Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

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Gorman’s Rosco Allen visits UNLV Wednesday, repeat trip coming Friday

6-foot-8 wing will take closer look at UNLV’s academic offerings on next trip to campus; Teammate Ben Carter joining him

Bishop Gorman v. Western Basketball

Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun

Bishop Gorman’s Rosco Allen is followed by Western’s Sir Washington during a game at Gorman on Jan. 4, 2011.

Updated Friday, Aug. 5, 2011 | 1 a.m.

There was never a point where Dave Rice and his UNLV men's basketball staff were not actively recruiting Bishop Gorman's Rosco Allen.

However, their efforts on him increased following the two 10-day July evaluation periods, and almost unexpectedly, there's a chance that Allen's recruitment could be drawing to a close sooner rather than later.

The versatile, highly-skilled 6-foot-8 Gaels senior forward took an unofficial visit to UNLV with his parents on Wednesday. They spent roughly an hour with Rice and members of his staff in their Thomas & Mack Center offices. Another visit will now come on Friday, when Allen will head back to campus by himself.

"I'm still taking my time, but I'd like to make a decision before the high school season starts (in November)," Allen said after his visit. "I don't have any specific time frame."

Wednesday's visit involved talking hoops logistics, including how well Allen and his game would potentially fit into Rice's uptempo system, allowing him to pick his poison from the perimeter on the offensive end.

Friday's repeat trip will have a bit of a different tone, with more of a look at life at UNLV outside of basketball. Allen will take an official tour of the campus and speak with members of the university's administration. Allen is known for being just as solid a student as he is a basketball player and said he's interested in pursuing a degree in business or architecture.

Landing Allen could make a major statement for the Rebels and their new staff while early in the process of piecing together a recruiting class that will include at least five players.

Rivals.com ranks Allen as the No. 75 overall prospect in the 2012 senior crop. Despite and up-and-down junior season for Gorman, which was upset by Bishop Manogue in the state semifinals in February, his recruitment picked up some major steam starting this spring.

Even under the previous regime, UNLV has long been in on Allen, but some major waves were made early in the summer when North Carolina extended a scholarship offer his way. Stanford has also been in hot pursuit of Allen in recent months, and he added that Texas and Texas Tech are also showing heavy interest.

As for Rice, he has actively recruited Allen dating back to his previous post as the associate head coach at BYU.

It's worth noting, too, that Allen has a very close friendship with 6-foot-8 fellow Gorman senior-to-be Ben Carter, who is also a priority recruiting target for UNLV. They were teammates this summer on the Las Vegas Lakers — a local AAU squad coached by Carter's father, Mike. Carter had his wisdom teeth removed on Wednesday, but told theSun that he feels well enough that he'll be joining Allen on his Friday visit.

The Rebels' lone commit so far in the 2012 recruiting class is Baltimore point guard Daquan Cook.

They'll also be hosting 6-foot-4 combo guard Katin Reinhardt on an unofficial visit, likely Thursday afternoon. Reinhardt, a former USC commit who stars for Southern California prep powerhouse Mater Dei, is in town with his family to visit his grandparents, as well.

For more on this story as it develops through the end of the week, stay tuned to lasvegassun.com/rebels.

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