Having played against Ben Allen in high school nationals, I know first hand the skills the young man holds.
Standing 211 cm tall, the Melbourne-bred big man suited up for his rookie year in the 2011 NBL season with the Townsville Crocs behind former Georgia Tech star, Luke Schenscher.
Before joining the Crocs, Allen was a member of the AIS program and ventured to the US to test his talent in the all-powerful NCAA competition.
Allen’s collegiate career included stints with the well-renowned University of Indiana for the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons; in 2007-08 he didn’t hit the court but in 2008-09 Allen joined with Saint Mary’s, where he averaged 9.1 minutes and 2.2 points per game.
In 2009-10, Allen’s game-time increased considerably, rising to 27.6 minutes per game which enabled fans to see his true potential as he went close to averaging a double-double with 10.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.
Two key games stand out from Allen’s college career. In the ESPN-aired, West Coast Conference tournament final against the highly respected Gonzaga outfit, Allen dropped 20, collected nine boards, dished off two assists and showed his defensive prowess with two big blocks.
The second game of note was in the sweet sixteen (NCAA Div. 1) round against Baylor in which they went down 49-72 – Baylor would lose narrowly to national champion, Duke. Allen top-scored for the Gaels with 16 points, seven defensive rebounds, three assists and one block.
On Saturday, October 8, 2011, Allen will resume his NBL career with his second season against the Cairns Taipans.
Allen demonstrated his deftness against Melbourne in his hometown; the centre contributed 12 points, three rebounds and two assists in a 15-minute burst against the Tigers.
What makes Allen different from other big men is his unselfishness and ability to find teammates. In his final year with Saint Mary’s, Allen averaged 2.2 assists per games; he also maintains an encouraging shooting percentage from outside the key as well as being 82.1 per cent from the free throw-line.
Playing with another AIS centre and graduate, Schenscher, Allen will learn further from the ex-Chicago Bull and Port Trailblazer, progressively gain more and more court-time and begin to dominate the league like Ray Borner, Mark Davis, Larry Sengstock, Mark Bradtke, Chris Anstey, Dean Uthoff, John Dorge and Paul Rogers.
The Ben Allen show is just beginning.
Travis Reid
Roar Rookie
Nice article Cam. I'm not sure that Ben Allen will ever quite hit the heights you're predicting (eg. Boomers starting centre), but he will be a very solid player in the NBL for a very long time to come. He is only still very young, and it usually takes the big guys a lot longer to hit their peak. @buck - I think you'll be waiting a while mate. I can't see the Dragons ever coming back into the NBL. @jbomb - I hope you do watch with interest mate. There will be quite a few Boomers calibre players running around in the NBL this season aside from Benny Allen - a few eg.'s are Mark Worthington, Adam Gibson, Damian Martin, Peter Crawford, Luke Schensher, Alex Loughton, Cam Tragardh, Stephen Weigh, Anatoly Bose, Daniel Dillon - just to name a few! There's basically one Boomers calibre player on every NBL squad this season, so get out there and support the Aussies. It will be even easier now that One HD have announced they'll be showing NBL games on Friday's, Saturday's and Sundays! Bring it on! @johnno - Ben Allen has played in a couple of friendlies for Australia. He played in them last year (2010) prior to the World Championships and prior to his rookie season with Townsville. @jvgo - I think you've summed Benny up pretty well. It will be the lack of defensive intensity that will hold him back from making strides with the national team. He's only young though so he's got plenty of time to rectify this. I do like to see the big guys play with a bit of a mean streak though. You're huge and weigh a tonne, use that size to your advantage!
JVGO
Guest
I'd love to see him do well. All the St Mary's guys were good kids. Randy Bennet is a great coach who knows how to get the best out of them.
Johnno
Guest
This years NBL might get some really top americans, because of the NBA lockout. Would be great to get the imports of the calibre of the U.S imports in the halcyon days of the NBL in the 80's , 90's and early part of the millennium. miss the NBL halcyon days so much like so many basketball fans do in Australia. I like so many Basketabll fans in Australia would start going to games again if the NBL could return to the NBL halcyon days.
camcallsthegame
Roar Pro
appreciate your comments...we will have to wait and see.
JVGO
Guest
I saw Ben play at St Mary's numerous times. I think you are overrating him a little. He can be a useful player in the right situation but I don't see him ever being dominant. He was useful in the high post and spreading the floor with Omar Samhan, one of the best post players in the NCAA. But he was slow and foul prone on D, not really a great rebounder and more a shooter than a post up guy. He can pass OK though. He needs to play tougher too as he never matched the intensity and passion of some of his teammates like Dellavadova and Omar or Diamon Simpson. Simpsaon or Samhan could be pretty strong in the NBL. Allen seems pretty laid back. But I guess we'll see.
camcallsthegame
Roar Pro
He hasn't played for the Boomers ... Yet! It will only be a matter of time before he is playing and starting centre.
Johnno
Guest
Has he ever played for the Boomers. has eh ever been considered.
Jbomb
Guest
I will be watching with interest as I have just read with interest!
camcallsthegame
Roar Pro
share the story with your mates and let's get some attention on the upcoming season
buck
Guest
I am waiting for Dragons to return here in melbourne, but I do go to the odd Tigers game. looking forward to the season
camcallsthegame
Roar Pro
@Buck - the positive thing is that Benny Allen will learn from LS and gain more and more time this year. Just look at his last year in college...was impressive. His inside but more important, outside skills, will make him hard to stop in the NBL. Are you a Crocs fan @Buck? You can follow me on Twitter @camcallsthegame and blog www.camcallsthegame.wordpress.com. GIve this article a cheer if you wish.
buck
Guest
Nice article Cam. Looking forward to watching him run round. I thought he would get more minutes when he came back last season. keep these stories coming mate