elijah allen - steadfast

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    By Jason Lawrence

    Asst. Sports Editor

    Headline: Journey leads senior forward down road to success

    Over 11 hours and 700 miles away from Maryville, in

    Columbus, Ohio, senior forward Elijah Allen began his

    journey to be the first in his family to earn a college degree

    and brought his skills on the court to the Bearcats.

    Allen was a four-year letter winner in basketball at St.

    Francis DeSales High School in Columbus. He graduated as

    the schools all-time leading scorer with 1,312 points.

    His scoring ability is what got him noticed by college

    coaches. Northwest was one of only two Division II schools

    that Allen visited as several Division I schools were also in the

    mix to add him to their team.

    Former Northwest coach Steve Tappmeyer got the six

    foot- four inch forward to put pen to paper and sign a national

    letter of intent with the Bearcats.

    I really liked the campus and the coaching staff with

    Coach Tapp, so thats why I chose to come here, Allen said.

    But the culture shock was nonetheless a big one, going

    from a metropolis to what Allen calls the country.

    That was the biggest change, Allen said. Basketball-

    wise, I think it was just listening to the coaching staff. In high

    school I was kind of hard headed, so when I got here, I wanted

    to change that.

    Allen came into a winning program, the Cats went 24-7

    in 2006-07 and helped the team to a 24-8 record and an

    appearance in the South Central Regional Tournament his

    freshman year.

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    During his sophomore season, Allen became a starter and

    averaged 13.1 points per game, second on the team, but the

    ball still did not seem to be bouncing his way.

    Then Tappmeyer abruptly retired after the team went 12-

    15 and missed out on the MIAA Tournament.

    That same scoring ability that undoubtedly caught

    Tappmeyers eye is the first thing Northwest head coach Ben

    McCollum noticed about the forward two years ago.

    Hes a great scorer, really has a knack; a great instinct to

    find opportunities to score, McCollum said.

    With Tappmeyer and star center Hunter Henry gone, the

    role of leader fell directly on Allens shoulders.

    There were growing pains, with four transfers and two

    freshmen on the roster, but Allen stayed positive and took his

    new role in stride under the less-strict McCollum.

    He earned All-MIAA honorable mention and posted

    team-highs with 17.6 points and 6.8 rebounds, but the team

    struggled again. The Bearcats lost their last three games and

    missed the MIAA Tournament for a second consecutive

    season.

    Tired of the losing, Allen knew he had to step up. Not

    only did he grow up on the court, he grew as a person off of it.

    Hes matured quite a bit, McCollum said. I think hes

    really handled adversity a lot. As the time goes on, he

    continues to handle it better and better in the moment instead

    of reflecting back and then handling it.

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    Hes become a smarter player and I think hes become

    more unselfish as a person and I think those things will take

    him a long way.

    The Cats have struggled again as Allens career in the

    green and white nears its end. Northwest dons an 8-14 record

    with four games left. Allen averages 14.6 points and a team-

    high 6.8 rebound per game.

    Still, Allen kept positive and received the biggest

    compliment McCollum could give.

    Hes loyal, McCollum said. To me, thats the greatest

    compliment you can give somebody. Through thick and thin,

    hes maintained his loyalty to the program and to seeing this

    program have success.

    I think that means a lot to his teammates, to his program.

    Hes gained a lot of respect from anybody thats come in

    contact with him throughout the community because of the

    way he acts, his attitude and from what he came from.

    Last week Allen etched his name in the Northwest record

    books, eclipsing the 1,200 point mark. He currently occupies

    ninth place on the schools all-time scoring list with 1,225

    points, and could get as high as seventh before the season

    ends.

    This summer, Allen will graduate with a degree in

    business management, but does not have any plans to put that

    degree to use right away.

    Allen and his coach both believe he has some basketball

    left in him and thinks he could follow in the footsteps of

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    Henry and former guard Edriss Floyd, who continued their

    basketball careers after their time at Northwest.

    I think hes got a great chance, McCollum said. He can

    score very handily. Hes very long, very athletic and hes got a

    great attitude. I think thats the most important thing, hes a

    hard worker with a great attitude and he can play.

    I could see him doing that, its just something that hes

    got to set his mind to and he has.

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    PULLOUT NUMBERS

    1,312 Points Career High School Points

    70 Wins in High School

    27 Losses in High School

    1,225 Points Career College Points

    56 Wins in College

    50 Losses in College

    17.6 PPG as a junior

    14.6 PPG as a senior

    6.2 RPG as a junior

    6.8 RPG as a senior