Arizona senior guard Kadeem Allen is coming off his most productive consecutive games in his career with the Wildcats, and that carries a lot of meaning for Sean Miller.
Allen compiled 69 productivity points in 63 minutes against Colorado and ASU for a rating of 1.095. His season productivity rating increased from .445 before the Colorado game to .525 now.
Could this be the beginning of Miller counting on Allen on a consistent basis? To be a continuous productivity leader? Throughout his career at Arizona, Allen’s productivity has been hit or miss.
DX Matchup Video: Kadeem Allen vs Derrick White https://t.co/sRbGkWhfyv (via @rthomson9) pic.twitter.com/ruI6YXRxHq
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) January 18, 2017
With Parker Jackson-Cartwright back after missing a month because of a high ankle sprain, Allen’s role is more refined as the off guard. He is more in a comfort zone similar to his days at Hutchinson (Kan.) Junior College when he could concentrate more of being a scoring play maker rather than a facilitator.
Jackson-Cartwright fills the role of the set-up guy very well.
In the five games since his return he has 30 assists with only five turnovers while averaging 23.6 minutes per game.
One of Allen’s most interesting stats is he has never had a 20-point game at Arizona. The 18 points he had against Colorado and ASU are his career-best scoring games with the Wildcats.
This from a player who averaged 17.3 points a game in his last season with Hutchinson in 2013-14. He had nine games with at least 20 points. He scored at least 30 points in a couple of games.
His career scoring average in 51 games with Arizona: 8.9 points.
With the offensive firepower of Allonzo Trier an uncertainty of being part of Arizona’s execution this season, perhaps it is a good idea to finally unleash Allen in a role similar to what Trier would have with the Wildcats.
It’s no coincidence that Allen went to the free-throw line more times than he is accustomed to at Arizona — making 16 of 21 from there — against Colorado and ASU during his recent rebirth as a dominating finisher.
His defense with a team-best 26 steals is already superior. His offense is starting to have that same gusto.
The 21 free throws he attempted against the Buffaloes and Sun Devils — a result of a more attacking style — equaled the amount of times he went to the line in the nine previous games dating to the Gonzaga game.
Look for Allen to have more liberty as a scorer and penetrator to the basket than ever before in his Wildcat career if the last two games are any indication. That kind of strategy is exactly what Arizona needs to break down defenses more to loosen up Lauri Markkanen and Dusan Ristic inside.
WHAT IS PRODUCTIVITY RATING?:
PP: Productivity Points (Points, assists, rebounds, steals, blocked shots, FGs made, FTs made added together and then subtracted by missed FGs, missed FTs, personal fouls and turnovers)
MIN: Minutes played overall
PR: Productivity rating per minute played (Productivity points divided by minutes played)
SEASON PRODUCTIVITY RATING
[table sort=”desc”]
Player,Pos,G,S,PP,MIN,PR
Lauri Markkanen,PF,18,18,471,559,.843
Dusan Ristic,C,18,18,339,444,.764
Rawle Alkins,SF,18,18,320,555,.577
Kadeem Allen,SG,17,16,268,510,.525
Chance Comanche,C,18,0,151,322,.469
Kobi Simmons,SG,18,13,250,545,.459
Parker Jackson-Cartwright,PG,12,7,137,322,.425
Keanu Pinder,PF,18,0,113,277,.408
AVG 5-9.9 MIN,,,,,
None,,,,,
AVG 1-4.9 MIN,,,,,
Kory Jones,G,3,0,5,6,.833
Tyler Trillo,G,7,0,-1,29,-.034
Jake DesJardins,G,5,0,-2,11,-.182
Paulo Cruz,G,7,0,-5,20,-.250
TOTAL TEAM,,18,,2032,3600,.564
[/table]
PRODUCTIVITY REPORT
ARIZONA PAC-10/12
PLAYERS OF THE YEAR:
[table sort=”desc”]
Name (Year),G,S,PP,MIN,PR
Derrick Williams (2011),38,38,1190,1141,1.043
Sean Elliott (1989),33,33,1128,1125,1.003
Chris Mills (1993),28,28,838,870,.963
Sean Elliott (1988),38,38,1167,1249,.934
Damon Stoudamire (1995),30,30,964,1092,.883
Mike Bibby (1998),35,35,905,1124,.805
Jason Terry (1999),29,29,877,1107,.792
Nick Johnson (2014),38,38,848,1254,.676
Total,269,269,7917,8962,.883
[/table]
PREVIOUS GAME
ARIZONA 91, ASU 75
PRODUCTIVITY RATING
* — STARTERS
[table sort=”desc”]
Player,Pos,PP,MIN,PR
*Lauri Markkanen,PF,42,30,1.400
*Dusan Ristic,C,29,25,1.160
*Kadeem Allen,SG,35,31,1.129
Chance Comanche,C,13,18,.722
*Kobi Simmons,SG,18,33,.545
*Rawle Alkins,SF,12,31,.387
Parker Jackson-Cartwright,PG,2,23,.087
LESS THAN 10 MIN,,,,
Keanu Pinder,PF,2,9,.222
TOTAL TEAM,,153,200,.765
[/table]
ARIZONA SCHEDULE/PRODUCTIVITY RESULTS
*-Honolulu
**-Las Vegas
***-Los Angeles
****-Houston
[table sort=”desc”]
Date,Opponent,Results,TeamPR,Productivity Leader,Pos,PP,MIN,PR
11/11,*Michigan State,W/65-63,.395,Kobi Simmons,SG,22,26,.846
11/15,Cal State Bakersfield,W/78-66,.560,Lauri Markkanen,PF,48,36,1.333
11/18,Sacred Heart,W/95-65,.805,Dusan Ristic,C,31,22,1.409
11/21,Northern Colorado,W/71-55,.565,Parker Jackson-Cartwright,PG,35,34,1.029
11/24,**Santa Clara,W/69-61,.510,Keanu Pinder,PF,12,12,1.000
11/25,**Butler,L/69-65,.390,Lauri Markkanen,PF,17,21,.810
11/30,Texas Southern,W/85-63,.705,Lauri Markkanen,PF,35,29,1.207
12/3,***Gonzaga,L/69-62,.420,Dusan Ristic,C,17,23,.739
12/6,Cal-Irvine,W/79-57,.635,Dusan Ristic,C,32,30,1.067
12/10,at Missouri,W/79-60,.556,Rawle Alkins,SF,27,37,.730
12/14,Grand Canyon,W/64-54,.450,Dusan Ristic,C,19,31,.613
12/17,****Texas A&M,W/67-63,.545,Dusan Ristic,C,27,26,1.038
12/20,New Mexico,W/77-46,.680,Chance Comanche,PF,25,23,1.087
12/30,California,W/67-62,.410,Dusan Ristic,C,27,28,.964
1/1,Stanford,W/91-52,.725,Rawle Alkins,SF,36,29,1.241
1/5,Utah,W/66-56,.530,Dusan Ristic,C,29,26,1.115
1/7,Colorado,W/82-73,.580,Lauri Markkanen,PF,28,22,1.273
1/12,ASU,W/91-75,.765,Lauri Markkanen,PF,42,30,1.400
[/table]
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.
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