Gorman’s Rosco Allen continues to bloom as surrounding buzz grows louder

By Ryan Greene

Friday, July 23, 2010 | 7 p.m.

Maintaining a 3.85 grade-point average while taking a heavy dose of honors and scholars courses in high school is far from easy.

Somehow, though, Bishop Gorman junior-to-be Rosco Allen has found a way.

Now, his parents have presented another challenge to their skilled, 6-foot-8 son: Also hold a place among the top prep hoopsters in the class of 2012.

"He's such a humble kid, he doesn't really care (about player rankings)," his father, Daniel, said on Friday afternoon. "I said 'I'm sorry that people have put you this high, but now you have to stay at that level.' I think he's going to do well."

Of course, there's no reason for Daniel Allen to think otherwise of his gifted son, given the challenges he's already met and conquered on the court.

Daniel Allen was born and raised in San Francisco but then lived 20 years of his adult life in Europe, where he met his wife, who is Hungarian. Their son shunned the national pastime — soccer — as a child and picked up basketball.

The family moved to the United States full-time just five years ago, and Rosco had to adjust his natural European game — one centered on long-range shooting and finesse — to the American style.

So far, he's done it with visible ease.

On Friday, several potential collegiate suitors filled the temporary stands inside the steamy Tarkanian Basketball Academy as Allen confused his counterparts both inside and out, scoring 16 points for Pump-N-Run 2012 in a 78-44 dusting of Nor Cal Pump-N-Run in pool play of the adidas Super 64.

Among those in attendance were UNLV's Lon Kruger, UCLA's Ben Howland, Cal's Mike Montgomery and two members of the Arizona coaching staff.

Allen is playing this summer on a loaded roster, which also includes fellow highly-touted 2012 prospects in point guard Landon Drew — the son of Atlanta Hawks coach Larry Drew and brother of North Carolina guard Larry Drew II — and 7-foot Fresno, Calif., product Robert Upshaw.

But it's hard not to notice the thin forward floating the perimeter.

His 3-point touch is outstanding and makes him an immediate threat given his height and length. Allen also has become clearly comfortable with using it as a decoy to set up controlled drives to the hole, where he's morphed into an adept finisher.

"I'm a scorer, pretty much," he said. "I started off as a shooter, but I've developed my game around that. That's the first step, because once you can shoot, it's easier to pump-fake and drive."

Much of the hype surrounding Allen, which has led to him being the No. 17 prospect in the 2012 crop according to Rivals.com, has come from his work on the summer circuit.

At Gorman, though, he still has quite a bit to prove.

Playing on a loaded roster as a sophomore, Allen worked as a reserve for the Gaels, who won their second consecutive 4A state title this spring. He still might not get the attention that teammate Shabazz Muhammad — Rivals.com's No. 4 player in the 2012 class — but Allen will now be a starter and expected to produce while continuing his growth.

To boot, Gorman will face lofty expectations yet again and are the likely favorites to make it three state crowns in a row.

"(Right now I'm) just building confidence, getting ready to step into a new role that I didn't have to play last year, and It's going to be exciting," Allen said. "Offensively, I want to become a better post player so I can take advantage of my height. Defensively I want to be more aware so I can help (others) more. My body, it's just putting on weight and getting stronger."

Allen currently checks in at a wiry 192 pounds, but said he hopes to get up to between 205 and 215 in the next two years.

Underneath the surface of everything is what could potentially be a wild recruiting battle.

Allen said that right now he has no favorites or leaders and it is all wide open, though he wants to start narrowing things down soon and maybe make a decision as early as the end of his junior season.

Among the 15 schools that have already extended scholarship offers are Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Northwestern, San Diego State, UNLV, UCLA and USC.

Daniel said that two offers which made him especially proud came from Stanford and Harvard.

"The best in the East and best in the West when it comes to education," he said with a smile.

Also, the hometown Rebels are as alive early on in the race as anyone.

"Since we got here, when Rosco first came, there wasn't a lot going as far as programs where the young kids could go, and UNLV always had that summer program for the younger kids," Daniel said. "Lon Kruger, (assistant) Steve Henson, (Director of Basketball Operations Mike) Shepard, (assistant) Lew Hill, all of those guys, have always loved Rosco as a kid growing up, and they've watched him develop. I think they have a very good family tie.

"They were one of the first ones to know that Rosco doesn't end in an 'e,' so Rosco always says 'If they spell my name wrong, I don't even want to go to that school,' as a joke."

As for Rosco, he appreciates that UNLV's interest in him staying home for college was just as intense when he was still a relative unknown to many as it is now that he's a hotter commodity.

"They were the first school to offer me," he said. "I just really like how they've continued to stick with me. They're great because we started early and we have a good relationship going."

Daniel Allen stressed that the trust the family has in the UNLV staff and program is maybe more important than anything.

If Rosco is going to leave town after his days at Gorman are done, it appears that the family would have to have that same type of trust and bond with whatever coaching staff that may be.

Daniel, though, won't let his son forget what got him to this point, no matter how much attention he receives.

"He's just got to earn his time, and we don't want anything from anyone," Daniel said. "I want him to go out and have people say, 'Rosco, you're on the team because you deserve the minutes.'"