Allen Spent the Summer Polishing Court Skills

Jerry Allen saw the writing on the wall and it told him plenty.

After averaging 7.6 points a game as a 6-foot-3 Granada Hills High junior forward, he realized last summer that he either had to grow several inches or drastically improve his ballhandling skills if he wanted to make a name for himself among college recruiters.

Since he had no control over the former, he chose the latter, and it has paid big dividends for him this season.

Allen, who is averaging 22.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 5.9 assists a game this season, had 72 points, 39 rebounds and 16 assists during three games in the North Hollywood tournament last week, as the Highlanders (10-1) hammered El Camino Real, 106-73 in the championship game Saturday night.

“I knew that he was going to be good this season,” Granada Hills Coach Bob Johnson said. “But I didn’t think he’d be as good as he is.”

Now a 6-4 forward--he has grown an inch since last season--Allen is the tallest member of the Highlander team who plays on a consistent basis. And he plays everywhere.

Inside. Outside. On the wing. At the point. He does it all.

“His versatility really helps open things up for us,” Johnson said. “Especially if the other team likes to play in a man-to-man defense. . . . How do you match up in a situation where the tallest player on the team is bringing the ball up court?

“Do you put a guard on him? Do you assign your tallest player to him? If you put your biggest guy on him, Jerry will blow past him.”

Although Allen is aware of the problems he presents opposing defenses, he has been pleasantly surprised by his improvement.

“I figured that if I wanted to play in college, it was going to be at the point-guard position,” Allen said. “So I really worked on my dribbling over the summer. . . . But I didn’t think I’d improved this quickly.”

Playing on an American Roundball Corporation team helped Allen in the dribbling department, but it was the pickup games in the Manual Arts and Washington high gyms and on the local playgrounds that proved most beneficial.

“I was playing a lot of ball with guys who were older than me, and that really helped,” Allen said. “And I always tried to play point guard.”

Dribbling a basketball everywhere he went last summer also helped.

Whether he was dropping off a letter at the post office, picking up a loaf of bread at the market, or checking out the latest releases at the record store, Allen did it with a basketball in tow.

“I dribbled all over the neighborhood,” Allen said. “That helped me as much as anything.”

While playing in the pickup games benefited Allen’s game, it did have drawbacks.

It taught Allen to play tough, aggressive defense, sometimes considered too physical by high school basketball officials.

“It does get him in foul trouble at times,” Johnson said. “He is very aggressive on defense. He likes to get after the player he’s guarding and sometimes he gets whistled for it.”

Friday night’s 63-56 semifinal victory over Grant was a case in point.

Allen was charged with his fourth foul with 1 minute 18 seconds left in the third quarter. He stayed in the game and led all scorers with 23 points, although none came after his fourth personal.

“He’s had games this year where he’s picked up three fouls in the first quarter,” Johnson said. “But he has yet to foul out. He has the ability to change his defense, to alter his style of play, if he has to. . . . After he picked up his fourth foul (against Grant), he just said, ‘Don’t worry, I won’t get another.’ ”

Allen concurred with his coach.

“I just had to play with my hands in my pocket,” he said. “But I didn’t want to come out. I really wanted us to get into the finals.”