D1 Nation Alumni Update: JJ Avila of Navy

Big JJ Avila of McAllen had to be proud tonight as his son, J.J. Avila of McAllen HS started tonight against the Texas Longhorns in his college debut. Not too shabby for the true freshman as he got to strap it on in his home State at Austin’s Erwin Center.

Avila, shown below repping the Texas D1 Ambassadors at the Arizona Cactus Classic in the Spring of 2008. Avila was also a member of our Kingwood Classic Championship teams.

He drew two quick fouls in the first three minutes and was forced to sit for about 10 minutes. J.J. ended up with 3 points and 2 rebounds in 14 minutes before fouling out in the 83-52 loss to Texas in the 2K Sports Coaches vs Cancer Classic.

On a University of Texas note, here’s hoping for a better outcome this season than last year’s painful irst round exit from the NCAA Tournament. I was there for that game in New Orleans v Wake Forest that ended close to midnight. I was so ticked off my son and I got in the car and drove the 9 hours back to San Antonio in the middle of the night, saying to heck with my tickets for the next session of games.

True freshman Tristan Thompson is the real deal though. I had the pleasure to watch him at Vince Carter’s Academy in Orlando in the summer of 2009 when I accompanied Texas D1 Ambassador Daniel Alexander (Texas A&M). The question is how long is he in Austin before the NBA beckons? Sophomore Jordan Hamilton will have a great season this year. The key will be his improved shot selection.