Allen Plans to Sign with Oklahoma State
Tony Allen, an electrifying 6-4, 200 pound swingman from Wabash Valley College in Mt. Carmel, Ill., has orally committed to the Oklahoma State basketball program.
JUCO Junction/Rivalshoops.com spoke with Allen on Thursday, and he confirmed that he will be signing the national letter of intent later this week. The papers are currently with his mother in Chicago, Ill., and once they reach Allen at Wabash, he will make his commitment official.
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"I saw on of the Oklahoma State scouts come to one of my earlier games, and I was really excited when I found out that they came to see me," Allen said. "I felt that they were one of the schools that I wanted to go and work hard to get there."
Allen visited Oklahoma State this past weekend and said he spurned overtures from Florida State, South Carolina and Illinois in orderto cast his lot with Eddie Sutton's Cowboy program.
Allen enjoyed a solid sophomore campaign for the Warriors, averaging 13.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game for a club that finished 32-6 and ranked 15th in the final regular season NJCAA poll.
Allen shined last month at the NJCAA Tournament in Hutchinson, Kan., where he averaged 22.8 points and 10.5 rebounds per game for Wabash Valley, which placed fourth among a 16-team field.
The state of Kansas wasn't strange territory to the Chicago native, as he had spent the 2000-2001 season at Butler County C.C. in El Dorado, Kan., before transferring into Wabash Valley last fall.
Allen is a tremendous athlete and finisher, and he said he expects to play both the two and three slots for the Cowboys next season.
"The two [position] is open for me, it's just all about me coming there and working hard and getting Coach Sutton to believe that I can play this game, and that's what I fought hard for all season," Allen said.
Allen shot 52 percent from the floor and 32 percent from the three point line this past season, and also knocked down 61 percent from the free throw line.
"I just need to get more consistent on my jump shot," Allen said. "Sometimes I will shoot 2 for four from long range, and then the next night, I will be like two for nine. I just have to get more consistent with that and get stronger."
Allen said he will need to take six credit hours this summer in order to earn his associates degree from Wabash and be eligible at Oklahoma State next season.
He is the third junior college player to commit to the Cowboys this spring, the others being 6-9 Mory Correa of Pratt C.C. in Kansas and 6-2 Janavor Weatherspoon of Odessa College in Texas.