Thursday, August 5, 2010

Preparing for the NBA: Lavoy Allen


After his stellar junior season, Lavoy Allen attempted to take his game into the NBA. However, he decided to withdraw his name from the draft, and finish out his time with the Temple Owls. With him returning for his senior season, the Owls now have a big-time star leading them into the 2010-11 season.

The offseason for Allen has been nothing but helpful for not only him, but for the Temple basketball program as a whole. He was selected to take part in a scrimmage between Team USA and a select few of collegiate players. The team was coached by one of the best minds in college basketball, Villanova’s Jay Wright, as well as Washington’s Lorenzo Romar.

At the camp, Allen realized that he has the potential to be a shut down defender in the NBA since he only allowed the sensational NBA star, Kevin Durant, to hit one deep three-pointer on him while he was marking him. He also spent time learning from Danny Granger, Lamar Odom and Jeff Green.

His decision to remove his name from the NBA Draft was based on the fact that not many teams displayed any viable interest in him, and the one team that appeared to be interested in him (Portland Trail Blazers) told him that they would not use their lone second-round pick on him. With that said, Allen turned down the NBA for another year, and will be wearing the cherry and white for another season.

As fans, we are drawn to the fact that Allen is arguably the best player on the team, but he still has a lot to work on him if he wants to succeed in the NBA. The one thing that scouts are nailing him on is his shooting.

“One of the main things they said is I need to take more shots, that’s one of the main things I’m concerned with,” said Allen. “I’ve been working on my mid-range jump shot, and I’ve been consistent with that. I was pretty inconsistent last year. I’ve been more consistent in the past than I was last year, and I’m trying to get that back.”

His 11.5 points per game in 2009 were nothing to be ashamed of, but he will need to build upon those numbers in his upcoming season.

But the one thing that he can do very well is rebound, and his 10.7 rebounds per game last season will back that up. His rebounding ability will translate very well into the NBA game, and his 6 foot 9 body figure, combined with his wide wingspan, will give him an advantage amongst many NBA forwards.


(Quote gathered by Scout.com)

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