John Allen knew this season would be a challenge. Last year, as a small forward, Allen established himself in his freshman campaign as Seton Hall’s third leading scorer.

As a sophomore, the 6-foot-5 Allen has taken on a new responsibility — captain — and a new position — shooting guard.

Seton Hall head coach Louis Orr hoped the move would open up more shots for Allen. So far it has. His scoring average has jumped from 11.4 points to 17.6, good for second on the team.

‘On offense, it’s not really that much of a switch,’ Allen said. ‘On defense, playing smaller guards is easier for me.’

‘He’s still young and playing a new position,” Orr said, “but he’s a warrior.’

Allen hails from Coatesville, Pa., where he attended Coatesville High, the same school as former Connecticut and current Detroit Pistons star Richard Hamilton. Two years ago, Allen earned a McDonald’s All-America honorable mention while leading Coatesville to the Pennsylvania AAAA state title.

Last season, Allen moved into the starting lineup in Seton Hall’s eighth game and has remained there since. He also landed a spot on the Big East All-Rookie team.

Now Allen shares backcourt duties with junior Andre Barrett, the Pirates’ leading scorer. Orr said the two players have developed mutual respect.

‘They are both best in transition when they can get out and run,’ Orr said. ‘(Allen) fills the lane and converts on (Barrett’s) passes.’

Allen prefers to focus on the tandem’s defense.

‘We take defense personal,’ Allen said. ‘We pride ourselves on not letting guys into the lane.’

Seton Hall opened Big East play with three consecutive losses. Allen decided to become more active. In last Tuesday’s 68-54 win over Georgetown, Allen scored a season-high 27 points, as the Pirates earned their first Big East win.

‘As a starter, you have to consider yourself a leader,’ said Allen, one of four team captains. ‘Coach appointed me a captain, and I’m trying to lead by example.’

In the win over Georgetown, Allen showed how flashy he can be, earning the respect of Hoyas head coach Craig Esherick.

‘Allen was the key down the stretch,’ Esherick said.

Allen still wants to improve defensively and better his floor vision.

‘Coach keeps telling me the little things I should do,’ Allen said. ‘(Orr) helps me with my weaknesses.’

Said Orr: ‘Last year at this time he was guarding forwards, and now he’s guarding guards. He’s a competitor and a talent.’

Irish Love the Freebies

In last week’s wins over Seton Hall and Rutgers, Notre Dame turned to a simple formula for success at the free-throw line. Not only has Notre Dame been making its free throws, the Irish have also limited their opponents’ attempts.

‘We were fabulous in crunch time with free throws,’ Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey said.

In a Jan. 12 win over Seton Hall, the Irish shot 22 of 29 from the line while holding the Pirates to nine attempts. In last Tuesday’s victory against Rutgers, the Irish made 22 of 23 attempts while limiting the Scarlet Knights also to just nine attempts.

Brey said he has worked on good positioning on defense, which has led to fewer fouls.

‘We’ve been getting in front of people and making them shoot over us,’ Brey said. ‘We’ve also learned how to build from the foul line rather than shooting three-pointers.’

Home sweet home

After a tough two-game road trip that resulted in losses to Villanova and Connecticut, a return home couldn’t come soon enough for Virginia Tech. The Hokies promptly began a four-game homestand with a 92-79 win over Providence on Saturday.

‘On the road we were looking to compete and just have a chance to win,’ Virginia Tech head coach Ricky Stokes said.

The homestand continues with tonight’s matchup against non-conference rival Virginia. Virginia Tech takes on St. John’s and Boston College to wrap up the extended home stay.

‘We’re looking forward to having our students and crowd here,’ Stokes said.

Rough Day

On Saturday, Notre Dame and Connecticut faced tough non-conference road games, and both ended up losers. The Irish lost at Kentucky, 88-73, and dropped to No. 16. Connecticut fell at North Carolina, 68-65, dropping to No. 11.

At the beginning of the week, the Big East had three teams in the Associated Press top 10 and four in the Top 25. Saturday’s performances left No. 2 Pittsburgh as the sole top-10 representative, while Syracuse dropped out of the rankings.

Both UConn losses have come on the road against non-conference opponents. Head coach Jim Calhoun was so frustrated at one point during Saturday’s loss that during a timeout he screamed “Wake up!” at his team.

Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey left Lexington impressed with the Wildcats.

‘That’s the best team we’ve played all season,’ Brey told the AP.

This and that

Big East player-of-the-week honors go to St. John’s guard Marcus Hatten. The senior averaged 29 points in a win over Georgetown and a loss to Villanova. He shot 53.8 percent from the floor. … Boston College forward Craig Smith picked up Big East rookie-of-the-week honors. Smith averaged 25 points in wins over West Virginia and North Carolina State. He also averaged 6.5 boards and shot 62.5 percent. … Pittsburgh guard Brandin Knight suffered a mild concussion in the Panthers’ 73-60 victory over Syracuse on Saturday. He’s listed as day-to-day, but Pittsburgh is off until Saturday’s matchup against Georgetown.

Published on January 20, 2003 at 12:00 pm