Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

HS BASKETBALL:

Centennial boys basketball relying on several underclassmen

2010-2011 Boys Prep Basketball

Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun

Centennial basketball players, from left, Neiman Lee, Evan Martin, Marcus Allen, Aaseem Dixon and Malcolm Allen.

Todd Allen

Centennial High boys basketball coach Todd Allen talks about the upcoming season.

2010-2011 Boys Prep Basketball - Centennial Outtakes

Centennial basketball players Neiman Lee, Evan Martin, Marcus Allen, Aaseem Dixon and Malcolm Allen. Launch slideshow »

The Centennial High basketball team took fifth in the Northwest Division last year, missing the playoffs by one game to fourth place Arbor View.

Ironically, the Bulldogs beat Arbor View High twice.

“Go figure that out,” Centennial coach Todd Allen jokingly said. “You can’t take a night off in this league. We have some athletes up here. Every team has kids that can beat you.”

This year, despite a young lineup and only starting one senior, Allen feels his team has the talent to be competitive. It won’t happen overnight, but the potential to win games is there, he said.

“They have to be unselfish, and not care about who scores, only about the Ws,” he said.

Centennial has one of the top players in town in senior guard Aaseem Dixon, who is part of the Sun’s Super Seven pre-season team. Dixon turned heads this summer with solid performances on the AAU circuit — something his coach is more than familiar with.

“It’s like having another coach out there on the floor for us,” Allen said. “He is such a hard worker. He has worked tremendously hard on his game. He’s an all-out gym rat who loves to be in the gym. He’s the reason why a lot of us get into coaching, just a great kid.”

Dixon isn’t Centennial’s lone threat.

Sophomore twins Marcus and Malcom Allen will start in the backcourt, and 6-foot-6 junior center Evan Martin will patrol the interior. Junior forwards Neiman Lee and Ryan Vozzola are part of the regular rotation, which Allen feels is the deepest in the Northwest.

“Hopefully we’ll get in that top four. That’s the goal,” Allen said. “It all boils down to them buying into our defensive philosophies.”

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