ODJ: Lavoy's Load

The future of the Temple men's basketball team is all about Lavoy Allen. That's an exciting proposition for fans of the Cherry and White, who watched the 6-9 power forward ring up 13 points and 11 rebounds almost effortlessly in the Owls' 72-61 NCAA Tournament loss to Michigan State.

In college basketball, the only thing better than a super senior is a fabulous freshman.

Year after year, great seniors make the difference between average teams and good teams, good teams and great teams.

A dozen years ago, time-tested seniors Derrick Battie, Jason Ivey, and Levan Alston helped carry a marginal Temple squad to victories over top-ranked Kansas and second-ranked Villanova and a victory over Oklahoma in the NCAA Tournament.

More recently, Quincy Wadley was the senior hero when the Owls last advanced to the Elite Eight in 2001.

Mark Tyndale and Chris Clark joined that great tradition this season, in which Temple regained its long-held position at the top of the Atlantic 10.

Tyndale displayed the best all-around game that the A-10 has seen since Lamar Odom, and, like Odom, he should have been named the league’s MVP. Clark brought his game to a level that no one thought possible.

But there’s one big problem with seniors: When the season’s over, they’re gone.

That’s not the case with 99 percent of your freshmen. And that’s why the future of the Temple men’s basketball team is all about Lavoy Allen. And that’s an exciting proposition.

Highly-rated recruits are great ... on paper, in all-star games, and generally speaking, against lesser competition. But until you see that recruit in live Division I action, you never know for sure.

With Allen, the Owls are sure. There’s absolutely no doubt. As long as he stays on North Broad Street, Temple is a good bet to play in the NCAA Tournament.

And just as Tyndale was the barometer in the Owls’ re-entry into the national discussion, Allen’s development will determine how quickly they take the next step.

How good was Allen’s freshman campaign?

First of all, it was way better than his numbers (8.1 points, 5.7 rebounds per game), which were pretty good. He never grabbed a lot of rebounds, but he always grabbed the big offensive rebound when the team really needed one. He rarely scored in bunches, because the team rarely needed it.

In a different situation, there’s no reason to think that Allen couldn’t have put up numbers closer to 15 and 10 on a regular basis. Disagree?

Just look at his performance against Michigan State, when the competition level rose to a new level and teammate Dionte Christmas was taken out of the equation. Quietly, as usual, Allen totaled 13 points and 11 rebounds. While frontcourt mate Sergio Olmos was completely outplayed by Spartan big bodies Drew Naymick and Goran Suton, Allen looked effortless in notching his first career double-double.

Just imagine what he could have done if he looked to put the ball in the basket. Frankly, that’s part of the reason that the Owls lost the game.

Michigan State chose to focus on Christmas, and to stop Tyndale from getting all the way to the hole. That left some open shots for Ryan Brooks (who hit them) and Chris Clark (who missed them), and plenty of one-on-one chances for Olmos.

It also left room for Allen, who spent most of the game making the extra pass instead of taking the extra shot. In retrospect, the Owls needed him to do more of the latter.

The Spartans would have a hard time believing that Allen’s pair of three-pointers were the first of his college career. He certainly looked comfortable shooting them.

And now the seniors are gone – Clark, who suddenly scored so much, and shot the team’s highest percentage from three-point range, and Tyndale, who scored a lot, and made it so much easier for everyone else to score.

Who will fill the 25-point scoring void next season?

Christmas can’t score much more. Brooks and Olmos might improve their numbers a bit. Semaj Inge and Luis Guzman are more likely to help fill Tyndale’s role as a playmaker. Ramone Moore will be a rookie.

That leaves Allen.

Take a look at the best big man in the A-10. As a freshman at St. Joseph’s, Ahmad Nivins averaged 6.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Allen was better this year than Nivins was as a freshman. Nivins averaged 16.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game as a sophomore.

Different team. Different system. Different player.

But this fabulous freshman is about to become a spectacular sophomore. For the Owls, he needs to be. That’s the big question this offseason: When will Allen embrace that role?