[ By STEVE CARPENTER ]
[ HCC SPORTS INFORMATION ]
Photo courtesy of HCC Sports Information
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Kadeem Allen became the first Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball player to have his named called in an NBA Draft since 2012.
Late Thursday, the former Blue Dragon All-American and National Player of the Year was selected by the Boston Celtics in the second round with the 53rd overall draft pick.
Allen becomes the first Blue Dragon chosen in the NBA Draft since Darius Johnson-Odom was drafted in the second round by the Dallas Mavericks. His draft rights were traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2012. Johnson-Odom was taken with the 55th overall selection.
Since 1988, Allen becomes the seventh Blue Dragon to be drafted or signed as an undrafted free agent, the fifth to go in the Draft. Shaun Vandiver was the only Blue Dragon selected in the first round. Vandiver was taken with the 25th overall selected by Golden State in the 1991 NBA Draft.
According to an evaluation of Allen by Jeff Goodman on ESPN.com, “(Allen is) vastly underrated, and his impact can’t be judged by his numbers. Allen is a warrior who brings toughness and a defense-first mentality. He’s not a pure point guard, but needs to be solid with the ball in his hands.”
Allen, listed at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, came to Hutchinson from Wilmington, N.C.
He completed his storied Blue Dragon career after the 2013-14 season as the program’s No. 3 all-time scorer with 1,425 points. Allen owns two career and two single-season statistical records at the time of his graduation. He was ranked in 21 career, single-season or freshman statistical lists, ranking in the top three in 11 career, single-season or freshman categories.
He is one of only three Blue Dragons to be named an NJCAA All-American in both years at Hutchinson. Allen was not only the 2014 NJCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Player of the Year, but the NABC Junior College Player of the Year.
The Blue Dragon guard’s sophomore season in 2014 will be remembered for years to come as one of the best single-season effort all-time in Hutchinson men’s basketball history. He was a central figure for an injury-ravaged HCC men’s team that finished 26-8 and was Region VI runner-up.
Allen was second in the NJCAA in scoring in 2014 at 25.9 points per game, scoring 854 points in 33 games. Allen posted eight of his nine career double-doubles this past season. He shot 45.7 percent from the field, 30.5 percent from 3-point range and 74.4 percent from the free-throw line.
He had five-straight 30-point games in November of 2013 and finished with 13 of his career 15 30-point games this season. On Nov. 15, 2013, Allen became the first Blue Dragon in history to post a triple-double with 29 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists vs. Redlands. He later posted a second triple-double of 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Allen in the opening round of the Region VI Tournament on March 1 at the Sports Arena.
On Jan. , 2014 against Allen at the Sports Arena, Allen came off the bench for the first time in his career and scored a career-high 41 points on 13 of 20 overall shooting, 1 of 2 from 3-point range and 14 of 17 from the free-throw line. The performance was the fourth-highest scoring game in team history and just the fifth 40-point game ever by a Blue Dragon.
Allen scored 854 points this past season, the third-most in HCC men’s basketball history. His 25.9 point scoring average was second only to the 42-year-old record of Richard Morsden’s 27.3 point average in 1972.
The sophomore guard set single-season record for free throws (276) and attempted free throws (371). Allen ranked fourth in single-season history with 194 assists and was ninth in steals with 76.
After Hutchinson Allen transferred to the University of Arizona. Electing to redshirt in the 2014-15 season, Allen was a two-year starter for the Wildcats in 2015-16 and 2016-17.
As a junior at Arizona, Allen averaged 8.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. He led Arizona in steals with 35 and his 27 blocks were the most by any player 6-feet-3-inches or shorter in the Pac-12. He scored a season-high 15 points in a win over UNLV on Dec. 19, 2015 and recorded Arizona’s only 10-assist game versus Oregon on Jan. 28, 2016.
This past season, Allen was a member of the All-Pac 12 second team and was voted by coaches to Pac-12 All-Defensive Team. He led his team in steals (53). Offensively, Allen averaged 9.8 points while shooting 45.3 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range. Allen set and matched his career high in scoring with 18 points in back-to-back games against Colorado and Arizona State in first month of conference play. He finished tied for fourth in the conference in steals at 1.6 steals per game and dished out season-best eight assists in same game versus Arizona State.
Allen began his senior season with a bang with game-winning layup followed by victory-clinching steal in final seconds in season-opening win over No. 12 Michigan State in 2016 Armed Forces Classic in Hawaii.
FORMER BLUE DRAGONS DRAFTED INTO NBA
Player Drafted By Year Round Pick
Kadeem Allen Boston Celtics 2017 2 53
Darius Johnson-Odom Dallas Mavericks 2012 2 55*
Nate Erdman Utah Jazz 1997 2 56
Ben Davis Phoenix Suns 1996 2 43
Shaun Vandiver Golden State Warriors 1991 1 25
* – Draft rights traded to the Los Angeles Lakers
FORMER BLUE DRAGONS WHO WERE UNDRAFTD FREE AGENS
Roy “Pooh” Hairston New Jersey Nets 1996
Ben Gillery Sacramento Kings 1988