Allen ready to commence

Jerome Allen came back to school — but not to prove to dad that he’s not a fool.

As an assistant, Allen enrolled at Penn for the fall semester to fulfill the final credits he needed to graduate. He plans to walk in the commencement ceremony in May and will be listed as a graduate of the class of 2009.

Setting a good example for his two daughters and two sons, as well as ensuring financial security for his entire family, were Allen’s main motives for returning to his studies.

“Education is obviously something that we put a high premium on in our house,” the interim coach said. “I just knew that my window of opportunity playing basketball was closing as the days passed.”

Allen spent a good part of his senior year focusing on professional basketball and left school just one credit shy of graduating.

He was selected 49th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 1995 NBA draft. Allen played only one season for the Wolves, before bouncing to the Denver Nuggets and the Indiana Pacers.

In 1997, he headed to Europe to continue his professional career. While there, Allen made stops in France, Italy, Greece, Spain and Turkey.

Now looking back at a playing career filled with uncertainty, Allen believes that a degree from Wharton will ensure occupational stability.

“I couldn’t play the game forever,” Allen said. “[My return] was … concentrated on trying to provide my family with the best financial situation possible, because once the ‘air comes out of the ball,’ there’s no going back.”

While Allen’s days as a professional basketball player may be behind him, the coach does have the prerequisite skills if he decides to apply to graduate school, which he and his wife consider a possibility.

Wharton sophomore and class of 2012 president Jibran Khan was a student in the Operations and Information Management 101 class that Allen took to complete his final requirement.

“He was really personable,” Khan said. “He is a guy that has achieved a lot, but still respects the value of education.”

That respect for learning could pay immediate dividends for the basketball team, as several lessons covered in the class could prove valuable on the hardwood.

“[OPIM] was very interesting, to say the least,” Allen said. “It helps you calculate the shortest distance between a path when it’s not necessarily a straight line.”

Allen’s Wharton experience has not only helped him to see the game in a different way, but also to relate better to his players — many of whom are Wharton students themselves.

“I tried to engage some of the guys on the team,” Allen said. “They were asking about my midterms and my problem sets.”

Though he may not be forming study groups any time soon, his close relationship with his players is evident. Point guard and Wharton sophomore Zack Rosen joked that Allen took a “watered-down” version of the class.

Regardless, Allen will still be walking with the senior class come spring.

That’s an accomplishment even Billy Madison’s dad would be proud of.

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