By CHRIS COOK
LongwoodLancers.com

FARMVILLE, Va. -- With 2:32 left on the clock and Longwood trailing Big South foe Gardner-Webb 64-61, Lancer point guard Tra'Vaughn White fired a cross-court pass to a wide-open Darrion Allen in the corner. Allen, feet already set, received it and let loose a lofting three-point shot that arced toward the basket to the soundtrack of a breathless crowd in Willett Hall.
 
When the ball fell through, tying the game and sending Willett Hall into a frenzy, Allen and White were already skipping back up court, pointing to each other in an acknowledgement of the big play they both knew was going to happen before the shot even went off.
 
Allen admits he would have passed up that shot in seasons past, opting instead to drive and kick to a teammate. But that was the old Allen. The new Allen, the same one who took that shot and tied the game, and the same one who later drove to the basket, drew a foul and sank two free throws to tie the game again with 1:28 left, is playing with a newfound confidence that has paid dividends for Longwood (5-13, 1-4 Big South).
 
"A lot of my teammates came to me early in the season and said, 'This is what we need from you,'" said Allen, who has scored in double figures in four of his past five games. "They helped me a lot with that, giving me confidence, and it's made me a better player and us a better team."
 
Allen went on to score a season-high 18 points that night, and even though the Runnin' Bulldogs eked out a 67-66 win over the Lancers on a last-second free throw, that performance is the latest example of the scorer the 6-2, 165-pound Allen has become.
 
In his first two seasons, Allen was billed as a defensive stopper, a key reserve who could guard on the perimeter and hold his own in the post, but one who readily took a back seat on the offensive end of the court. Entering Thursday's 7 p.m. matchup at Campbell (8-8, 2-4 Big South), however, Allen is averaging 9.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game, all career highs for a player who is finally realizing what he is capable of.
 
"DJ can rebound the ball, he can block shots, he can steal the ball, he can make threes, he can dunk, he can finish, he can shoot mid-range and he can shoot free throws. He's always been able to do those things, and that's why we recruited him," said third-year head coach Jayson Gee, who signed Allen as part of his first recruiting class at Longwood.
 
"The difference this season has nothing to do with anything he's improved basketball-wise. It has everything to do with his commitment to a mindset of being aggressive and really understanding how talented he is."
 
Allen is shooting a career-best .436 (17-of-39) from three-point range and is Longwood's top free throw shooter with a .921 (35-of-38) clip, which is on pace to break the school record of .889 held by Lonnie Lewis and Jason Pryor. He leads all Lancer guards with a .479 (58-of-121) field goal percentage and 3.8 rebounds per game. His 28 steals rank third in the Big South, while his 11 blocks are the most of any guard in the Big South.
 
"I'm very, very proud of the conscious effort DJ has made to improve himself," Gee said. "I know that's something his teammates have challenged him on as well. We show him a lot of film, we have one-on-one talks with him, and other players communicate it to him. At the end of the day, we're all just challenging him to be who he's capable of being."
 
Allen entered his junior campaign as one of Longwood's top options off the bench, a good but primarily defensive-minded player. On a team loaded with scorers, Allen expected to return to that reserve role this season, but when the Lancers rolled out a shorthanded lineup on opening day, he found himself as one of the starting five.
 
In his first game of the year, an exhibition matchup against neighboring Hampden-Sydney, he erupted for 15 points and 11 rebounds for what would have been his first career double-double.
 
He has started every game since.
 
"Here's a young man who wasn't even expected to start at the beginning of the year that now is being counted upon very heavily," Gee said. "To make that transition from who he was and where's been is a compliment to what he's all about."
 
Gee has long been aware of what the Pompano Beach, Fla., native is capable of, but even he was stunned when his former Cleveland State pupil, New Orleans Pelicans point guard and NBA Champion Norris Cole, pegged Allen as Longwood's best player during a visit over the summer.
 
"Norris came to campus for a few days and watched our guys play, played with them and talked with them," Gee said of his former mentee, a first-round pick of the Chicago Bulls in 2011 and a five-year NBA veteran. "I asked Norris at dinner what he thought of our team, and he said, 'Well if I had to choose a team, I'd take DJ number one.'
 
"My mouth dropped. That was eye-opening for me, and for DJ as well. Somebody who's a pro, who's seen a lot of great players and who has played with a lot of great players, acknowledged DJ as the guy on our team who had the most upside."
 
Allen has proven Cole right this season, and such high praise from an NBA Champion played a small role in Allen's emergence. Allen said he was surprised to hear Cole speak so highly of him at the time, and it woke him up to what others saw in him.
 
"One part of it is just me realizing what I can do on the court," Allen said. "Last year I was hesitant about a lot of things I did in the game instead of just playing. That actually led to more mistakes, and more mistakes made me lose my confidence. This year, instead of overthinking, I just play."

For a Longwood team embarking on a Big South gauntlet culminating in the conference tournament in March, Allen will be a key piece. Now, he's playing like it.


 
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