Houston Hoops Go 5-0 in the Nike League

The Houston Hoops, with arguably the top backcourt talent in the country traveled to Virginia last The Houston Hoops traveled to Virginia last weekend for the first session of the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League. With a roster that is undersized (relatively speaking) this season the Hoops brought their A game as they went 5-0.  They arguably have the nation's deepest backcourt with Bryan's J. Mychal Reese, Westbury Christian's L.J. Rose, Strake Jesuit's Rasheed Sulaimon & 2014 HYCA's Justin Jackson.

Houston Hoops 67  Seattle Rotary (WA)  56

2012 J. Mychal Reese & 2012 Rasheed Sulaimon led the way with 13 points & 2014 Justin Jackson added 11.

Houston Hoops  61  Tennessee Travellers 45

2012 W Brian Bridgewater of Baton Rouge Episcopal (LA) led the way with 18 points & 8 rebounds while J. Mychal Reese added 11 & 2012 L.J. Rose scored 10 as the Hoops cruised to the W.

Houston Hoops 76 King James Shooting Stars (OH) 66

The Hoops led by one at the half and then pulled away behind the deadeye shooting of Duke commit, Rasheed Sulaimon with 16. Three other Hoops notche3d double figures: 2012 Terry Allen (12), 2012 Damyeon Dotson of Yates (10) & L.J. Rose of Westbury Christian.

Houston Hoops 75  Charlotte Royals (NC) 67

Rasheed Sulaimon scored 19 points, J. Mychal Reese scored 14, & Brian Bridgewater dropped 12 as the Hoops cruised to the victory.

Houston Hoops 85  Metro Hawks (NY) 72

The Hoops turned a 9 point half time deficit around in the second half with a sizzling shooting performance. Brian Bridgewater went 10-12 from the field in leading the way with 25 points.  Reese added 17 & Sulaimon had 15 in th second half onslaught and finished the first session of the EYBL with an unblemished record.

Bryan High star, 2012 J. Mychal Reese led the Houston Hoops to a 5-0 record in the first session of the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League last weekend in Virginia. (Reese is hshown below with Bryan High @ Max ivany's Sweet Sixteen Super Showcase held last fall in Austin, TX).

Houston Hoops Roster

No. Name Hgt. Wgt. Year School/Hometown

00 LJ Rose 6-3                         2012 Westbury Christian/Houston, TX

1   Rasheed Sulaimon 6-3     2013 Strake Jesuit/Houston, TX.

4   Ryan Brown 6-3                 2012 Hightower/Fresno, TX

5   Damyean Dotson 6-5       2012 Yates/Hosuton, TX

11 J-Mychal Reese 6-2          2012 Bryan/Bryan, TX

12 Justin Jackson 6-5            2014 HCYA/Spring, TX

23 Delvin Dickerson 6-5        2012 Westbury Christian/Houston, TX

33 Brian Bridgewater 6-6     2013 Episcopal/Baton Rouge, LA

35 Terry Allen 6-8                  2012 Manvel/Rosharon, TX

Las Vegas Easter Classic-Day 3

The Las Vegas Easter Classic had some terriffic teams and some tremendous individual talents too, including highly touted Baylor commit, 7'2" Ike Austin (Compton Magic),  Shabazz Muhammad (Dream Vision) & 6'9" Grant Jarrett of Belmont Shores.

Platinum Quarter Finals:  Texas D1 Ambassadors-Houston  74  Belmont Shores (CA)  72
Belmont Shores boasted three high major commits in Grant Jarrett & Erci Cooper Jr who are both headed to the Arizona Wildcats.  In addition they had Arizona State commit Maurice Kirby & 2014 sensation Stanley Johnson.  Texas D1 has a few weapons of it's own though and they jumped on the Shore early, leading 43-34 at the half. Belmont Shore came roaring back and briefly took a one point lead.  Each time Texas D1 went up by 4-6 points, the game came back to even again. 

It looked like we had put the game away with a 5 point lead and 45 seconds left but missing the front end of three straight one and ones allowed Belmont Shores the opportunity to tie the game with 1.2 seconds left. Belmont Shores had the ball and inbounded it in their backcourt and Houston St. Thomas guard Chase Brogna intercepted the ball & quickly sent a floater to the hoop.  The shot was blocked on the way down for an obvious goal tend and a great road win for the D1 Ambassadors. 
2012 G Chase Brogna had 25 for Houston St. Thomas in the State Championship game.  He has now turned his focus to the lead guard role on the spring/summer scene & is making quick strides.

This was a total team effort. Brogna, who is quickly adapting to his lead guard role had 14 points, including the game winner.  Backcourt mate, 2012 Josh Hagins of Bossier City Airline (Louisiana) was a defensive stopper all day long.  He had 5 points and 8 assists.
2012 G Josh Hagins was a 5A All State selection in the talent rich State of Louisiana & he showed why as he's a lock down defender, crafty ballhandler who plays with intensity.

2012 F 6'7" Maurice Letcher Ellis of Houston Yates consistently beat the Belmont Shores bigs back down the court and led the way with 14 points & 5 rebounds, while another of our promising youngster 2013 F 6'7" Parker Callendar of Clear Lake Clear Springs had 11 points, including three from beyond the arc.  2011 F Keynon "Slim" Willis of Crosby had 8 points & 12 rebounds.

2013 F 6'7" Parker Callendar is a deadeye three point shooter & one to watch in the Class of 2013

Texas D1 Ambassadors-Austin/San Antonio 103 Las Vegas Irish 43

Obviously a little bit disappointed and irate at the same time about not making the top bracket play, the Centex D1 Ambassadors squad evened their tourny record at 2-2 with a thrashing of the Las Vegas Irish.

Leading scorers were:

2012 Connor Lammert  18

2011 Austin Jenkins     16

2012 Jeffrey Rodewald 15

2012 Uche Ofoegbu      12

2012 F 6'9" Connor Lammert of San Antonio Churchill is rapidly moving up the prospect ladder.

Platinum Semi Finals: Branch West (CA) 67  Texas D1 Ambassadors-Houston  54

Texas D1 bowed out of the tournament with a 5-1 record losing to a well coached Branch West squad.  The kids were out of energy and only went 2-18 from beyond the arc. 2011 Keynon Willis led the way with 18 points & 10 rebounds, & 2013 F 6'8" Kendrick Morris of Houston Second Baptist battled on the boards, snagging 10. Morris is slender but skilled and has a bright future ahead of him.

2013 Kendrick Morris of Houston Second Baptist battles more mature players nose to nose

2011 All Centex Team

I've been a little behind on my reporting as the Final Four held last week in Houston, TX really had me going.  It's time to catch up a little bit with the All Centex team chosen by the Austin American-Statesman (photo compliments of the Statesman). This could almost have been a Texas D1 Ambassadors team photo with the exception of Austin Bowie's Connor Robinson. From left to right:

2011 PG 6'0" Deon Mitchell of Pflugerville has committed to Northern Iowa.  The silky smooth Mitchell was also named the Centex Player of the Year. He can score and drop dimes almost effortlessly.

2011 P 6'4" Connor Robinson of Austin Bowie. Robinson is a workhorse down low, with great low post footwork, great strength and tenacity on the boards. He was a double double machine all season as the Bulldogs #1 scoring option.

2011 PG 6'4" Eric "Quick" McClellan of Austin High has still not decided where to suit up at the next level.  He's visited Northeastern, and is scheduled to visit both Tulsa & Wichita State in the next two weeks.  He's a long defender, with great bounce and ability to finish at the rim.

2011 Combo 6'5"  Jalen Washington of Pflugerville Hendrickson originally committed to Mount St. Mary's last November but at the last minute decided to reopen his recruitment.  Washington is tough to stop going to the cup, rebounds as well as most forwards & can also shoot the three ball.  He has opted to play the summer as an unsigned senior where I believe his stock will soar.

2011 PG 6'4" Dylan Cox of Cedar Park has committed to West Point.  The two sport star (football) chose Army, and he'll have an instant impact there as a tough minded lead guard who can score & rebound the ball.

Congratulations to all these kids.  I've had the pleasure of coaching four of them and getting to know them and their families well.  They are all winners and will represent their communities well at the next level-Coach Max Ivany

Las Vegas Easter Classic-Day 2

It was a chilly day in Las Vegas.  Temperatures were low and the wind was howling.  However, we awoke to some nice publicity from Rivals.com as Adam Gorney wrote this nice piece after viewing the Texas D1 Ambassadors-Houston playing the Las Vegas Prospects. Be sure to subscribe to http://www.rivals.com/ 

Reprinted from Rivals.com.  Thank you, Adam!-Coach Max Ivany

D1 AMBASSADORS HAVE PLAYERS

Alex Caruso from College Station (Texas) A&M Consolidated was the best player on the Texas D-1 Ambassadors Houston squad Friday night that downed the Las Vegas Prospects but there were a bunch of other mid- to high-major players on the team as well.
Caruso, a 6-foot-5 prospect, can play either guard position and was one of the smartest players on the court especially with the ball in his hands.
So far, only Sam Houston State has offered but Caruso said Wichita State, UTEP, Texas-Arlington and Northern Colorado are interested.
Caruso grew up being the Texas A&M ball boy because his father is in the Aggies' athletic department so if they got involved Caruso said he'd definitely be interested.
"I'm going to go through the summer and see what looks I get," Caruso said. "I'm hoping some major programs get interested and we'll see where I am after the summer.
"I might not have the natural talent that some people have but I feel with my defense and my mental game I'm there."
The other player who shined was 2011 shooting guard Devon Turk, a spot-up 3-point shooter who hit jumpers from all over the court. Turk wasn't at his best creating his own shots off the dribble but when he spotted up on the perimeter and got the kick-out pass Turk was pure all game.
Cal Poly, Rice, San Francisco, Weber State, Sam Houston State and Oregon State are some of the programs interested in Turk, who said Sam Houston State and Weber State stand out most at this point but he's going to wait through the spring to see which other schools get involved.
Others on the Texas team that stood out included 2013 prospects Kendrick Morris and Jonathan Motley and 2011 recruit Kenyan Willis, a lanky 6-foot-9 forward who impressed with his passing.

San Diego Magic  87  Texas D1 Ambassadors-San Antonio/Austin 79 
San Antonio Stevens Uche Ofoegbu a 6'5" G showed off his athleticism and aggressiveness around the rim.  He led the D1 Ambassadors with 14 points.

2012 G Uche Ofoebu of San Antonio Stevens

Texas D1 Ambassadors-Houston 68 College Bound All Stars (AZ) 48
2012 F 6'7" Maurice Letcher Ellis of Houston Yates runs the floor like a gazelle.  The transfer from Houston Cy Woods had several mega dunks in transition leading the way with 16 points & 4 rebounds.  2011 Keynon Willis a 6'9" forward from Crosby had 13 points including 7 from the charity stripe.  The Arizona squad was coached by former Old Dominion & NBA star, Chris Gatling whose son had a double double and is going to be a nice player.

Maurice Letcher-Ellis of Houston Yates

Texas D1 Ambassadors-San Antonio/Austin 74  Belmont Shore Silver (CA) 69
D1 raced out to a near 20 point lead, but the Los Angeles area kids wouldn't quit playing hard.  The D1 Ambassadors had to hit a one and one with seconds left to finally cement the win. They were led by 2012 W 6'6" Jeffrey Rodewald of San Antonio Alamo Heights with 20 points. 2011 WG 6'5" Allante Faust of Killeen Harker Heights could also be on the verge of being a late D1 signee.  He had 12 points, 5 rebounds & 3 blocks.  His form on his shot is sweet & he plays above the rim.  2012 G Michael Hardge of Georgetown also had 11 points for the Texans.

2012 Jeffrey Rodewald (left) of San Antonio Alamo Heights has a great motor. 2011 Allante Faust (right) of Killeen Harker Heights making a late push for a D1 scholarship

Texas D1 Ambassadors-Houston 80  Mark of a Champion (CA) 63
A tight one point halftime lead was broken open by the rebounding and scoring of two of Texas D1's lanky forwards.  6'9" Keynon Willis had 29 points & 7 rebounds while 15 year old Johnathan Motley, a 6'8" sophomore from Galena Park Northshore added 14 points & 7 rebounds. 2012 G Devon Turk tossed in another 13 points, showing his deep range several times.

"You don't tug on Superman's cape, you don't spit into the wind, you don't pull the mask off the Old Lone Rager, and you don't mess around with Slim- Jim Croce"  Make that, Keynon "Slim" Willis who can do it all.  The unsigned senior from Crosby was the most productive member of Texas D1-Houston all weekend long.  He had a high point game of 29 & 3 contests with double digit rebounds. Slim runs the floor hard & swiftly, loves to finish with authority around the goal and as the stakes rise in a game so does his intensity.

Texas D1 Ambassadors @ The Las Vegas Easter Classic

In keeping with our tradition of heading to Las Vegas & Dinos Trigonis' "Easter Classic" (which is not held on Easter this year), the Texas D1 Ambassadors have two squads competing in Glitter Gulch this weekend.  This is where the program first came to natioanal prominence 6 years ago when we spanked the Portland Legends with then future pros, Kevin Love & Kyle Singler at Hal Pastner's event.  Coach Mike Hardge (Austin) & Paul Josephs (San Antonio) combined some of their rosters for one group, while the Texas D1 Ambassadors-Houston edition are coached by former South Alabama star Richard Law & Orin Bailey.  Bishop Gorman HS is crawling with scouts & media.  Nobody does this part of the tournament game as well as event organizer, Dinos Trigonis.
Old hand, Van Coleman of http://www.hot100hoops.com/ & Dinos Trigonis (right) of http://www.fullctpress.net/ 

Rosters:

Texas D1 Ambassadors Austin/San Antonio
2012    5'11" G    Carter Josephs       San Antonio Clark
2012    5'11" G    Mike Hardge          Georgetown
2012    6'5"   G    Uche Ofoegbu         San Antonio Stevens
2011    6'7"   W    Austin Jenkins       Austin Hyde Park
2012    6'7"   P     Shelby Lane           San Antonio Alamo Heights
2011    6'5"  W    Allante Faust          Killeen Harker Heights
2012    6'6"  W    Jeffrey Rodewald   San Antonio Alamo Heights
2012    6'6"   P    Drew Wikelius         Austin Westlake
2012    6'9"   P    Connor Lammert     San Antonio Churchill

Texas D1 Ambassadors Houston
2012   6'0"   G     Chase Brogna                  Houston St. Thomas
2012   5'10" G     Joshua Hagins                 Bossier Airline (Louisiana)
2012   6'6"   G     Alex Caruso                     College Station A&M Consolidated
2012   6'7"   F      Maurice Letcher-Ellis     Houston Yates
2013   6'8"   F      Kendrick Morris              Houston Second Baptist
2013   6'8"   F      Johnathan Motley           Galena Park Northshore
2011   6'9"   F      Keynon Willis                  Crosby
2013   6'7"   F      Parker Callendar            Clear Lake Clear Springs 
2012   6'4"   G     Devon Turk                     Houston St. Pius

Friday Night Games

Southern Nevada All Stars 81  Texas D1 Ambassadors Austin/San Antonio  60
As I watched this game I scratched my head and thought our kids played with little energy and lost to a much less talented team.  The Southern Nevada team hit 15 three pointers & I thought they'll never do that again in a million years.  I was wrong though as they dropped 13 more in their next game and easily won their pool to advance to bracket play. 

2011 F Austin Jenkins had 10 points and 8 rebounds.  The unsigned senior from Austin Hyde Park shows increased athleticism, a nice perimeter shot & a newfound intertest in battling on the boards and blocking/altering shots.  He has excellent academics and will be a nice spring signing for a new Division One staff looking for a wing.
Austin Jenkins (left) & Connor Lammert (right) impressed on Friday at the Easter Classic

2012 F Connnor Lammert (who won't turn 17 until August) is easily the top post prospect in San Antonio's 2012 class.  He can step out to hit the three, rebounds hard & is a nice passer. He led the way with 12 points & 14 rebounds in the loss.

Texas D1 Ambassadors-Houston 77 Las Vegas Prospects 64
We've had many a battle with the Prospects program over the years, including a come from behind win where we overcame a 22 point deficit at haltime of Hal Pastner's old Main Event tournament when the Las Vegas squad boasted current San Diego State star Billy White. A close game was broken open with a 12-0 run towards the end of the first half which catapulted Texas D1 to the win.

2012 G  Devon Turk is a lights out shooter.  He has great size at 6'4" and with a quick trigger release is a premiere shooter in the Class of 2012.  He rained 4 three pointers and had an assortment of mid range shots in his bag of tricks while scoring 22 points.
Devon Turk (left) & Alex Caruso (right) played so well in Game One that Rivals.com gave them great props and publicity on Day 1 (Friday).

2012 G Alex Caruso continues to prolong his coming out party as one of 2012's top combo guards.  He had 16 points, 6 assists & 5 rebounds in a well rounded effort.  It's his athleticism that when thrown into the mix makes him have such a high ceiling.

Texas D1 Ambassador & Killeen Ellison Star Jaleel Williams To San Jose State

2011 W 6'6" Jaleel Williams called me this evening from San Jose, CA where he's on his official visit to San Jose State.  He was excited, and told me he'd committed to the San Jose State staff and will sign his National Letter of Intent on April 13th.  Congratulations to Jaleel and his Family.

Jaleel Williams shown below with the Texas D1 Ambassadors

Williams has an extremely long wingspan.  He's an athletic wing who has improved his perimeter shot in the past 8 months.  He's also a shot blocker on the defensive side of the ball.  His length and above the rim play make him a steal.  Williams recruiting had picked up significantly in the last couple of weeks where he garnered interest from several schools, including Oregon State who were ready to offer pending a scholarship opening up in the near future.  He had an outstanding senior year playing for Killeen Ellison and Coach Alberto Jones.
Jaleel Williams shown below at Max Ivany's All American Prodigy Camp winning the dunk contest

I met the entire SJSU staff at last week's Final Four in Houston and they made it clear that they expected him to be a huge part of their plans immediately as a freshman. Jaleel has always made it clear that he wanted to attend a West Coast school and he jumped on this opportunity.

Congratulations from The Texas D1 Ambassadors Family-Coach Max Ivany

Five Star Camp @ The Final Four-Houston, TX

Long before adidas & Nike, there was Five Star.  Below, Coach Max with the legend himself, Mr. Howard Garfinkel or "Garf" as he's affectionately known at camp in Pittsburgh, PA circa 2006

Boyz To Men would have been a perfect description of the Houston Final Four version of the famed Five Star Clinic held in the Space City on Saturday. With about 100 talented players in the two sessions, the morning was devoted to the youngsters 8th grade & below, while the afternoon session catered to the high school players. "Catered" might be the wrong word to use, as Five Star is a working man's camp where the energy is high and the pace is breakneck. Their motto, "Where the Teaching Never Stops" is on the money.

National basketball writer Vince Baldwin of Prep Spotlight, Mr. Code, Director of Nike Basketball's Grassroots division, Five Star's Recruiting Coordinator, Shay Berry (former coach at Ivy League's Dartmouth), & Max Ivany, of D1 Nation Prep Report were on hand to evaluate the talent.  Both myself & Mr. Berry came up with a consensus group of top performers at the camp.

Co-Players of the Camp
2012 W 6'8" Wannah Bail of Rosenberg Lamar Consolidated has all the tools for next level play, and then the level after that.  He's fluid, can shoot it from the perimeter and runs the floor like a gazelle.  When he gets to the rim (especially in transition) he dunks everything with authority. 

2012 PG 6'5" Alex Caruso of College Station A&M Consolidated is getting better every time out.  He's got sneaky athleticism, plays the passing lanes as well as anyone, has great court vision and really understands the game.

Alex Caruso is making a habit of dunking on people in this young 2011 grassroots season.

Cream of the Crop
2011 W 6'7" Anthony Norris (Prep) is athletic, gets to the rim and when he goes hard is extremely tough.  He was formerly committed to memphis but has reopened his recruitment as he's deciding on which prep school to doa 5th year at.

2011 W 6'7" Austin Jenkins of Austin Hyde Park is unsigned.  He's ready to go academically, so D1's beware.  He's getting stronger, can shoot the three, rebounds & blocks shots.

2012 W 6'5" Michael Carey of Rosenberg Lamar Consolidated.  Along with Bail he fellow Bahamain, Carey can really run the floor and get to the rim. 

2012 PG 5'11" D.J. Griggs of Brazosport.  Looked for his own shot early and often.  Has great body control when he goes to the cup.

2013 W 6'8" Johnathan Motley of Galena Park Northshore was the longest player at camp.  There's a huge upside with this youngster as he's super bouncy and also has a nice shot out to 15 feet.

Left: 2013 PG 5'10" T.J. Williams of Pflugerville is smooth. He's never in a rush, has an improved shot and always looks to drop a dime to his team mates.

Right: 2013 G 6'0" Rasmus Bach of Austin Anderson caught everyone's eye with his hardnosed all around effort.  The Aussie is making great strides in his game.

2013 PG 5'11" Will Morse of Austin Westlake has a season as a varsity starter under his belt.  He likes to shoot it, but he also makes good decisions & distributes the ball well when he has quality team mates that know how to finish.

2014 W 6'5" Mavin Saunders of Houston Kinkaid is a physical specimen who goes hard to the hole and shows skill as well.  We'll see how much he grows.

Left: 2014 G 6'0" Trey Dilworth of Round Rock McNeil showed a tough, explosive game.  He goes hard to the rim and was extremely tough in transition.

Right: 2014 PG Chase Carlton of Austin Westlake battled older players all day, not giving an inch. Along with Will Morse, Westlake's young backcourt has a chance to be really good next year.



2014 F 6'7" Kendrick Bradford of Spring Westfield is a big frosh, with athleticsm & toughness on the boards.

2014 6'5" F Joe Burton of Houston Christian Life is strong, skilled and despite odd rotation on his shot, also shot the ball extremely well from the perimeter.

Coach Max of D1 Nation Prep Report, comparing notes with Five Star's Shay Berry