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'13 CA SF Dakarai Allen (Verbal to SDSU)

Buffnik

Real name isn't Nik
Club Member
Junta Member
Rivals
Scout
ESPN
247Sports

DAKARAIALLEN150_4_30.JPG

Sheldon H.S. (Sacramento, CA)

AAU: Play Hard Play Smart

Ht: 6-foot-6
Wt: 170 lbs

Rivals rating: 4*; #19 SF (#103 overall)
Scout rating: 4*; #11 SF (#49 overall)
ESPN rating: 4*-83 grade; #17 SF (#84 overall)
247 rating: 4*-90 grade; #24 SF (#103 overall)

Reported Offers: Colorado, Arizona State, Cal, Oregon State, Pepperdine, Saint Mary's, San Diego State, San Francisco, UCLA, UC-Santa Barbara, UNLV, USC, Washington State
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Averaged 8 ppg, 4 rpg and 1.5 apg/spg as a sophomore. Recruiting is starting to blow up.

Here's some of what ESPN had to say (linked in profile):

Strengths:
The willowy wing has great length and ever-improving perimeter skills. His long arms and overall length enable him to be a lock-down defender and his offensive skills are improving. He can slash to the basket and his 3-point jump shot is getting better. He even displayed a two-dribble step back jump shot that looked very natural. He has great length and athleticism and his skill set is slowly coming around. With space he can dunk from a standstill position and it appears he has good hands.

Bottom Line:
Allen is one of the more intriguing prospects. He has a great basketball body and the athleticism is evident as well. Allen is one of the fastest rising sophomores out west and projects to the high-major level with an improved offensive game.

****************

The Slipper Fits also did a good write-up on him. Here's some of the good stuff:

Allen is long, athletic, and possesses upside that will assuredly draw the attention of top programs around the country.

Standing at 6'5'', Allen's biggest strengths are what Scout's Greg Hicks describes as "freakishly long arms...and above average athleticism". Recruiting experts note that while Allen is still raw, he has a good looking jumper and is rapidly improving.

Becoming more athletic and versatile on the perimeter is something this program is in desperate need of. Not only does Allen possess a fantastic motor but he also is an elite defender with room to grow. With his skill set and two more years of high school and AAU basketball, it is no wonder why Allen is said by many to be an elite prospect in the making.

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A little over a month ago, Allen's top 3 was Arizona, Pepperdine and UCLA. (Josh Gershon, Scout)

I'll have an update on this tomorrow. Rivals members can find a thread posted by Adam today.
 
2013 is a deep class in my opinion, and it's great to see that Boyle is recruiting some great talents. So we're on Thomas, Bird, Hamilton and Allen - all solid wing players in the top 100. I would love to get just one of them, but man...it'd be awesome if we got two. OR THREE...OR ALL FOUR! ...that'd be sweet.
 
Adam took about a week to write up his interview and I forgot to update his profile. Sorry, guys.

NorCal wing favors Colorado early on

"Colorado is my favorite because they offered and their playing style seems to fit me well. I like that they play at a high elevation. That gives them an advantage because they love to run, get up-and-down the court, and that is how I like to play. Colorado is one school I definitely will visit.
 
really?! I would not take another wing right now. As I commented on the Ty Wallace thread, I'd be fine if Boyle just shut it down for the period for class balance. If he wants, that's great if he lands Ty Wallace or a true BIG...but another wing...Allen's good, but he's too late to the party in my opinion.
 
I'd just like to say...I can't believe what I just wrote...I still stand by it, but I think it's amazing that CU Bball can be selective with recruits of this caliber right now. Great job Tad Boyle and staff.
 
really?! I would not take another wing right now. As I commented on the Ty Wallace thread, I'd be fine if Boyle just shut it down for the period for class balance. If he wants, that's great if he lands Ty Wallace or a true BIG...but another wing...Allen's good, but he's too late to the party in my opinion.

2013
 
Josh Gershon:

Dakarai Allen's Sheldon squad tips off action at Torrey Pines against Mayfair. Cal, UCLA, USC, Colorado, Pepperdine all here.

UNLV, Denver and Pacific also here watching Dakarai Allen.

EDITED to add:

Looks like Dakarai Allen has grown, he's up maybe an inch. Arms go on forever. He's best in the open court and loves attacking the basket.
 
More from Gershon. It now appears that Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford, Santa Clara and San Diego are all watching Allen today too. So that makes 7 of the 12 PAC-12 teams.
 
Updated offer list again. If you're an ESPN Insider, nice write-up on him on his profile. Sounds like he is going to be a serious lock-down defender at the next level. Going to need to work on his offensive game, but it sounds like he'll be able to step in on day one and play due to his defense.
 
Great read from Adam on Allen. My favorite part:

"My job every game is to stop the other team's best player, no matter what position he plays," said Allen, who stands 6-foot-6, 172-pounds. "Defensively I feel I am the best player in Northern California."

And if you question if CU is high on him:

Allen keeps in contact with assistant coach Tom Abatemarco from the Buffaloes' staff.

We've got the closer on him. Keep an eye on Allen.
 
Per Joe Davidsn of Max Preps

Colorado has Mater Dei aces Eli Stalzer &,Xavier Johnson coming its way.Also offered Sheldon Jr Dakarai Allen.Lots of talent,skill here
 
From the sounds of things, Dakarai is a LOCK DOWN defender. He's guarding some damn good players in California right now and doing his job. If he can get a consistent three, the kid is going to be a huge get for whomever lands him.
 
From the sounds of things, Dakarai is a LOCK DOWN defender. He's guarding some damn good players in California right now and doing his job. If he can get a consistent three, the kid is going to be a huge get for whomever lands him.


Allen was manned up on Xavier for the first two and a half quarters of the CIF championship game. Let's just say that they played chippy and I'm putting that lightly. Both kids were hammering on each other to the point that they both had five fouls and were out of the game with about five minutes left in the third qtr. Xavier finished w around seven points, Allen with 6. It was a brutal matchup.
 
Nice update from Adam on Allen:

The versatile 6-foot-6, 172-pound wing maintains the most interest in Colorado and San Diego State, but he is not ready to officially narrow down his list.

Allen has received offers from Colorado, Oregon State, Pepperdine, St. Mary's, San Diego State, San Francisco and USC. He is also hearing from Arizona, Stanford, Marquette, UCLA and LSU.

Tom Abatemarco is the coach that Allen talks to the most from the Buffaloes' staff.
 
This isn't intended as a sour grapes post, and I'd be happy if we landed Allen, but the further we get, the less I want him. I'd rather get a big and a scorer next year, and I'm really not sure where Allen fits with Jenkins, XJ, etc. He seems like more of a luxury at this point. Anyway, just my $0.02.
 
UCLA is still the premier destination in the conference for a lot of California kids. With that said, they do a great job in recruiting usually and they can't offer everyone... especially if there are a lot of players they rank ahead of Dakarai Allen that aren't from the state of California. They don't always necessarily go hard for kids in their state if they can get bigger fish, so to speak.

Colorado, on the other hand, can say that they've targeted California kids. Found steals in Spencer Dimwidde and Askia Booker.. and Xavier Johnson seems pumped to be a part of the program as well. The Eli Stalzer signing gets criticized by some, but it's just in the long list of moves that help build relationships with some very good high school coaches and programs in the state. A move that likely pays dividends in the future. Plus he's an underrated recruit imo, too.
 
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