Adam Perez: Compliments of Clark Cougar Sports

Stephen F. Austin is getting a “tough guy” both mentally and physically in 2012 G 5’10″ Adam Perez of San Antonio Clark who will take his winning ways up to the Piney Woods of Nacogdoches. Perez almost willed his Clark Cougars to the State Tournament this past season falling in the Regional Final to San Antonio Warren.  Everyone in the building knew that the tireless guard would be the rpimary ballhandler and scorer yet could not stop him game after game.

2012 G Adam Perez: Texas D1 Ambassadors

Perez played for Coach Steve Sylestine at Clark and in the summer was one of the backbones on a great Texas D1 Ambassadors team which won countless games including the Las Vegas Live 17U National Championship last summer.  He played alongside a great and unselfish cast of players including Connor Lammert (Texas), Uche Ofoegbu (SMU), Carter Josephs (Vanderbilt), Matt Gramling (Army) and Cole Martinez (Air Force).

Adam is the son of Mr & Mrs Rey Perez of San Antonio, TX.  Congratulations from the entire D1 Ambassadors Family.-Coach Max Ivany

Since the freshmen receive significantly less media exposure than the Class of 2013 or 2014, you may not have heard about some of the best players in the Class of 2015. That’s where we come in at the D1 Nation. One player who is highly skilled and advanced as a freshman in high school, and still flying under the radar is Mohamed Touray.

2015 G Mohamed Touray

Touray attends Wings Academy (NY) and plays AAU basketball for the NY Lightning. He’s well put together at 6’2 and weighs 170 pounds. The lanky combo guard uses his length to finish around opposing defenders. In transition, Touray is a strong finisher with both hands and likes to drive baseline in a half court set, where he uses a floater effectively. He shoots the ball well, especially from three-point range, but will need to work on having a quicker release. Since he’s only a freshman, he’s definitely undersized for a college athlete, but if he can add some weight and strength he could be effective at the next level. His rebounding isn’t terrible, but he has a lot of room for improvement. Boarding could be the skill that sets him apart from other guards in his class. Touray has a big upside and a lot of potential; definitely a kid worth giving some looks.

It’s still early in Touray’s basketball career, therefore he has plenty of time to start receiving major Division 1 interest. Boston University is the only school expressing interest in him at the moment, but if he is able to improve on the things I listed above, he could be a nice under the radar prospect.

East Coast Contributor Jordan Kendall

His initial goal was to cover high school basketball from a journalistic standpoint, but he has transformed himself into a scout as well. A major goal of Jordan’s is to give “Under The Radar” players a chance to receive higher exposure, which will be a major part of his work at D1 Nation. Though only 15, Jordan raises the bar high and has a high standard for himself with his work. The D1 Nation is the perfect place for a person like Jordan to achieve the goals he has set for himself.

After reaching our 1,000,000 th hit yesterday we are escited to have Jordan onboard as we quickly head towards 2,000,000. He’ll bring a new area of coverage as his expertise stretches from New York to North Carolina and down to Atlanta, GA.- Coach Max Ivany

The Texas D1 Ambassadors have churned out over 100 Division One basketball players in the 8 graduating classes of their existence.  It doesn’t just stop with basketball though as many of our younger players are multi sport athletes in basketball, football and track. The Milwaukee Bucks Darrington Hobson, and McDonald’s All Americans John Henson (North Carolina) and Rasheed Sulaimon (Duke) are several of our most accomplished alumni.

However, the Baylor Bears are the home of what will likely be our two most famous alum.  The Bears came to Copperas Cove to snag D1 Ambassadors alum Robert Griffin as he brought home the Heisman Trophy and NFL riches with the Washington Redskins. The second is lesser known (for now).  Let’s introduce the newest Baylor Bear, Allex Austin a 6’6″ wing player and long jumper from San Marcos, TX.

Allex Austin Throws One Down For the Texas D1 Ambassadors

Austin starred for the Texas D1 Ambassadors on the AAU scene as a skilled wing who could shoot it and also was a defensive presence on the inside.  (See the above video clip where he goes up to block another Baylor Bear signee, 7’1″ Isaiah Austin in a summer game).

Austin chose Baylor over a slew of schools (primarily Texas and Texas A&M) for several reasons as told to me by his father, Charles Austin. 

“Max, Allex wanted to stay close to home. Bottom line is Baylor approached us in a very straghtforward way, immediately offering Allex a full scholarship on his jumping ability and also a chance to be a two sport athlete with the Bears vaunted basketball squad.  Their track coaches are all outstanding and they made it clear that they WANTED him.  While in Waco, we went to a one on one meeting with Coach Drew. Even though the Head Basketball Coach had a charter jet waiting for him on the tarmac he gave the Austin’s more than enough of his time and made Allex feel important. He promised Allex a more than fair opportunity to play hoops as well.  In fact, he reports to Baylor end of May to begin early basketball workouts.

The morning after the visit I said to my son, trust me Baylor is the place for you to fulfill your dreams.”

Make no mistake about it, basketball is Austin’s first love.  However for those of you not aware Papa Charles won the Gold Medal in the high jump for the USA at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. Fast forward to 2012 and young Austin is the two time Texas State High School Champion, he won the vaunted Texas Relays and holds the Nation’s best high jump the past two years at 7’1″ and 7’2″. He will attend the Junior Nationals and the Olympic Trials this June.

I pulled the picture below off of Allex’s facebook page.  Is there any doubt what his mindset is? He’s ad libbed his Air Jordan’s along with his Father’s Olympic hardware from 1996.  My gut feeling is we’ll be looking at the future Olympic Gold medalist in the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Congratulations to Allex and His Family-Coach Max Ivany and the D1 Ambassadors Family.

2012 Taurean Waller Prince at the D1 Nation I-35 Challenge Oct/2011

The D1 Nation’s choice for Greater San Antonio Player of the Year Award this past March was a steal for Long Island, but a coaching change there gave TWP the out he needed to look for the right fit.  I received a call from Warren Coach Jim Weaver on Friday evening and once the word got out that Prince was on the loose interest was quickly received from schools like Nebraska, Pepperdine, New Mexico and others.

It was the allure to play close to home and Baylor’s recent winning tradition that appealed to the athletic, skilled perimeter man who’s not afraid to mix it up inside as well.  He’s a walking double double 20/10 type of guy who can post you up or take you out to the three point line. He’ll join the formidable Baylor Class of 2012 which includes 7’1″ Isaiah Austin (Arlington Grace Prep, TX),  6’7″ Ricardo Gathers (New Orleans, LA), 6’11″ Chad Rykhoek (Fort Worth Christian, TX) and two Texas D1 Ambassadors alumni in 6’2″ L.J. Rose, and holdover junior 6’10″ Cory Jefferson (Killeen, TX)

The late scholarship opened up with the decision by Quincy Miller to reconsider and decide to finally commit to this year’s NBA Draft Board.

2012 G 6'0" Carter Josephs

Josephs always drew the toughest offensive players to guard during his high school career under Coach Steve Sylestine.  He also filled the same role during the summer as an integral part of the Texas D1 Ambassadors-San Antonio squad which captured the 2011 Las Vegas Live Championship. Carter is the son of Texas D1 Ambassadors Coach Mr. & Mrs. Josephs of San Antonio, TX (via Toronto, CAN).  A hearty congratulations to Carter and His Family.

The second D1 Ambassadors alumni headed to Vandy is transfer guard Eric ‘Quick” McClellan formerly of Austin High where he was coached by Tres Ellis and then Andy Dudney.  The 6’4″ wispy McClellan is bouncy and aggressive.  He started as a true freshman for the Tulsa Hurricane alongside Jordan Clarkson and when Tulsa fired Coach Doug Wocjik the pair decided to leave.  McClellan had offers from Gonzaga, Marquette, Nebraska and countless others before deciding on the move to the SEC.  He chose Vandy for Coach Stallings, the great education and the level of competition.  As a transfer he’ll redshirt this coming season and then have 3 years left to play. Eric is the son of Ms Kim Woody of Austin, TX.

Eric McClellan trades in his Tulsa gear for Vanderbilt

Both Josephs and McClellan were recruited by Vandy Assistant David Caisson (formerly a Tulsa Assistant). He’s a coach that has long recognized the quality of players in this area and has been a steady follower of the D1 Ambassadors program over the years.

Griggs will join fellow Texas D1 Ambassadors alumni Jason Brickman (San Antonio Clark) and Brandon Thompson (San Antonio Stevens) in the backcourt.  Griggs had visited Texas State and had visits lined up at Colorado State and South Florida. However once he visited the Brooklyn campus he told his dad it was where he wanted to be.  The free wheeling style of play was the big attraction.

D.J. Griggs at the D1 Nation Houston Thanksgiving Jamboree, November 2011

Griggs is comfortable with the ball in his hands or off the ball.  He can shoot it from deep but has a great ability to get into the lane and draw contact.  Coach Griggs and I were reminiscing how time went by with the Class of 2012 but were proud of the accomplishments of all the kids on that great D1 Ambassadors group which were a force on the national scene from the early age groups losing two AAU National Championship games.

Alumni from that team that panned out pretty darn well and have grown into wonderful young men were Coach John Reese (now Assistant Coach at Texas A&M), J. Mychal Reese (Texas A&M/USA National Team), L.J. Rose (Baylor/USA National Team), Rasheed Sulaimon (Duke/McDonald’s All American) and Winston Shepard (San Diego State). 2013 guards Travon Landry (Tennessee) and T.J. Williams were also part of that team. Williams was injured in the spring but expect him to make a huge splash in this July’s recruiting period.

D.J. is the son of Coach & Mrs. Robert Griggs of Brazosport, TX. Congratulations from the D1 Ambassadors Family!-Coach Max Ivany

One of the reasons Louisiana State University hired Johnny Jones away from North Texas as their new Head Coach was the desire to keep all that top Louisiana talent at home at the State’s Flagship University.  One of his first moves was to bring one of “The Boot’s” own back in 6’6″ W Shavon “Sugar” Coleman of Thibodeaux.

Coleman was a top 100 player back in the Class of 2010 but attended Howrd JC in Big Spring, TX playing for my friend Coach Mark Adams.  He had narrowed his choices down to Texas Tech, Oklahoma and LSU.  He averaged 14.7 ppg for Howard this past season.

Shavon Coleman: Texas D1 Ambassadors

The video above are a collection of highlights taken by D1 Ambassadors Coach Bobby Sibley who is now Assistant Coach at Baton Rouge Community College. In this video Coleman played against the Louisiana D1 Ambassadors in July 2009 in Memphis.  Shortly after he played with the Texas D1 Ambassadors.  I loved the way he went to work, and let his game speak for itself.  He was only 6’4″ then.  However he still rebounded hard, could shoot it and just had a knack around the rim where he was liable to explode and throw one down at any time.  He was a big part of the Texas D1 Ambassadors emphatic win over powerhouse DC Assault at the Manhattan Classic.

I think it’s fair to say that the Texas D1 Ambassadors-Team Morse didn’t go into this past weekend’s Best Buy Mile High Classic as the favorite, especially with 6’7″ Zach Overby not making the trip.  But apparently the Denver altitude was to their liking as the Austin based D1 Ambassadors squad was nothing short of outstanding in their effort and execution. They came away with the highly prized 17U championship, keeping it in Texas (last year’s winner was the Houston Defenders).

Along the way Team Morse beat the Colorado Miners, Colorado Icons, Danny Granger D1 Ambassadors Elite, Minnesota Pump N Run and Danny Granger D1 Ambassadors Select in the Championship game. It never ceases to amaze me that there is such a wealth of talent in countless gyms across the country all filled with players chasing the same dream.

Team Morse neutralized many D1 level players in this event. The Miners were led by 2014 6’3″  Joshua Perkins (Aurora Regis Jesuit CO). Minnesota Pump N Run were led by 2013 P 6’9″ Ellwood Ellenson (Rice Lake, MN), 2014 F 6’7″ Reid Travis (Minneapolis De La Salle, MN). Danny Granger Elite were led by 2013 G 6’4″ Cullen Neal  a St. Mary’s CA commit (Albuquerque Eldorado, NM) and 2013 G 6’3″ Bryce Alford a New Mexico Lobos commit (Albuquerque La Cueva, NM).

The Champions  (from left to right in picture above)

2013 G 5’11″  John Gramlich       Austin Anderson (TX)

Gramlich was a rock handling the ball all weekend long.  He shot the ball well from the perimeter and was absolutely en fuego vs Danny Granger D1 Ambassadors Elite as he went head to head trading three pointers with Cullen Neal.  With a 1250 SAT, Gramlich will be a steal for a high academic D1 program.

2013 G 6’3″   Zach Behr                 Temple (TX)

Behr played an unselfish role all weekend long.  He defends as hard as anyone and had several key baskets.

2013 F 6’7″   Alex Frame               Austin Anderson (TX)

Frame was the only big on the roster as Drew Wikelius was hurt and Zach Overby was at a prom.  Frame worked his butt off in the altitude and was particularly impressive against Minnesota Pump N Run’s mammoth 6’9″ front line.

2013 F 6’4″  Zach Nunnery           Austin Bowie (TX)

Nunnery might be the toughest guy play in and play out in the entire event. Undersized, but with a big heart he gets more than his share of rebounds.  You’d better account for him on both ends of the court.

2012 G 6’2″  Cole Martinez            San Antonio Central Catholic (TX)/Air Force Prep (CO)

Martinez was the well deserved 2011 San Antonio Player of the Year.  He spent the last season at the Air Force Prep School where he averaged 17 ppg. With him just an hour down the road in Colorado Springs he joined his old club team for this spring event.  Martinez averaged over 20ppg in the Mile High Classic.  He did it from the outside with his trademark three pointers, with his money stroke from the three point line and with 15 lbs of extra muscle on him he got to the rim and finished with contact.  Martinez will make his team a winner at the D1 level!

2013 G 6’3″  Rasmus Bach             Austin Anderson (TX)

Bach had as consistent weekend of anyone in the event.  He showed toughness on the defensive end both on the boards and with his perimeter defense.  He also showed off his perimeter, his athleticism as well as the mid range game catching the eye of several D1 programs in the process.

2013 W 6’3″  Vince DeBlasio         Austin Westlake (TX)

DeBlasio is sneaky athletic and able to rebound and jump with the best of them.  He was unselfish and did lots of dirty work in the team’s run to the ‘Ship.

2013 G  6’2″  Will Morse                  Austin Westlake (TX)

With Morse and Gramlich anchoring the ballhandling duties, Texas D1 had a backcourt which made very few turnovers.  Morse shot the ball very well from the three point line, ran the offense and also penetrated to his sweet spots in the mid range.

The Coach: Ron Morse

We generally don’t pat the coaches on the back as the focus should rightfully be about the kids. However, Coach Morse runs great sets which allow the players to be ib position to compete every game they play.  He hit the winning shot some years back to win a National Championship at Fort Hays State while playing for his dad.  The entire D1 Ambassadors organization from coast to coast. dedicates this win to Coach Morse and his Mother who passed suddenly. He is in Minnesota today making final arrangements.  Our condolences go out to hm and his family.-Coach Max Ivany