Florida State CBB Profile: Brandon Allen

Mar 7, 2013; Tallahassee, FL, USA; A young Florida State Seminoles fan shows his support in the second half of their game against the Virginia Cavaliers at the Donald L. Tucker Center. The Florida State Seminoles beat the Virginia Cavaliers 53-51. Mandatory Credit: Phil Sears-USA TODAY Sports

Name: Brandon Allen

Eligibility: Freshman

Height: 6’6″

Weight: 190 lbs

Position: Forward

Twitter Handle: @_ballen40

2012-13 Season Stats: 1-2, 5.95 ERA, 39.1 IP, 2.6 SO/BB

Prognostication: Clearly Brandon Allen didn’t play basketball last season, in fact, he spent the last three seasons in the San Francisco Giants‘ minor league system. Well this is a basketball profile, so let’s go back to the 2009-10 high school season, where Allen was named Third Team All-State in Florida after averaging 17.1 points per game for his district champion Milton High School. Drafted by the Giants straight out of high school, its been a few years since Allen has played competitive basketball, but don’t mistake that for him not being able to play. While he’s a little bit of a wild card to crack the rotation considering the slew of  wing players that Leonard Hamilton has in guys like Aaron Thomas, Montay Brandon, and Devon Bookert, Allen can score the ball a lot of ways and his maturity could come into play with a still fairly inexperienced back court.

Strengths: Not even making the ACC’s yearly basketball prospectus, there doesn’t seem to be much of a trail on the 22-year old sweet shooter. Again, Allen hasn’t played competitive basketball for three years – at least not that we’ve seen – so it’s not like he’s transitioning from leading his district in scoring (which he did as a senior) to playing for a big basketball program, but the last time we saw Allen play, he was an athletic wing who was an instinctive player. He may not crack the rotation, but I could see his ability to shoot from all areas, as well as his composure, landing him a spot in the rotation.

Weaknesses: Obviously Allen’s biggest weakness is that he hasn’t hooped much over the last couple of years and now he’s being dropped into probably the best conference in college basketball. Listed as a forward, maybe we shouldn’t expect to see Allen guarding the perimeter when/if he gets into games, which I have to imagine is due to his lack of lateral quickness.  Or maybe he’s listed there for his ball skills and will be counted on as a mid range threat, spreading the defense between Okaro White and Ian Miller.

Papa was a Rolling ‘Nole: While Allen has already played professional baseball, it’s basketball that’s in his genetics. The No. 14 all-time leading scorer in Florida State history, Randy Allen –  Brandon’s father – scored 1,438 points in Garnet and Gold from 1984 through 1987. After a stellar career for Joe Williams, Randy played two years in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings.

If you’re interested in College Basketball snobs who constantly complain about the Knicks, Jay-Z, and the state of rap music, follow Jared on twitter at @JMintzHoops