Dakarai Allen

Dakarai Dupree Lorenzo Allen[1] (born February 4, 1995) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the NBA G League Ignite of the NBA G League.[2] He played college basketball for the San Diego State Aztecs.

Dakarai Allen
Allen with the San Diego State Aztecs in 2014
Free agent
PositionShooting guard
Personal information
Born (1995-02-04) February 4, 1995
Sacramento, California
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight193 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High schoolSheldon
(Sacramento, California)
CollegeSan Diego State (2013–2017)
NBA draft2017: undrafted
Playing career2017–present
Career history
2017–2018Salt Lake City Stars
2018–2019Agua Caliente Clippers
2019–2020Grand Rapids Drive
2021Salt Lake City Stars
2021–presentNBA G League Ignite

High school career

Allen attended Sheldon High School in Sacramento, California, where he was a standout four-year varsity basketball player.[3]

College career

In September 2012 during his senior year in high school, Allen committed to play basketball for the San Diego State University Aztecs after high school.[4] During the high school recruiting process, he received offers to play basketball from every Pac-12 Conference college and many other big colleges in the Western United States.[5]

Through his first two seasons with the Aztecs (2013–14 and 2014–15), Allen was primarily on the bench. He started just one game out of the 62 total games he played, averaging 2.5 points and 11.3 minutes per contest.[6][7]

During his junior year (2015–16), Allen enjoyed an expanded role with more minutes, and greater success. As the team's sixth-leading scorer and starting 17 of 38 games, he was mainly in the team's sixth man role. He averaged 6.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game, while nearly doubling his minutes from the previous two seasons with 22.2 per game.[8]

For his senior year (2016–17), he became a full-fledged starter, being the team's only player to start all 33 games. He averaged 8.3 points per game to go along with 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 28.2 minutes.[9] At the end of the season in 2017, the league's head coaches named Allen the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year due to his skillfully tenacious defense, as evidenced by his 39 steals, 29 blocks, and 85 defensive rebounds that season.[10] His defensive play has also been aided by his unusually long wingspan (7'1") in proportion to his height (6'5").[6]

Professional career

Salt Lake City Stars (2017–2018)

After graduating from college, Allen went undrafted in the 2017 NBA draft, making him an unrestricted free agent.[11] Later in 2017, he made it onto the Salt Lake City Stars team via a local tryout prior to the start of the 2017-18 NBA G League season.[12] The team waived him on January 17, 2018.[11]

Agua Caliente Clippers (2018–2019)

Eleven days later on January 28, 2018, the Agua Caliente Clippers picked up Allen via the G League available player pool.[13] On February 11, 2018, in a game against the Northern Arizona Suns, Allen posted a career-high 22 points in a 113–109 loss.[14][15]

Grand Rapids Drive (2019–2020)

On January 8, 2019, the Grand Rapids Drive acquired Allen from the Agua Caliente Clippers in a trade.[16] During the 2019–20 season, Allen averaged 7.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.[17]

Return to Salt Lake City (2021)

On February 14, 2021, the Salt Lake City Stars acquired Allen from the available player pool.[18]

NBA G League Ignite (2021–2022)

On October 28, 2021, Allen signed with the NBA G League Ignite.[19]

Personal life

Dakarai's uncle is Larry Allen, a former NFL offensive lineman, Super Bowl XXX champion, and 11-time Pro Bowler who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013.[20]

In a 2015 radio interview on the "Scott and BR Show" hosted by Scott Kaplan and Billy Ray Smith Jr. on XEPRS-AM "The Mighty 1090", Allen revealed that the meaning of his given name "Dakarai" is "happiness" in Swahili.[21]

References
  1. "Dakarai Dupreelorenz Allen was born on February 4, 1995 in Los Angeles County, California". californiabirthindex.org. California Birth Index. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  2. "Dakarai Allen". NBA G League. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  3. "Dakarai Allen's High School Basketball Stats". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  4. "Defensive menace Dakarai Allen commits to San Diego State". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  5. DavidSDSU (2012-07-27). "SDSU Basketball: SDSU #1 With Dakarai Allen?". San Diego Sports Domination. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  6. Zeigler, Mark (16 November 2015). "8 seconds that changed Dakarai Allen". sandiegouniontribune.com. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  7. "Dakarai Allen College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  8. "2015–16 San Diego State Aztecs Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  9. "2016–17 San Diego State Aztecs Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  10. "Aztecs' Dakarai Allen named Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year". FOX Sports. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  11. "Dakarai Allen Player Profile, Grand Rapids Drive, News, Rumors, NCAA Stats, G League Stats, Game Logs, Bests, Awards – RealGM". basketball.realgm.com. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  12. Lowman, Mychal (2017-10-23). "Salt Lake City Stars Finalize Roster". SLC Dunk. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  13. AguaCalienteClippers (2018-01-28). "OFFICIAL: Agua Caliente Clippers Acquire Forward Dakarai Allenpic.twitter.com/S3IoY0rjRo". @ACClippers. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  14. "Dakarai Allen Career Bests and Rankings, Grand Rapids Drive, News, Rumors, NCAA Stats, G League Stats, Game Logs, Awards – RealGM". basketball.realgm.com. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  15. "Feb 11, 2018 – Northern Arizona Suns 113 at Agua Caliente Clippers 109 – RealGM G League Box Score". basketball.realgm.com. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  16. "Drive Acquire Dakarai Allen". OurSports Central. 2019-01-08. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  17. "Dakarai Allen: Scores 17 in defeat". CBS Sports. March 12, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  18. "Stars Acquire Dakarai Allen; Waive Toolson". G League. 2021-02-14. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  19. "Ignite Announces Veteran Additions, Coaching Staff". OurSportsCentral.com. October 28, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  20. Zeigler, Mark (13 September 2012). "SDSU lands 4-star men's basketball recruit". sandiegouniontribune.com. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  21. "Dakarai Allen: "Confidence is the biggest difference in my game"". Mighty1090AM. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
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