Chris Allen is Growing Up Right in Front of Our Eyes!
The first time I met Chris Allen was on the couch of his Aunt and Uncle’s home in Lansing. He had just committed to MSU and that was our first face-to-face meeting.
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Unlike most top-flight recruits, he didn’t have a swagger. The quiet and mild-mannered young man was excited to be a Spartan, but far from impressed with himself.
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What stuck out that night was what made his eyes light up. When I asked him what his strength was his face brightened and he exclaimed, “Scoring.â€
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When I asked about defense he replied with a mumbled, “Yeah.â€Â I remember as I left that night telling my partner that Allen better learn that there is a lot more than a yeah when it comes to defense with Izzo.
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Because of Allen’s quiet demeanor a lot of people misunderstand this fine young man. I have never seen this gentleman be less than kind and no kid can get past him if they want an autograph.
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That young man sitting at the home of his family that night has never disappointed me. In fact, he has impressed me.
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The general fan watches young men come to MSU and mature on the field or the court. For those of us that get to know them and watch them every day, we see what they become as men.
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Allen has grown from a great kid to a fine man. He didn’t have any necessary growth as a gentleman; his family deserves the credit for that. He did need a lot of growth as a player. His “Yeah†says it best. He has done it.
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Last season Izzo saw his young sharpshooter on the bench in critical moments because he needed defense more than scoring. It was frustrating for Izzo as much as Allen.
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“I have never really been on the bench before, especially in important times and that was really hard,†was how Allen described the frustration at times last season.
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Izzo was even more blunt earlier this year looking back. “It was hard, but if you can’t play defense with the passion that comes from loving it, you can’t play.â€
Last week the Spartans faced their bitter rival Michigan, and when their star scorer Manny Harris got on the floor Izzo called on his southern gentleman Chris Allen to handle the task. Harris scored, but over half of his points came when Allen wasn’t on him or fast breaks. The Spartans left Crisler Arena with a big W and Allen was a big reason why.
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"When I think that I put Chris Allen on Manny Harris…if you had told me that a year ago, they would've taken me to a nut ward,†was Izzo’s reaction afterward.
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Outside the locker room I congratulated Allen whose broad smile and downward glance told the story. “It felt so good, I love playing that kind of D.â€
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I caught up with Allen this week at practice. I wanted to ask him about how far he came and at what moment did the light come on for him that playing defense was the key.
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“I don’t know if I can point to a moment exactly. I only had two shots the whole game against them (Wolverines) but I locked him down and that really boosts our teams confidence.â€Â He went on, “I had to refocus. I had to understand what coach meant. It takes some time for a young player to get on the page with coach, it wasn’t in my nature.â€
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Allen is right. It wasn’t in his nature, but finding what his coach wanted was part of his character. “Yeah (there was that yeah again), I guess it came at a point watching the NBA. They were showing highlights of Lebron and it was all of his defense. All the things he did without the ball. Then they showed Kobe. Everyone knows that those guys can score, but they were talking about them being the two best defenders and that Lebron could be the best ever. If I want to get to the next level, then I can’t play defense, I have to love it like they do.â€
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Allen is growing up. That is what happens with time, but the encouraging thing is that he is maturing. As I was walking away he got my attention and added, “If you go back and watch Kobe and Lebron in their first couple of years, they didn’t play defense either. I just learned it my first couple of years in college when they went straight to the league.â€
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Allen is already a great young man. He is becoming a great basketball player and with his new love being defense, the sky is the limit. “I just want to get better every game on that side of the ball,†was his stated goal to me.
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That should bother the Big Ten and be Izzo’s best fifty-fifth birthday present. Once again, Izzo’s relentless pressure on his players has them seeing the light, the light of championships and the NBA.
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For Allen, it means just getting better at the game he loves.