Hutchinson's Kadeem Allen Named NJCAA Basketball Player of Year
After a season of scintillating performances and dazzling offensive production, Hutchinson Community College sophomore guard Kadeem Allen was named the 2014 NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Player of the Year on Monday.
Allen is the second Blue Dragon athlete to be named an NJCAA National Player of the Year, joining Eugene Kinlaw, who was football's top player in 2008.
Last week Allen became the first Blue Dragon men's basketball player ever to be named a two-time first-time All-American by the NJCAA. Allen is also a two-time Jayhawk West Player of the Year, two-time first-team All-Region VI Player of the Year, 2013 Jayhawk West Freshman of the Year and a 2013 National Association of Basketball Coaches first-team All-American.
Allen, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound sophomore from Wilmington, N.C., signed early with the University of Arizona.
Allen completes his storied Blue Dragon career as the program's No. 3 all-time scorer with 1,425 points. Allen owns two career and two single-season statistical records. He ranks in 21 career, single-season or freshman statistical lists, ranking in the top three in 11 career, single-season or freshman categories.
The Blue Dragon guard's sophomore season 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 this past season.
A few of the many highlights of Allen's sophomore season:
+ He had five-straight 30-point games in November and finished with 13 of his career 15 30-point games this season.
+ On Nov. 15, 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. 3 vs. 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 was second in the NJCAA in scoring this season at 25.9 points per game, scoring 854 points in 33 games. Allen posted eight of his nine career double-doubles this past season.
Allen was an 11-time Jayhawk Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week and a two-time NJCAA National Player of the Week.
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.
Allen ranks third on the Blue Dragon career scoring list behind Roy "Pooh" Hairston (1,687) and Tyrone Jones (1,461). He is the 13th member of the Blue Dragon 1,000-point club.
Allen also ranks fifth first in career free throws (276), career free-throw attempts (592), second in career assists (324), second in career steals (157), tied for third in career scoring average (21.6 points per game) and fifth in career made field goals (271).
As a freshman, Allen's Blue Dragon rankings are sixth in scoring (571), fifth in scoring average (17.3 points per game), 11th in made field goals (190), second in made free throws (160), eighth in assists (130) and second in steals (81).
(HCC Sports Information)
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