Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

hs recruiting:

Allen twins from Centennial High verbally commit to Stanford basketball

Allen Twins

Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun

Marcus Allen, center, and his brother Malcolm Allen, right, take a breather during a time out in their game against Grass Roots Elite at the Fab 48 tournament Friday, July 27, 2012 at Bishop Gorman.

Updated Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012 | 9:03 p.m.

Allen Twins

Marcus Allen hands his brother Malcolm Allen a drink at the Fab 48 tournament Friday, July 27, 2012, at Bishop Gorman. Launch slideshow »

Stanford has always been the dream college basketball program for twins Malcolm and Marcus Allen of Centennial High.

When national signing days rolls around this fall, their dream will be official. The guards verbally committed Sunday to Stanford after a visit earlier in the week.

Their mother was a gymnast at Stanford, and the boys had long said they wanted to play together at the next level for the Cardinal. This summer, when their recruiting interest hit its peak during the AAU season, they had near double-digit scholarship offers from the likes of Rice, Santa Clara, Drake, Northern Arizona, South Florida, Harvard, Columbia, Yale and Gonzaga.

They were being recruited by Stanford, but hadn't been offered a scholarship — their plan was to stick together at the next level, meaning a program needed two spots.

Earlier, they took official recruiting trips to Drake and Rice, and were impressed with what both programs offered. They also took unofficial trips to a handful of other schools.

After finishing their visit Friday to Stanford, the twins each knew they had found a home. They bonded with the players, were impressed with the coach Johnny Dawkins and his staff, and could easily envision themselves fitting in nicely in the program.

“We considered every place we visited, and other places as well,” Marcus Allen said. “We liked Stanford, but were open to other places. We are just stoked about the opportunity at Stanford. The trip helped open our eyes. The coaching staff was amazing, and getting to know the players was huge.”

Marcus averaged 20 points per game last winter for Centennial and Malcolm scored 15, helping Centennial post a 47-9 record the past two years in winning consecutive Northwest titles.

The 6-foot-2 Marcus is ranked as the nation’s No. 133 overall prospect by Rivals.com, which ranks him as a three-star prospect on its evaluating scale of five stars. The 6-foot-1 Malcolm is also a three-star recruit.

"Those are just two special kids. Their hard work has paid off," Centennial coach Todd Allen (no relation) said. "We are very lucky to have been part of their high school career at Centennial. Coachable kids that just want to win."

Marcus is more of a scoring guard; Malcolm more of a distributor. Both are considered elite defenders. They've been teammates since childhood and are thrilled to continue in the backcourt at Stanford.

“It is just phenomenal opportunity to continue playing alongside my brother,” Malcolm Allen said. “We have been playing together since we were 5 years old. It gives us an advantage because we know what each other is going to do. We know each others’ tendencies.”

They are also a perfect fit in the classroom for the highly regarded university.

They have a weighted 4.8 grade point average and are ranked No. 1 in their graduating class, earning an A in every course they’ve taken — most being college prep or honors courses.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21.

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