Arizona Wildcats’ Class of 2014 recruit Kadeem Allen style similar to Khalid Reeves

Arizona’s basketball program had a national player of the year candidate in junior guard Nick Johnson.

The Wildcats recruited the MaxPreps national boys basketball player of the year in guard/wing Stanley Johnson.

Now Sean Miller and his staff have the National Junior College Athletic Association men’s national player of the year. Kadeem Allen, a combo guard from Hutchinson Community College, was awarded that honor today.

He is the first Hutchinson (Kan.) Junior College player to earn the honor from the perennially strong program that also produced former Arizona player Ben Davis.

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 6’3″ and 205-pound sophomore from Wilmington, N.C., finished his Hutchinson career as the program’s No. 3 career scorer with 1,425 points. He led the Blue Dragons to a 28-6 record.

Kadeem Allen had five-straight 30-point games in November and finished with 13 of his career 15 30-point games this season (Hutchinson JC video capture).

With Nick Johnson reportedly leaning toward the NBA, Allen should have more opportunity for minutes at shooting guard backing up Stanley Johnson potentially. Allen also has ball-handling skills to spell point guard T.J. McConnell.

Allen became the first Blue Dragon in history to post a triple-double with 29 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists vs. Redlands (Okla.) Junior College on Nov. 15. He later posted a second triple-double of 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Allen (Kan.) Junior College in the opening round of the Region VI Tournament on March 1.

In the accompanying video, Allen’s playing style looks a lot like former Arizona guard Khalid Reeves, who holds the Wildcats’ single-season scoring record of 848 points in 1993-94. Allen was a scorer extraordinaire for Hutchinson.

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 against Allen.

Allen was second in the NJCAA in scoring this season at 25.9 points per game, scoring 854 points in 33 games.

His aggressive style allowed him to set the single-season record for free throws (276) and attempted free throws (371). Allen ranked fourth in single-season history with 194 assists (showing his versatility on the perimeter) and was ninth in steals with 76.

ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He also writes articles for Bleacher Report and Lindy’s College Sports.

[rps-paypal]