Coach Josh Allen: CHoops 2k8

[bababooey76]

Josh Allen (Born March 22, 1981) is an American college basketball coach who is currently the Head Coach at Indiana University. He is probably best known as the Head Coach at Gonzaga where he coached the team to 7 straight NCAA appearances in his 7 seasons as head coach after taking over for Mark Few in 2012.

Early Life
Josh Allen was born in 1982 in Terre Haute, Indiana. His father was a laborer and his mother a secretary. Josh, at a young age, took a liking to sports and was a huge fan of Larry Bird and also a fan of Bob Knight who at the time, were icons of basketball in the state of Indiana. Allen attended Bob Knight basketball camps each year as a youth and sought out anything he could find from video or book with Knight's philosophy on basketball and coaching.

Allen moved to French Lick, IN to live with his grandparents through his high school years. While in French Lick, Allen played on the Springs Valley varsity basketball team as PG/SG. Allen, while not athletically gifted, made up for hit for his knowledge of floor spacing and using angles on the floor to help get the ball to open teammates.

College Years
Allen was accepted to Indiana University and began in the fall of 2000. While not talented enough to continue with athletics at a collegiate level, Allen relished the opportunity to be so close to the basketball program he had been a fan of and on the same campus of the coach he so revered and admired.

However, one month into his first college semester, Indiana fired Bob Knight as Head Coach. Knight sat out the 2000-2001 season before being hired at Texas Tech. Allen wrestled with what he wanted to do. Once Knight was hired at Texas Tech, Allen, who Knight knew nothing about, wrote to Coach Knight several times expressing his admiration for the coach and also his desire to be a coach some day. Allen had offered to do anything he could do for Knights program at Texas Tech whether it be helping with equipment or anything else the program needed. Knight never responded to any of Allen's letters.

Texas Tech
Allen felt that if he was ever going to get the chance to ever make an impression on Knight and get an opportunity to learn from him, he had to transfer to Texas Tech. He took all money he had saved and paid for the move himself against the advice of his family. In August of 2001, Allen arrived on campus in Lubbock, just before the start of Knight's first year at Texas Tech.

Meeting Coach Knight
In September of 2001, Allen finally went to Coach Knight's office. He had told Knight of all the letters he had written to Knight. Knight remembered those letters and was impressed with the guts and determination of Allen and allowed him to help out in practices at Texas Tech and running errands. Allen impressed Knight with his attention to detail, his always being the first person to the teams practices and his knowledge of the game and his observations of things he saw in practice. Knight later credited Allen with the success of Andre Emmett at Texas Tech, noting that Allen urged him to not give up on Emmett at a time when Knight was down on him.

Assistant Coach
Knight had allowed Allen to break down game film and realized that Allen possessed a lot of traits that would make a good coach. Allen served as a volunteer/intern manager on bench for 2003-2004 season. In 2005, upon graduating at Tech, Knight gave Allen an paying job as Assistant Coach helping out Pat Knight and Stu Robinson in practice and on the bench during games.

[Rye_Bread__]

This write up is very cool Baba. I'm intrigued for more!

[pfeifere1]

what a great career you've had. hope you can grab a second national championship!

[pfeifere1]

First off, congrats on the Big Ten championship.

Also, what was your seed in the tournament?

[Deuce2223]

I am in Year 3 with the Zags and have guided them to 2 straight National Title loss's. So congrats on getting Gonzaga a National Title.

Good luck with Indiana. I am assuming being how it's where your coach went to school, that it is a favorite of yours.

In my current legacy I hope to someday go to Boise State to finish out my long career.

[bababooey76]

Allen Prepares For First Season As Indiana Head Coach

Bloomington-
Times have certainly changed in Bloomington in the last 20 years. November used to mean excitement and always a possibility of contending for a Big 10 title and being mentioned in the national picture as well. On September 10, 2000, Indiana basketball was turned on its ear when legendary coach Bob Knight was fired. The team played in a National Title game the following year with players Knight recruited.

Since Knight's ouster nearly 20 years ago, Indiana has seen 5 head coaches and 5 NCAA Tournament appearances, and no NCAA Tournament appearances since 2010. In May, excitement began to creep back into this Hoosier program. In May, Josh Allen accepted what he called his dream job when he left Gonzaga to take over at Indiana and has assured fans he will do everything to get the Hoosiers back to prominence. Allen is a fiery coach who demands players give everything they have at all times in practice and in games. He tends to favor shooters and defensive play when recruiting.

Allen knows there will be extreme pressure to succeed quickly. He shared some of the things that he will be facing early on; "This really is rebuilding a program from the ground up. We only had one scholarship to work with and we got a late start so it really hampers us. We are not going to make excuses. I told my AD that I needed 3 years to build my type of program and I have assured him that regardless, we are going to be competitive every season."

Many college basketball analysts think Allen is a rising star and a great fit for Indiana given the state the program is in at this point. The Hoosiers open their season November 12 in the NIT Season Tip Off vs Detroit.

[bayse1]

great write up so far. cant wait to read more.