Plenty of growth is to be had to go with his demonstrable production

It hard not to be excited about incoming wingman Amari Allen out of Green Bay.

A year ago, when we first wrote of him, he was then a marginal 4-star player at the time. However, after Alabama became one of the first elite programs to really put on a full-court press for his services, he started seeing a rise in his rankings.

That early buy-in was rewarded too, as Allen was one of the Tide’s first commits, signing on last September.

And as his senior year blossomed, and Allen’s prodigious scoring talents began to mature, those ratings would prove not be merely a “Bama Bump,” but honest evaluations of his skills as a scorer. En route to being named Wisconsin’s Gatorade Player of the year, Allen would go on to average 34.2 PPG, while shooting 58% from the floor, and notching 5.8 assists and 8.6 rebounds per night. He’s a very solid FT shooter (78%), and does a great job drawing contact and getting to the line.

Allen is a very active rebounder, particularly on the defensive side, can get up the court, and has very good floor vision to go alongside decent ballhandling skills. You will rarely see him put the ball on the floor outside of the paint for intermediate jumpers. He’s built for dribble-penetration, and is at his best on the break, working in space, getting the ball off screens, and finding open shooters.

That is almost the perfect fit for the Tide’s offense…he’s a modern player. And the only reason we say “almost” is because Allen has not been a great shooter from the perimeter (just 32%). However, his shot improved his senior season, he’s remarkably streaky back there, and he shot almost 40% on contested perimeter attempts — so, he’s at least making them under pressure. Watching dozens of attempts, it seems as though many of those shooting issues are mechanical. He has a tendency to favor his left, and he drifts that way when he pulls up. But he’s a much more efficient shooter off of screens, where he can get his feet squared and under him. Coaching can probably sort this out; it’s not a talent issue.

His under-the-radar athleticism is going to catch a lot of people off guard, and he’s probably set up to be an immediate weapon in the pick-and-roll game.

As a defender, he has some size and toughness, and while he plays well vertically, his lateral movement leaves something to be desired. I don’t think anyone wants to see Allen trying to guard his opponent off the dribble. That is made up somewhat with him being a good defensive rebounder and a sneaky backside blocker. Still, the defensive portion of his game from 21-feet in to the basket is going to take some work. He’s also not the longest player either, despite being 6’6”, so the potential is there for opponents to shoot over him.

Given his streaky shooting, explosion around the basket, and overall style of play, it’s not unfair to compare him to a small forward version of Jaden Shackelford. I don’t think that the player we see in a year or two will be the one that arrived on campus this week. There’s a lot of room for growth here to go with an-already demonstrable skill set as a scorer. He’ll get immediate minutes as a freshman, but I suspect that his time on the floor this season is going to largely be determined by defensive improvement and hustle on the defensive glass.

Welcome to Tuscaloosa, Amari
Roll Tide