LOGAN — When Drake Allen and his family moved from Southern California to northern Utah County after his freshman year of high school, Allen’s hoop dreams failed to make the trip.
But he eventually made certain they caught up to him.
“We love Drake Allen. I mean, No. 1, he comes from a great family. And he’s very, very, very locked in daily. I would say his habits are as good as I’ve seen.”
— USU coach Jerrod Calhoun
The starting point guard in Utah State’s first five games of the 2024-25 season, Allen failed to make the team his sophomore year at Westlake High in Saratoga Springs.
“It was a rough time, for sure, because basketball has always been the thing that I love,” Allen says while sitting in a chair at the Spectrum last week. “It’s been the thing that gives me something to do throughout the day, and it gives me something to work hard toward. And so that kind of left a hole in my life for a little bit there.”
After being cut, Allen says he sat down with his parents, Roque and Tamra Allen, “And they asked me, ‘Is this something you really want to do? And if you do, then you’ve got to keep working at it.’”
It was something the second oldest of the Allens’ five children really wanted to do. But “working at it” didn’t just mean hoisting up jump shots. In Allen’s case, it also meant serving as the team’s manager, a position most young athletes in his situation would have preferred to avoid.
“The goal was to always make the team the next year, right? So, whatever I had to do to make the team the next year, that was kind of my mindset going into it,” Allen explains. “And I was able to practice a couple times with the team, which helped me get to know the guys, as well as get to know the plays a little bit.
“When I got cut, my parents told me, ‘You’ve got to take that opportunity. You’ve got to get in the gym.’ So, that was just another hour and a half after school that I could be in the gym around basketball that allowed me to get a little bit better. So, it was good.”
‘A role player’
But while it was good enough to help lift Allen to a roster spot on the varsity Thunder team his junior year, it was far from the last time Allen had to prove himself on the basketball court. Playing behind some talented seniors, he saw virtually no varsity minutes that season. And even when he was a senior in 2018-19, Allen did little to suggest he had a Division I scholarship in his future, playing a wing position rather than his customary point guard spot.
“I was a role player,” Allen says of playing on a Nate Carling team that went 16-7 and finished third in Class 6A Region 4. “I was out there to defend the other team’s best player, rebound and pass the ball. I didn’t shoot a lot, and I didn’t score a lot. That wasn’t my role, and I kind of understood that and played it the best that I could.
“I don’t want to say I was just happy to be there, after being cut my sophomore year to being able to play varsity my senior year, I was proud of myself in that moment. And I knew that it wasn’t the end. I knew that I wanted to keep playing.”
That seemed highly unlikely as Allen left for a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But Allen, who returned home in April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, managed to grow about three inches in the Philippines, providing him with a little extra confidence that he could play at the next level. He ended up parlaying that self-assurance into earning a walk-on spot at Snow College in Ephraim after performing well in an open tryout.
Turning point
Listed at 6-foot-4, Allen didn’t see much time with the Badgers in 2021-22 until some teammates contracted COVID-19, opening the door for him to see more action. He points toward a narrow, 91-89 loss at Salt Lake Community College on Feb. 20, 2021, as a personal turning point, as he totaled 15 points and 10 rebounds against a powerful SLCC team that ended up winning 20 games during the shortened season.
“Ever since that game, I feel like I’ve just had kind of a different confidence to me,” Allen declares. “I proved to myself that I could play at the next level, and I showed that I could make a difference when I’m on the court and not just be a role player. I can get out there and make a difference.”
Allen certainly proved that his sophomore year at Snow, when he averaged 12.8 points, 6.0 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game and was a first-team, all-conference selection. The Badgers ended up going 26-8 and went to NJCAA National Tournament for the first time in five decades, with Allen scoring 27 points in a first-round win over Lee College.
That season ended up kickstarting Allen’s south-to-north journey through the state of Utah, beginning at Southern Utah in 2022-23. Allen started all 37 games for the Thunderbirds, averaging 11.0 points, 3.6 assists and 3.4 rebounds for a team that finished third in the WAC and 22-12 overall. But SUU head coach Todd Simon was lured away by Bowling Green, and Allen contemplated joining him in Ohio.
Love and basketball
However, by that time Allen had fallen in love with Hallestyn Kap, a soccer player he met at Snow College, who played at Utah Tech in St. George while he was in Cedar City. Had Allen and Kap not been engaged, he might very well have followed Simon to Bowling Green. Instead, Allen ended up getting married in July 2023, and then spending the 2023-24 season at Utah Valley playing for first-year head coach Todd Phillips.
Allen fared well for the Wolverines, leading the 16-16 team in scoring (11.9 ppg), assists (4.3 apg) and minutes (29.1 mpg) per game. But while Allen could have easily played out his final season of eligibility just a couple of miles away from his parents’ home in Orem, he wanted to push himself even more and put his name in the transfer portal last spring.
Allen ended up benefitting from some fortuitous timing. Jerrod Calhoun was hired by Utah State to replace Danny Sprinkle, who left USU for Washington after just one season, and the new Aggies coach was looking for a seasoned point guard. Calhoun ended up contacting Allen, and by the end of April, the graduate point guard was committed to the Aggies.
“Growing up in Utah, Utah State is Utah State,” Allen proclaims. “I mean, everybody knows Utah State basketball. It’s the real deal.”
Although he had never seen a game in the Spectrum before his first game as an Aggie against Alcorn State on Nov. 6, Allen says he watched a lot of Utah State basketball on television. Particularly last year’s squad that won 28 games, took the Mountain West regular-season title outright and became the first USU team to win a game in the NCAA Tournament in 23 years.
“The way they play — no matter whatever comes in — is always a fun style of basketball,” notes Allen, who adds that he was sold on coming to Logan once Calhoun told him that Aggie guards Ian Martinez and Mason Falslev, and big men Isaac Johnson and Karson Templin, would be returning in 2024-25. “They score a lot of points, and the atmosphere, I think, is the best in the country. And so, coming here was kind of a no-brainer, especially when Coach Calhoun called me and let me know those guys were all coming back.”
‘Very, very locked in’
Despite being a newcomer, Allen was named a co-captain before practices began this fall, joining returning standouts Martinez and Falslev in a leadership role. While that honor came via a vote from his teammates, Calhoun wholeheartedly agreed with that decision.
“We love Drake Allen,” Calhoun declares. “I mean, No. 1, he comes from a great family. And he’s very, very, very locked in daily. I would say his habits are as good as I’ve seen. You know, he’s got some routines, whether it’s yoga, the weight room, extra film study, extra shots … guys like that deserve to have great years, because they really prepare to win. They prepare to play.
“His routine is as good as I’ve seen. His athleticism is off the charts. And his knowledge of the game, understanding different pick-and-roll coverages, or scouting. He’s really, really good.”
Calhoun adds that he and his staff challenged Allen to get better defensively last week, as well as to come up with more rebounds and be more of a “stat stuffer.”
“I said, ‘You can score the ball, assist the ball, and rebound the ball. And I think he can do all three at a high, high level,’” Calhoun recalls.
Allen has opened every contest at the point during Utah State’s first five games, averaging 7.2 points, 3.0 assists, 1.8 rebounds and 21.0 minutes per game while shooting 50% from the floor and going 5 for 12 from 3-point range. But Calhoun loves his depth and mixing and matching this season, which means graduate Deyton Albury and freshman Jordy Barnes have also shared a lot of time in the point guard role and/or played the floor together.
So, far Calhoun has been making all the right moves and has Utah State off to a 5-0 start, including last Friday’s 77-69 win over Iowa in Kansas City. The former Youngstown State head coach has also found success off the court, securing the highest-ranked recruiting class in school history in mid-November.
Another Allen
That six-player group of prospects, rated 17th in the country by 247Sports, included Drake Allen’s younger brother, Jax. Currently a senior at Orem High, Allen averaged 14.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game in 2023-24 for the Tigers, shooting 46% from the field, 35% from 3-point range and 80% from the free-throw line.
While Jax is also listed at 6-4, Drake admits that his “little” brother is actually a little bit taller than him, and certainly further along in his development as a basketball player at the same age. Drake also insists he wasn’t involved in Jax’s recruitment.
“I remember being recruited, and I know what it’s like. It’s really hard. And you want to be recruited for who you are, and the way you play. You don’t want to be recruited for your brother, or because you had a family member,” Drake Allen explains. “So, I kind of told Coach Calhoun, ‘Hey, I’m out of it. If you have any questions about him personally, I’ll answer the questions. Other than that, I want you guys to watch him, and if it feels like a right fit, then it’s a right fit.’
“But I’m obviously biased,” Allen adds, “and I’m really happy Jax committed here. I think Coach Calhoun and the coaching staff do a really good job. He’s gonna be a heck of a player.”
A combo guard who plans to serve a mission and play for the Aggies beginning in 2027, Jax also benefitted from having Drake’s all-time favorite coach — Roque Allen. A former college soccer player, last year the Allens’ father started an AAU program, Utah Valley Prime Basketball, and brought on Drake to coach the 15U team.
Allen says he was “really hesitant” at first because he didn’t have any real experience as a coach, but he found it was “a good learning experience.”
“I think it has really helped me respect the game a lot more,” says Allen, who credits a lot of his early development to playing for former BYU player Kevin Nixon’s Mountain Stars AAU team. “Seeing kids that were in the same position that I was, who didn’t make a team but got to play for an AAU program. And helping them get better and giving them the confidence that they need to take the next step and make the team the next year, is just a blessing for me to be able to give back to the community.”
Calhoun, who admits that he teases Drake that “Jax is probably twice the player that you were in high school,” certainly realizes the potential inspiration that his graduate point guard can provide young basketball players in the state.
“Drake is a great story,” Calhoun says. “From where he started to where he is now is a true testament to him. You know, it’s, it’s a lot of hard work, it’s a lot of hours and it’s a lot of dedication to the game of basketball. And I don’t know if I’ve quite seen a story like that. From a guy that gets cut in high school to playing for a lot of different schools in the state to playing for the best school in the state of Utah is pretty neat.”
But Allen, who completed a bachelor’s degree at UVU and is now pursing an MBA at Utah State, has high hopes that his “great story” is going to continue well into March this season. He views playing in the NCAA Tournament as “the next step,” which is the primary reason he decided to finish his career as an Aggie.
“I got cut, so the next step was to make the JV team,” Allen says. “Then the next step was to play varsity, and I played varsity. Then they said I wouldn’t play college basketball, and the next step was to play college basketball. So, the next step is making it to March Madness, and I’m fortunate to be playing with some guys who did it last year.
“I’m able to pick their brains and play with them every day. They’ve done it, they have the experience and I’m learning a lot. And I’m hoping they’re learning from me, as well.”
