The all-time Big East NBA mock draft

No. 5 overall pick in 1996

1995-96 UConn stats (Junior): 23.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.7 steals per game (Lost in Sweet 16 to Mississippi State)

Take everything I just said about Hamilton, except turn the knob on “Three-level scoring equity” up to 11. Allen provides the same understanding of the game and work ethic, and a similar untapped defensive profile, but his offensive capabilities blew past what Hamilton was able to show in his three years in Storrs. In19 95-96, Allen shot 46.6 percent from 3 on 7.1 attempts per game — something that’s only been done 17 times at the college level, and he was the third ever to achieve it. Allen’s form in college was already sublime and consistent, and he combined that finishing with raw pick-and-roll creation ability and advanced slashing skills that gave him the picture of a do-everything two guard. UConn relied on Doron Sheffer as their primary creator, but Allen handled a fair amount of secondary initiation, and when he wasn’t on ball he was running his man through a maze of screens off-ball, constantly working to get open.

Allen was a little thin in college, and didn’t really get going as a defensive prospect until season three or four in the NBA. But the long-term upside for him was still great, even if he came out of college at age 20. In today’s NBA, Allen would be a blue chip prospect, a player who teams could start using as a floor-spacer right away, and whose creation and defensive upside were perhaps only surpassed by one other player on this list.