Walk-on Brendan Allen

[Silk City]

The Courant's Amore tweeted that walk-on freshman Brendan Allen will see some time. I'm curious if anyone has seen him play since he is from the area (Windsor). Seeing that we're pretty thin at the 2G position I would be interested to see what this kid has, especially in the exhibitions.

 

[huskyniner]

I'll be honest - I never heard of him until now. I don't really pay any attention to the walk-ons. That being said, I'm pretty interested to see him play now that Coach has singled him out as a possible contributor.

 

[aceboon]

Where's HuskyWarrior, I know he knows a good deal about HS prospects in that area since he plays there. The school Allen went to, Bridgton Academy, is a known prep school, so he must have some talent.

 

[Dann]

played at Bridgton? they usually get spanked by other prep schools. interesting that the roster this year is 16 guys. 8 of them are from new england. i love having the new england flavor for uconn, more so on the football side becuase i'm one for building the program locally somewhat but even on the hardwood i like it. i want the best players possible just like everyone but having bazz/ao/to/ad is cool beans being local. also i like the walkons being local as well. anyone know of pj? never heard of him... btw allen last year got some pr thru a couple bball sites recruit wise but was never highly sought after. i think he could of played low d1 or d2 and instead passed to get a shot to be apart of the state u. hope he gets a chance and shines!

 

[MGD15]

link to article: http://www.journalinquirer.com/articles/2011/10/30/sports/doc4eab87a7031d6941975602.txt

Sounds like a great kid to have on the team and if he is athletic enough he may have a shot.

 

[61cygni]

Don't remember seeing him on the roster, but I do remember seeing another walk-on whose name I didn't recognize: P.J. Cochrane, anyone know anything about this guy?

 

[Silk City]

Don't remember seeing him on the roster, but I do remember seeing another walk-on whose name I didn't recognize: P.J. Cochrane, anyone know anything about this guy?

Cochrane is a CT native. He has been on the bench before in UConn games so I assume walked on last year as well. Great dunker but I don't see him getting minutes. Allen is the guy I think that could get some time this year, especially if taller backup 2 candidates NG and DD struggle at that position. The article said his strengths include defense and shooting and he has the body type of a natural 2, so he has really inherited a fortunate situation for a walk-on at UConn. I really hope to see him get some solid action tomorrow night.

 

[jfuchs91]

Don't remember seeing him on the roster, but I do remember seeing another walk-on whose name I didn't recognize: P.J. Cochrane, anyone know anything about this guy?

I know very little about him.... Except that he's in one of my classes and is friendly with Lamb, Oriakhi, and Shabazz (who are also in that same class). I'm also pretty sure that he was Roscoe's roommate last year.

So that's nothing of significance, but at least you know something more about him now.

 

[husky99]

Is heis the kid who broke drummond noise?

The Courant's Amore tweeted that walk-on freshman Brendan Allen will see some time. I'm curious if anyone has seen him play since he is from the area (Windsor). Seeing that we're pretty thin at the 2G position I would be interested to see what this kid has, especially in the exhibitions.

 

[huskyharry]

Welcome Brendan...look forward to seeing you play!
Added depth in the backcourt, particularly ball-handling will definitely be a benefit.
I can't remember another UConn team without a scholarship player between 6'1" and 6'4" in height

 

[UCweCONN]

I just know that this kid is the one who collided heads with Andre Drummond. I guess he didn't get the memo from JC to stay the hell away from the future first round draft pick... If Allen plays, he should not be allowed in the game at the same time as AD. LOL.

 

[Silk City]

@Husky99: Yeah, he's the one.
@HuskyHarry That is a good stat how we have no scholarship guys between 6'1 and 6'4 (6'5 in fact). If you push it even further, Lamb is the only guy between 6'1 and 6'7. So that is a big gap teams will look to exploit, since they likely will have trouble against our bigs.

Having a guy in Allen that can maybe use some of those 2 minutes, hit a few 3s, and play solid defense could be an asset to the team. I think it could be especially helpful to have a true 2G earlier in the season while JC tries to find the best way to make a thin backcourt work (I would like to see some dual Boatright/Napier as well while NG and DD try to settle in as potential backups at the 2 position.

The reality is, when Lamb isn't in the game the 2 slot is up for grabs right now.

 

[DieHardHusky]

I think that Boatright will play the 2 when Lamb isn't playing. But who knows? Maybe Allen will see solid time there.

 

[ctchamps]

He's got to be pretty quick if he is the fastest player on the team. I'm thrilled if UConn has found a DB player as an insurance policy for foul trouble.

 

[UconnDon]

Cochrane is a CT native. He has been on the bench before in UConn games so I assume walked on last year as well. Great dunker but I don't see him getting minutes. Allen is the guy I think that could get some time this year, especially if taller backup 2 candidates NG and DD struggle at that position. The article said his strengths include defense and shooting and he has the body type of a natural 2, so he has really inherited a fortunate situation for a walk-on at UConn. I really hope to see him get some solid action tomorrow night.

For some reason I believe Allen was injured his senior year in high school. Apparently he flourished during his pg year at Bridgeton Academy. Welcome aboard!!

 

[UofCT]

PJ was a manager in 2009, he forgot his medical forms on the day of tryouts. He became a practice squad guy in 2010 and then started dressing last season. I think he is from Newton CT.

 

[UconnDon]

Maybe Newtown?? I think Allen is a Windsor resident??

 

[DogMania]

Is heis the kid who broke drummond noise?

Yes it was him. I hope he's not like UConn's version of Boston's (prior season) Adrien Beltre! Remember he took out Ellsbury and another outfielder who's name escapes me.

With Boat Show in dry dock till cleared, Mr. Allen will likely get some solid back court PT unless JC uses this game to see what Daniels and/or Giffey can do for us at the 2.

 

[rariggidy]

Allen got a decent amount of time today. No points, but showed a lot of effort. Before the game started, he was working with Kevin Ollie and looked pretty smooth.

 

[DogMania]

Allen got a decent amount of time today. No points, but showed a lot of effort. Before the game started, he was working with Kevin Ollie and looked pretty smooth.

I thought he did a nice job out there. He defended very well and didn't seem rattled when they passed him the ball. He seems to know his role and didn't force thngs. He played mistake free for the most part, something you rarely see in a young player, nevermind a walk on.

 

[DaveHuskiesFan]

What year is he?

 

[toke]

What year is he?

freshman, can you read?

 

[Hoophound]

Allen broke his leg at Windsor High. It was a compound fracture so he missed a lot of time. He averaged 17ppg at Bridgton according to what I've found.

 

[Huskybass]

I thought he looked pretty comfortable out there. I can see him getting some minutes and contributing a little here and there.

 

[ctchamps]

The kid did what I'm sure he was told to do, play excellent defense, and make no mistakes on offense.

He covered his player as good as anyone on the team. On offense his first thought was if I get the ball, I'm making sure it goes right back to someone else. I'm not sure if he is limited on offense or he knows he is under a more powerful microscope than the scholarship players, and feels he can't afford to make mistakes.

I think if he continues to play like he did, he may be taking some of NG's minutes at the two, the staff will start to have him run some plays and he'll be more a part of the offense.

I still would love to see RB be in the line up. But Allen can be the fourth guard that I felt this team should have as an insurance policy. Let's just hope that policy doesn't have to be implemented immediately.