Basketball: Allen grows into key role for Mounties

Rogers High senior Will Allen scoops the ball to the basket on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016, against Rogers Heritage at Rogers High.
Rogers High senior Will Allen scoops the ball to the basket on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016, against Rogers Heritage at Rogers High.

ROGERS -- Will Allen grew up in a basketball home.

His mother, Missy, played college basketball at Harding and Central Arkansas, and his father, Todd, played college basketball at Central Baptist in Conway.

ON THE WEB

For more on Rogers High senior Will Allen, see the full video at www.nwadg.com and at www.ARPreps.com.


MORE ON THE WEB

More sports can be found at ARPreps.com including blogs, conference standings, weekly notes and much more. Here is the complete schedule to view updated content at ARPreps.com:

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Tuesdays

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7A-West Conference Statistical Leaders

(Conference games only)

BOYS

TEAM OFFENSE^

TEAM^G^PTS^AVG

Springdale Har-Ber^2^142^71.0^

Fayetteville^2^140^70.0^

Bentonville^2^127^63.5^

Rogers High^2^125^62.5^

Springdale High^2^123^61.5^

FS Southside^2^117^58.5^

Rogers Heritage^2^116^58.0^

FS Northside^2^102^51.0^

TEAM DEFENSE

TEAM^G^PTS^AVG

Fayetteville^2^107^53.5^

Bentonville^2^112^56.0^

Springdale High^2^117^58.5^

Springdale Har-Ber^2^121^60.5^

Rogers Heritage^2^127^63.5^

FS Southside^2^130^65.0^

FS Northside^2^137^68.5^

Rogers High^2^141^70.5^

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

PLAYER, SCHOOL^G^PTS^AVG^

Tyler Robinson, Bentonville^2^45^22.5^

Payton Willis, Fayetteville^2^41^20.5^

Lexus Hobbs, Rogers Heritage^2^38^19.0^

Tevin Brewer, FS Northside^2^36^18.0^

Seth Hawley, FS Southside^2^36^18.0^

Jake Benninghoff, Rogers High^2^36^18.0^

Avery Benson, Springdale Har-Ber^2^34^17.0^

Milacio Freeland, Rogers High^2^34^17.0^

Josh Breathitt, Fayetteville^2^31^15.5^

Ishine McFarlane, Springdale High^2^29^14.5^

Dane Olsen, Rogers Heritage^2^29^14.5^

Jackson Forsey, FS Northside^2^26^13.0^

Zion Releford, FS Southside^2^25^12.5^

Spencer Brown, Fayetteville^2^24^12.0^

Kyler Mahar, Springdale High^2^23^11.5^

Tyler Garrett, Springdale Har-Ber^2^23^11.5^

Malik Monk, Bentonville^2^22^11.0^

Jack Lindsey, Springdale High^2^21^10.5^

Tyrone Mahoney, FS Southside^2^20^10.0^

Matthew Kaunitz, Sprindale Har-Ber^2^20^10.0^

Towayne Bobo, Springdale High^2^18^9.0^

J.P. Brandon, Springdale Har-Ber^2^18^9.0^

August Carlson, Fayetteville^2^17^8.5^

Tylor Perry, Springdale Har-Ber^2^17^8.5^

Cole Cooper, Rogers High^2^16^8.0^

Harrison Heffley, Rogers High^2^16^8.0^

Tony Casey, Rogers Heritage^2^16^8.0^

Jordan Hemphill, Bentonville^2^16^8.0^

Will Allen, Rogers High^2^15^7.5^

Marek Stanley, Rogers Heritage^2^15^7.5^

Drake Wymer, Fayetteville^2^14^7.0^

David Carachure, Springdale High^2^14^7.0^

Devon Young, Springdale High^2^14^7.0^

Asa Hutchinson, Bentonville^2^14^7.0^

Brennon Lewis, FS Northside^2^13^6.5^

Isaiah Joe, FS Northside^2^13^6.5^

Trey Constantini, Bentonville^2^13^6.5^

Jordan Sheppard, FS Southside^2^10^5.0^

GIRLS

TEAM OFFENSE

TEAM^G^PTS^AVG

Springdale High^2^139^69.5

Bentonville^2^118^59.0

FS Northside^2^107^53.5

Fayetteville^2^104^52.0

Springdale Har-Ber^2^102^51.0

Rogers Heritage^2^92^46.0

Rogers High^2^91^45.5

FS Southside^2^57^28.5

TEAM DEFENSE

TEAM^G^PTS^AVG

Fayetteville^2^71^35.5

Rogers High^2^87^43.5

Bentonville^2^93^46.5

FS Northside^2^96^48.0

Springdale Har-Ber^2^105^52.5

Springdale High^2^107^53.5

Rogers Heritage^2^125^62.5

FS Southside^2^126^63.0

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

PLAYER, SCHOOL^G^PTS^AVG^

Aaliyah Jackson, FS Northside^2^39^19.5

Maddie Brittain, Bentonville^2^38^19.0

Chasidee Owens, Springdale High^2^36^18.0

Maya Hood, Springdale High^2^30^15.0

Amber Turner, Rogers Heritage^2^25^12.5

Krista Clark, Bentonville^2^25^12.5

Elise Randels, Rogers High^2^24^12.0

Kelsey Richmond, Rogers High^2^23^11.5

Jasmine Franklin, Fayetteville^2^22^11.0

Lauren Krissman, FS Northside^2^21^10.5

Jordan Hardesty, FS Northside^2^21^10.5

Hailey Tiles, Rogers Heritage^2^21^10.5

Madison Sandor, Rogers High^2^20^10.0

Maren Johnson, Bentonville^2^20^10.0

Lauren Sanford, FS Southside^2^19^9.5

Kierra Lang, Springdale High^2^19^9.5

Lauren Hargus, Bentonville^2^19^9.5

Maya Mayberry, Fayetteville^2^18^9.0

Desiree Mack, Springdale High^2^18^9.0

Maei Mains, Springdale Har-Ber^2^18^9.0

Anna Gaddison, Springdale High^2^17^8.5

Emily Seiler, Rogers Heritage^2^17^8.5

Alexia Hernandez, Bentonville^2^17^8.5

Caroline Hornor, Springdale Har-Ber^2^16^8.0

Krislyn Smith, Springdale Har-Ber^2^16^8.0

Grayce Spangler, Fayetteville^2^14^7.0

Mykelle Williams, Rogers High^2^14^7.0

Lani Meares, FS Southside^2^13^6.5

Pink Jones, Fayetteville^2^13^6.5

Savannah Collins, Springdale Har-Ber^2^12^6.0

Juliza Brown, Springdale Har-Ber^2^12^6.0

Khanni Shannon, Springdale Har-Ber^2^12^6.0

Dehring Scudder, Rogers Heritage^2^12^6.0

Fatarah Kinnard, FS Northside^2^10^5.0

Kelly Carson, FS Southside^2^10^5.0

Brooke Menke, Rogers Heritage^2^10^5.0

At A Glance

Will Allen

SCHOOL Rogers High

CLASS Senior

POSITION Forward

HEIGHT 6-3

NOTABLE Became a starter last year as a junior. … Grew four inches between freshman and sophomore year. … Averaging 10 points and four rebounds a game this year. … Both parents played college basketball.

7A-West Conference

Boys

^Conf.^Overall

^W-L^W-L

Fayetteville^2-0^13-2

Springdale Har-Ber^2-0^9-6

Springdale High^1-1^11-4

Bentonville^1-1^8-5

Fort Smith Southside^1-1^9-7

Rogers High^1-1^7-8

Rogers Heritage^0-2^9-7

Fort Smith Northside^0-2^8-8

Girls

^Conf.^Overall

^W-L^W-L

Fort Smith Northside^2-0^17-1

Springdale High^2-0^9-5

Bentonville^1-1^12-2

Springdale Har-Ber^1-1^11-5

Fayetteville^1-1^10-5

Rogers High^1-1^8-7

Rogers Heritage^0-2^5-10

Fort Smith Southside^0-2^3-13

Thursday’s Scores

Girls

Bentonville 67, Fort Smith Southside 38

Boys

Fort Smith Southside 58, Bentonville 57

Friday’s Scores

Girls

Springdale High 75, Rogers Heritage 51

Springdale Har-Ber 46, Rogers High 41 (OT)

Fort Smith Northside 52, Fayetteville 45

Boys

Springdale High 55, Rogers Heritage 48

Springdale Har-Ber 73, Rogers High 53

Fayetteville 67, Fort Smith Northside 48

Monday’s Scores

Girls

Springdale High 64, Springdale Har-Ber 56

Boys

Springdale Har-Ber 69, Springdale High 68 (2 OT)

Tuesday’s Scores

Girls

Rogers High 50, Rogers Heritage 41

Fayetteville 59, Fort Smith Southside 19

Fort Smith Northside 56, Bentonville 51 (OT)

Boys

Rogers High 72, Rogers Heritage 68 (OT)

Fayetteville 73, Fort Smith Southside 59

Bentonville 70, Fort Smith Northside 54

Friday’s Games

Fayetteville at Springdale High

Bentonville at Springdale Har-Ber

Fort Smith Northside at Rogers Heritage

Rogers High at Fort Smith Southside

"I grew up knowing a lot about basketball and I wanted to be the best that I could be," Allen said. "I got a lot of coaching at home and I played a lot with my dad."

But the Rogers High senior's basketball career seemed to be stalled. Allen, then only 5-foot-11, played very little for the freshman Mounties.

Rogers coach Wayne Herren didn't see much of a hoops future for Allen, either.

"I never thought Will Allen would be much of a contributor on the varsity level," Herren said. "Will was a smaller kid and not the most athletic kid in the world either. We thought he would play jayvee for a couple of years and maybe help off the bench."

Allen said his freshman season and the lack of playing time was a frustrating experience. But he hung with it.

"I sat the bench freshmen year, played maybe two, three minutes a game, if that," he said. "I remember one night, I didn't play at all. I was still in my game jersey and I went to the gym and just practiced."

That hard work -- and a timely growth spurt -- has turned Allen into a different player. He grew four inches between his freshman and sophomore seasons and the now 6-3 senior only rarely comes off the court. He is one of the Mounties' go-to players, averaging 10 points a game while making 56 percent of his shots from the field. He is also averaging four rebounds per game.

Allen broke into the starting lineup last season after his weight caught up with his height increase, and he has been in the lineup ever since. He had 11 points in Tuesday's 72-68 overtime victory against crosstown rival Rogers Heritage. Allen converted a three-point play late in regulation, and his layup in overtime gave Rogers the lead for good at 70-68.

After the frustration of riding the pine as a freshman, Allen now relishes his role as a vital member of the varsity squad.

"I enjoy the opportunity to play in the starting lineup," Allen said. "I just worked hard on my game and I want to do everything right."

Herren said that Allen is one of the toughest players he has coached, and that the senior has a team-first mentality.

"Will has been an absolute pleasant surprise," Herren said. "When he grew into his body a little bit he became a key player for us. The interesting thing is, both his parents played college ball, and that is unusual. This is the first time that I have had two parents that played.

"I think Will will have that opportunity to play college basketball. Will is such a good leader and he comes in and talks with me about what he sees on the floor. Like all our kids, he is just a good kid."

When Allen leaves the gym after practice or games, he still gets a little more coaching at home.

"They see things that I don't see," Allen said. "That has helped me improve throughout my career."

And now that career, after sputtering early, is soaring for Allen.

Sports on 01/15/2016

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