KeVaughn Allen went a combined 3-of-21 from the floor in Florida’s first two games in the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
How did he respond?
With a career-best performance when his team needed it the most.
Allen exploded for 35 points against Wisconsin in the Sweet 16, which fueled the Gators to the Elite Eight for the fifth time in seven years.
His response was nothing new for those that had seen him play all year long.
Despite having occasional shooting struggles, Allen always found a way to bounce back during his sophomore year in Gainesville.
What will this season hold for the dynamic scorer from Little Rock?
Inside the Numbers
While the sophomore slump is a common theme used in college sports, that didn’t apply to Allen.
When you compare his freshman to sophomore numbers, the improvement was clear:
- 14.0 points per game (up from 11.6 ppg)
- 43.8 percent shooting (up from 39.9 percent)
- 37.0 percent 3-point shooting (up from 31.5 percent)
- 88.3 percent free-throw shooting (up from 84.6 percent)
He also scored 21 points or more in eight games, including the career game against the Badgers.
There’s reason to believe that he’ll add a few more 30-point outings to his résumé this upcoming season.
Allen is undoubtedly the driving force for a Florida team that may be the SEC’s most complete from top to bottom.
Lovell’s Analysis
Allen is one of those players that can score multiple times in the blink of an eye.
You could be watching a game and see that he has seven points with 14 minutes left.
After changing to the channel to watch another game for a few minutes, you flip back to see that he has 15 points with 12 minutes left.
That’s where Allen really excels.
He has a unique ability to explode for many points in a short amount of time. You don’t really know when it’s coming, but once he gets started, it’s too late to stop him.
Allen will take just as many shots this season (he averaged 10.7 FG attempts last year), and even if the shooting percentages aren’t always perfect, Florida fans already understand that there’s no cause for concern.
And it’s not always about pure jump-shooting, as Allen has repeatedly used his speed and agility to get easy baskets at the rim.
He’s already proven that he’s an All-SEC player that has all the tools needed to be right at the top of the SEC Player of the Year race.
If you don’t believe me, just ask Wisconsin.