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Kadeem Allen is the third junior college transfer to play for Arizona under Sean Miller, joining Jesse Perry and Matt Korcheck.
Arizona historically has fared well with the addition of junior college transfers, most notably Pete Williams, Eddie Smith, John Edgar, Bennett Davison and Ben Davis during the Lute Olson era.
It’s interesting to note that Allen becomes the first junior college guard to transfer to Arizona under Miller and Olson.
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Perry, Korcheck, Williams, Edgar, Davison and Davis were all power forwards. Smith was a small forward.
Ron Allen (no relation) is one of the better players in the Fred Snowden years. He was a 6’2″ junior college guard much like Allen, who is 6’3″ and 200.
Ron Allen was a standout from Neosho County Junior College in Chanute, Kan., way back in 1972. Kadeem Allen was a junior college All-American at Hutchison (Kan.) Junior College.
Snowden was quoted as saying by the Associated Press upon Ron Allen’s signing, “I don’t believe in going to the junior colleges on a wholesale scale.”
Olson acknowledged the importance of adding Williams and Smith to his first recruiting class. The players were the cornerstones of Arizona’s success today. Thankfully, for Olson they were not signed by another school before his arrival in the Tucson in 1983.
“(Williams and Smith) were a couple of junior college kids who could have been gone by the time we got here, but they were still open,” Olson said in a 1988 Associated Press story. “Without them, we couldn’t have gotten it done this quickly.”
Miller is open to recruiting junior college players especially with the need to fill gaps if a highly-touted freshman recruit or sophomore leaves early for the NBA.
“It wasn’t that long ago in college sports that if you recruited well, you almost recruited less, because those players would be the pillars of your future. Now, the more talented they are, the quicker they leave. You have to adapt to it,” Miller said at a Wildcat alumni event in Phoenix in May.
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Site founder and award-winning sports journalist Javier Morales has published his first e-book, “The Highest Form of Living”, a fiction piece about a young man who overcomes a troubled upbringing without his lost father and wayward mother through basketball and hope. His hope is realized through the sport he loves. Basketball enables him to get past his fears. His experience on the court indirectly brings him closer to his parents in a unique, heartfelt way. Please order it at Amazon (for only $4.99) by clicking on the photo:
.@iPass4Zona stat stuffing again for the @Sixers! After 3 quarters he has 6 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. #APlayersProgram
— Arizona Basketball (@APlayersProgram) November 8, 2015
On Kadeem Allen's defense, Miller's options at the three without Smith, and more #arizonawildcats notes and links: https://t.co/RoIjOh2Rqy
— Bruce Pascoe (@BrucePascoe) November 6, 2015
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