Seth Allen
Seth Allen developed a reputation in his freshman season with the Terrapins men’s basketball team as a multitalented guard who can score in bunches but struggles to take care of the ball at times.
Take February’s 83-81 upset of Duke, in which Allen made up for committing eight turnovers by pouring in 16 second-half points. Or look at the Terps’ 81-63 victory over IUPUI on New Year’s Day, when he played only 19 minutes, yet scored 13 points and had four giveaways.
So this season, as Allen assumes the Terps’ starting point guard position, it’s easy to see why coach Mark Turgeon wants the sophomore to improve his ball security. At the same time, the third-year coach doesn’t want Allen to abandon the aggressiveness that helped him make an impact as a first-year player.
“Seth’s got to score,” Turgeon said earlier this month. “Seth scores. That’s why I liked him.”
Both Turgeon and Allen concede that finding a balance between scoring and running the offense is difficult, but it’s also the key to the 19-year-old having a successful sophomore season.
Last season, Allen was afforded the opportunity to be more aggressive, as Pe’Shon Howard often manned the point. But Howard transferred to Southern California in the offseason, leaving Allen with a new role that requires him to manage the offense and control the game’s tempo.
“My mentality is just to get us into every set and know where everybody is on the court at all times,” Allen said. “As a point guard, you got to be a leader. It’s like being a quarterback. You got to know where everybody’s at.”
While Turgeon seems to have Allen locked in as the starting point guard, he has another intriguing option in Roddy Peters. The highly touted freshman has surprised Turgeon with his ability through the first several weeks of practices, though he’ll need to get more comfortable in half-court sets if he hopes to eventually compete for the starting job.
But Peters’ presence could also help Allen in his adjustment to a new niche. Turgeon plans to play both guards together at points during the season, which would allow Allen to move off the ball and possibly find more opportunities to create his own shot.
Still, whether he’s handling the ball or playing on the wing, Allen’s greatest challenge is recognizing when to attack the basket and when to settle the offense.
“He’s just got to know when he’s guarded and when he’s not guarded, and that’s really the thing,” Turgeon said. “When Seth figures that out, then he’s a basketball player. Not necessarily a point guard, but a basketball player.”
When he does have openings to score, Allen is dangerous. Turgeon remembers attending an AAU game several years ago in which Allen scored 27 points before the half and “didn’t even break a sweat.” That’s why the coach worked tirelessly to bring him to College Park.
Peters is often tasked with defending Allen in practice, so he’s aware of the Woodbridge, Va., native’s knack for putting the ball through the hoop.
“I got to be alert,” Peters said. “Can’t never turn my head because he can really shoot, so you can’t leave him open at all.”
That shooting stroke and his quickness off the dribble helped Allen score 7.8 points per game last season, good for fourth on the team. Of course, he also committed 68 total turnovers, which ranked third among the Terps.
Allen said he focused on limiting turnovers throughout the offseason and has developed a new approach that comes with the starting point guard job.
Now he just has wait until the Nov. 8 season opener against Connecticut to test his progress — and maybe even begin to carve out a new reputation.
“I take a lot more pride because I know I’m going to have the ball 90 percent of the time in our offenses and setting us up and stuff,” Allen said. “So you’ve got to take pride as a point guard. It’s my team, so I just got to get out there and lead us.”
