Oklahoma State Lands Top JUCO Transfer

Anthony Allen, a sophomore at Lamar State College-Port Arthur, has signed a National Letter of Intent with Oklahoma State, head coach Travis Ford announced on Thursday. The junior-college transfer will have two years of eligibility remaining.

"We are excited about Anthony joining our basketball family," Ford said. "He is one of the premier shot blocker in the country, and he'll bring us great depth inside. (He's) someone who can change the game defensively. At his size, he can really run the floor and play our style of basketball. His best days are ahead of him, and he will continue to improve once he gets here. We look forward to him adding depth inside, as well as bringing great shot blocking and rebounding to our basketball team."

A 7-foot-1, 245-pound center, Allen averaged 11 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.2 blocks per game this past season in leading the Seahawks to the best record in school history at 25-7. LSC-Port Arthur lost to top-seeded Paris Junior College in the semifinals of the Region XIV Tournament.

In his two-year career with the Seahawks, he recorded 17 double-doubles, recording double figures in both points and rebounds in the same game. Six of those were triple-doubles, adding double-figure blocks into the equation. Allen had 10 games in his juco career with 10 or more blocked shots, including a career-high 14 at Blinn College in 2014. He scored a career-high 24 points against Houston Community College as a sophomore, going 10 of 11 from the floor. His career high in rebounds was 16 at Coastal Bend College this past season.

"Anthony is definitely a game changer at the defensive end," said Lance Madison, head coach at LSC-Port Arthur. "He led the country in blocked shots two years in a row. He's a good athlete, and runs the court extremely well. He's gained a lot of confidence in his offense, and there is a lot of upside to it (his offense). He's the most improved player in junior college the last two years."

As a freshman in 2012-13, Allen averaged 8.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.1 blocks per contest while shooting 60.1 percent from the floor. He led the NJCAA with 155 blocked shots during the season. He transferred to LSC-Port Arthur after sitting out the 2011-12 season as a redshirt at the College of Southern Idaho. Originally from Kingston, Jamaica, Allen led Bassick High School in Bridgeport, Conn., to a pair of state championships.

Allen, ranked among the top-15 junior-college transfers in 2014, chose Oklahoma State after also considering Memphis and Oklahoma as his NCAA Division I college destination.