Utah Forward Timmy Allen Named To All-Pac-12 Preseason Team
If Utah is going to take a step forward in the Pac-12 hierarchy, a lot of the pressure is going to fall on junior forward Timmy Allen.
After being chosen to finish eighth in the Pac-12 according to the preseason media poll, the Utes will be out to prove that wrong with Allen leading the way. In accordance with the media poll, Allen was chosen as a preseason all-Pac-12 first team member.
Oregon and Stanford were the only teams to have multiple members selected to the first team. Arizona State led the way with three players on either the first or second team while UCLA (the conference favorite) had four players chosen as either first, second or honorable mention.
PRESEASON ALL-PAC-12 FIRST TEAM
*Timmy Allen — JR, Forward — Utah
*Matt Bradley — JR, Guard — Cal
*Oscar da Silva — SR, Forward — Stanford
*Chris Duarte — SR, Guard — Oregon
*Remy Martin — SR, Guard — Arizona State
*Evan Mobley — FR, Forward — USC
*Will Richardson — JR, Guard — Oregon
*Chris Smith — SR, Guard — UCLA
*Ziaire Williams — FR, Forward — Stanford
*McKinley Wright IV — SR, Guard — Colorado
Preseason All-Pac-12 Second Team/Honorable Mention
It's good news for a Utah squad who were unsure if Allen was even going to be a part of the team this upcoming season He declared for the NBA draft back in April before he announced in mid-July that he was pulling out of the draft and would return for his junior season.
Allen's return was by far the biggest win of the 2020 offseason for head coach Larry Krystkowiak and his staff.
There had been a lot of speculation in the middle of summer regarding the turnover in the Utah program, with many players declaring for the draft early when not ready and eventually transferring out — exactly what Both Gach did. But getting Allen to return signifies that Krystkowiak can keep his stars happy and it should provide a major boost moving forward in the recruiting world.
Allen is coming off an impressive sophomore season in which he was named second-team all-Pac-12 after averaging 17.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. While his production drastically rose from his freshman season, Allen's shooting percentages dropped dramatically as he shot 44.1% from the field and 21.1% from three-point territory.
January 30, 2020; Los Angeles, California, USA; Utah Utes forward Timmy Allen (1) shoots against the Southern California Trojans during the second half at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
He finished the season with six double-doubles, showcasing all-around play-making ability in games against UCLA (13p, 8a, 7r), BYU (27p, 5r, 5a) and USC (21p, 10r, 3a). But there were also times when Allen struggled from the field, particularly when teams packed the paint against him as his lack of any sort of jumpshot hindered his game towards the end of the season.
Most importantly, Allen's return gives Utah a very strong returning nucleus when paired with rising sophomores in point guard Rylan Jones and big man Branden Carlson and sharp-shooter Alfonso Plummer — who broke the Pac-12 tournament and single game record with 11 made three-pointers in a game and averaged 18.9 points over the final six games of the season. Add in valuable bench pieces in Riley Battin, Mikael Jantunen and Jaxon Brenchley and incoming freshman Pelle Larson and Ian Martinez, it's no reason why the Utes are trendy darkhorse in the Pac-12.
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