Men's Hoops: The Past and The Future

Allen, Maloney set sights on NBA This Wednesday is D-Day for Jerome Allen, Matt Maloney and a host of other collegiate stars hoping to make it in the National Basketball Association. D-Day, of course, is Draft Day. And Destiny Day. For the elites, the guys all 29 NBA teams would love to have, it is the day they find out which team they will play for, which city they will live in, and just how many millions of dollars they can expect to make in the next few years. For Penn guards Allen and Maloney and so many others like them, it is the day they find out whether their dreams of an NBA career will become a reality or not, and whether the years of blood, sweat and tears have been worth it. Actually, it may not be as dramatic as all that. Allen should definitely be picked by the end of the second (and final) round, and could go as high as late in the first round. Maloney may or may not be among the 58 players selected, but it is certainly not the end of the line for him if he is not. One theory says he might in fact be better off not being picked. That way, he could take his choice of invitations to preseason free agent camps, rather than being tied down to one team that could end up cutting him in the preseason anyway. If either or both Quakers are picked, the evening of June 28 will be one to remember. In the last 15 years the NBA has seen just two Penn draftees. The most recent of those was Perry Bromwell, a sixth-round choice of the New Jersey Nets in 1987. Now there are only two rounds, and the last Quaker to be picked as high as the second round was Tony Price by Detroit in 1979. Penn coach Fran Dunphy will certainly be nervous Wednesday for the two most successful players he has ever coached. Since Maloney transferred from Vanderbilt three years ago, he and Allen have started together in the Penn backcourt. They were 1-2 on the Quakers in both scoring and assists each season, and between them have won the last three Ivy League MVP awards. "I'm just hoping for the best for each of them," Dunphy said. "They've already done so much. It would be nice to see them get the chance to show the NBA they can play." Allen and Maloney have had their first chance to show what they can do at a variety of pre-draft scouting combines. The biggest one takes place annually the first week of June in Chicago and features dozens of potential pros. By all accounts, Allen and Maloney both did well there. Rob Babcock, the Director of Player Personnel for the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves -- a team that has expressed interest in both Allen and Maloney -- was in Chicago and said both Penn guards looked better than they had during the spring at previous scouting camps. "They're an interesting combo, coming from the same school," Babcock said. "They're both draftable. "Jerome shot the ball better than he had at other camps. Matt did a nice job running the point. He played under control. He'd trimmed himself down and showed good quickness. I don't know if he'll be drafted, but he showed himself well, to the point where he should definitely be invited to some free agent camps." According to Dunphy, other teams besides the Timberwolves have indicated their interest to Maloney and Allen. Maloney has heard from the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers, while Allen has talked to the San Antonio Spurs and Charlotte Hornets. But, cautioned Dunphy, that doesn't mean you should expect to hear their names called when those teams are up at the podium Wednesday night. "Each team might have contacted 50 other guys," he said. "I don't think it's that big a deal." Questions do exist about both Quakers. If Allen's quickness and athletic ability could be combined with Maloney's shooting consistency, the result might be a prototype NBA guard. But that obviously can't be done, no matter how well the two may have meshed during the three seasons they spent together in the Penn backcourt. "Jerome's shooting consistency is a question, especially shooting on the move and over people," Babcock said. "For Matt it's getting his shot off over people, whether he can finish shots in the paint against the bigger guys he'll find in the NBA. They're both pretty good defensive players. There's a question of whether Matt will be able to keep up with the NBA-type of athletes up and down the court."

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