Rising Junior Has Favorite
One of the top players in Oregon's stacked Class of 2005 is Corey Allen, a
versatile 6-foot-4, 200-pound swingman from Central Catholic High School in
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Portland, Ore. As a sophomore, Allen was one of the top scorers in the state
and his numbers only figure to go up the next two years. He's already started
hearing from some major college programs on the West Coast.
So far, Oregon, Oregon State, and Utah have all shown interest in the
still-physically developing athlete. While he hopes to hear from more Pac-10
schools, Allen definitely has an early favorite.
"I really like the University of Oregon," said Allen. "If I could choose where
I wanted to go, that is definitely near the top of my list."
This should come as no surprise -- especially since the system he plays in at
Central Catholic is very similar to the one that Ernie Kent has in place in
Eugene.
"We do a lot of the stuff that they do like running and fastbreaking," said
Central Catholic head coach Steve Halligan. "We adapted a lot of what they do
into what we were already doing."
Allen is a multi-dimensional player who can score in many different ways.
Masterful around the hoop, he also can sink the college three. He has a great
feel for the game and despite his youth, is already looked upon by his
teammates and his coach to take - and make - big baskets in crucial situations.
As a sophomore, Allen averaged 22.1 points with a season-high of 37.
But while he's versatile, he's often been the tallest player for his age (and
may not be finished growing) which has meant he's ended up playing mainly in
the post. This was the case in 2002-03.
"He can play all five positions, but last year we needed scoring punch inside,"
said Halligan. "He's a natural post player and he has tremendous inside
moves. He can finish inside as well as anyone we've ever had." (If you're
wondering, yes - according to Halligan - that does include former Ram and
current NBA center Michael Doleac.)
But Allen's future at the next level will be based on the perimeter. So, with
Central Catholic getting some post help for next season this year, Allen will
in turn get to move outside the paint.
"This year we're looking to play him at the three," said Halligan. "He's
worked hard on developing his outside game."
Allen has taken advantage of his time with the Portland ICA Panthers to work on
all parts of his game. He is extremely humble in recognizing how much needs to
improve himself for the next level.
"I am really trying to work on my perimeter game and ball handling, so in my
games I've been concentrating on trying to shoot outside more and bring the
ball up when necessary," said Allen. "One of the biggest things I know I need
to work on is my aggressiveness. Sometimes I tend to coast through games, when
I need to be more tenacious from the start. Perimeter defense, mid-range game,
and ball handling are other weaknesses I also have been working on and intend
on including them in my game for this upcoming year, and the rest of summer."
Central Catholic will once again be young in 2003-04, but Allen thinks that the
team has plenty of potential. He's ready to take on the challenge of leading
the team into battle.
"I think we will be good if we gain experience in a hurry. We will most likely
start 2-3 seniors but none of them really had valuable experience last year,
the biggest contributor at like 15 minutes a game," said Allen. "For us to win
games next year, a lot of it will fall on my leadership and if I am able to
come through in the end of games... so that will be a good test for me."
Allen currently has a 2.7 GPA and has yet to take the SAT.
Allen next stop with the ICA Panthers is the adidas Big Time which starts today.
Jed Tai is a senior writer with Hoopville.com