KeVaughn Allen: Freshman of Few Words, Many Buckets

Wednesday, February 3

Gainesville, FL

7:00 PM

Florida Gators

Arkansas

KeVaughn Allen had his breakout game against Florida State, scoring 32 points against the Seminoles on Dec. 29.

KeVaughn Allen: Freshman of Few Words, Many Buckets

Wednesday, February 3, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The very first time Mike White was face-to-face with his initial Florida recruiting target, the new UF basketball coach didn't think the signals he was getting were very encouraging. Most of those signals were non-verbal.

After all, we're talking about KeVaughn Allen.

"I had heard he was really, really shy, but I thought it was more that he had zero interest in us," White said of his in-home visit to Little Rock, Ark., last May to re-recruit the high-scoring backcourt prospect who had signed with the Gators and previous Coach Billy Donovan. "He just kind of sat there."

After Donovan left to jump to the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder, Allen's parents called UF athletic director and asked for their son, the three-time state champion and two-time Arkansas Player of the Year, to be released from his letter-of-intent. Foley told them the school would do so, but requested they first meet with White before finalizing that decision. They agreed, but media reports -- both locally and nationally -- were buzzing that Allen was headed elsewhere, with hometown pressure mounting to come back and play for the University of Arkansas.

When it came time for their sit-down, most of White's initial conversation was directed to Allen's parents, while the kid ... well ... sat there. White wanted to let them know he wasn't some used car salesman, but he also didn't bring a hard sell. He just explained who he was, what he stood for, how he planned to treat their son and how his UF team would play by showing tape of his up-tempo Louisiana Tech teams.

Then he left.

"I didn't call them for a few days," White said. "I just kind of let it marinate so they could all think about it."

Before long, White was invited back for a follow-up. Eventually, the family said they were in. Allen, himself, didn't say much more than that, but White didn't need to hear much more than "yes" (or a nod of the head, actually). Being a quiet Gator was just fine by White.

That's because White knew Allen's game had potential be awfully noisy. And who needs to talk when everybody else is talking about you?

Allen figures to be a hot topic of conversation back home Wednesday night when he helps lead the Gators (14-7, 5-3) against Arkansas (11-10, 4-4) at the O'Connell Center. It'll be Allen's first game against his flagship home state school after leading North Little Rock High to three straight state champions and claiming back-to-back Gatorade Player of the Year honors for the state.

"I'm excited to play them. I know people on the team. I've competed against them and I'm sure they're excited to compete against us," said Allen, who was teammates for two of those state crowns with Razorbacks reserve guard Anton Beard. "I just can't make it any bigger than what it is. It's just another game to prepare for. We're playing Arkansas, but I can't be out there playing for myself. I have to play for the team."

Just like he's been doing.

Freshman guard KeVaughn Allen, UF's second-leading scorer, is on a tear of double-figure scoring in eight of the previous 10 games, including 19 in the Gators' demolition Saturday of No. 9 West Virginia.

On Monday, the 6-foot-2, 183-pound off guard was named SEC Freshman of the Week when he became the first freshman in the league this season to average at least 10 points (17.5), hit 50 percent from the field (.500) and the 3-point line (.556), and go perfect from the free-throw line (10-for-10) during a week.

For his rookie year, Allen is averaging 11.9 points, but his current run of efficiency is considerably longer than a week. He's hit double-figures in five straight games and 10 of the previous 12, including eruptions of 32 points against Florida State and 27 on the road at Ole Miss. Over the last five games, Allen's digits show 16.4 points, 58 percent from the floor, 57.7 from deep (15-for-26) and 87.5 from the free-throw line (21 of 24).

"He's getting better every day," senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith said. "KeVaughn's a gym rat, so when the ball goes in for him, we all know he's put in the work. Hopefully he just keeps getting better throughout the year and keeps playing consistently."

Allen definitely has caught the attention of the team back home.

"I think he's getting comfortable as a freshman. He's starting to figure it out," Arkansas coach Mike Anderson said. "In the earlier part of the season, it was kind of hit and miss, but now I think he's starting to put it together. All that is just getting acclimated to the college level; the speed, the quickness. Just finding what your niche is and what you can and can't do."

Since that breakout performance against FSU (Allen was averaging 7.5 when he hung 32 on the Seminoles) there's hasn't been a whole lot he hasn't been able to do. The list of Florida guards during the Donovan era who not only could score in bunches but had the ability to get a shot at anytime -- be it driving to the cup, a pull-up, a soft floater, step-back or straight bombed 3 -- actually is a short list. Scottie Wilbekin developed that skill. He didn't arrive with it.

This kid did.

Allen averaged 25.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 3.1 steals per game as a senior. He poured in 28 in the 2015 state championship game and was named tournament MVP as both a sophomore and senior.

When Allen committed to UF in the summer before his senior year it did not go over well back home, especially with one of his prep teammates, Beard, already in Fayetteville.

"They really wanted me to go there a lot. They were upset that I didn't commit," he said. "But I just did what I thought was the best decision for me."

Social media was not kind to Allen. Neither were opposing team gymnasiums. Not that the outside noise phased him relative to his senior seaosn performance. Allen was spectacular his final year, even ousting Bentonville High -- and Kentucky-bound top-10 prospect Malik Monk -- in the state tournament.

But when Donovan bolted for the Thunder last May, the opportunity for a do-over was there.

And White had his first major UF recruiting issue on his hands.

"It was hard at the time. I had questions when [Coach Donovan] left. At that point, I really didn't know what to do," said Allen, who may not have displayed a lot of interest in the Gators in his first meeting with White, but was listening to everything put to him. "Coach White coming and talking to me and telling me that Gainesville was still a place I could come and fit in; talking to me about how he liked to play and I just thought this was where I should be."

It all worked then and, so far, everything White told him has come to fruition. Allen is even inching out of his shell.

Well, sort off.

"He's not as shy as he comes off," freshman center Kevarrius Hayes.

"Well, he called out a screen at practice once," sophomore point guard Chris Chiozza said. "For him, that was something."

Finney-Smith, though, put it best after Allen went for his 27 points, including 6-for-7 from the 3-point line, at Ole Miss last month.

"He's a man of view words ... but he can put it in the goal," Finney-Smith said.

What else needs to be said?

Allen's maturation on the floor has been pronounced. He started the season somewhat hesitant to shoot and even deferential to his teammates. It was as if he wanted to fit in rather than splash onto the scene.

White and his staff, however, wanted more. They basically told Allen to shoot the ball when he was open -- or else.

It worked.

"Every day that goes by I feel more confident and comfortable in my game and my skills and just knowing what to do," Allen said. "Earlier, I was maybe thinking instead of letting the game come to me. Instead of feeling like I'm rushing into every decision I make on the court, it just seems like things are much slower."

As the Gators head into the home stretch of the SEC season, and look to build their postseason resume, the reserved (usually silent) freshman figures prominently.

"He's as quiet a kid as I've ever coached," White said. "He speaks with actions."

And buckets.