would be in the Top 100?  Sweet!

Players to watch that have been part of the D1 Ambassadors at one time or another are:

 J-Mychal Reese 6-2 175 PG/SG Bryan TX Bryan 2012 (shown below at Max Ivany's D1 Nation Sweet 16 in Austin, TX : October 2010)

 L.J. Rose 6-4 185 PG Houston TX Second Baptist 2012
 Winston Shepard 6-8 215 SF Henderson NV Findlay Prep 2012
 Rasheed Sulaimon 6-4 190 SG Houston TX Strake Jesuit 2012
These 4 players are all childhood friends and had a great two year run in the AAU Nationals Final Four with the Texas D1 Ambassadors.  While in Bryan this past weekend at the Great American Shootout I was reminiscing with old friend, Coach John Reese of Bryan (J.Mychal's dad) about those days and how time flies by.  Almost 5 years ago to the day, Coach Reese and I drove a group of players to the Five Star Florida State Camp in Tallahassee, FL.  J. Mychal Reese became the first 7th grader in the storied history of Five Star to play in the "NBA Division" of that camp.


The other two youngsters in camp to make noise with the New Orleans D1 Ambassadors are:
00 Javan Felix 6-0 195 PG New Orleans LA St. Augustine H.S. 2012 Lakers
55 Ricardo Gathers 6-8 250 PF LaPlace LA Riverside Academy 2012 Heat
Felix (near bottom) is one of the nation's smoothest point guard prospects, while Gathers (far bottom) is a monster.  Both are shown with new Orleans D1 Ambassadors at the Las Vegas Fab 48, 2010

Below are the additional Texans in the house for the NBA Player's Camp.  Good luck to all and congratulations to their families.-Coach Max Ivany


42 Danuel House 6-7 195 SF Hightower TX Hightower 2012 Thunder
106 Shaquille Cleare 6-9 280 C Houston TX The Village School 2012 Bulls
06 Darrin Minnifield 6-1 160 PG Houston TX Bellaire 2013 Lakers
82 Cameron Ridley 6-10 250 SG Fort Bend TX Ft. Bend Bush 2012 Spurs