Plotnick | Allen flaunts natural charm

Standing at the podium, Jerome Allen made a fine first impression in a well-tailored blue suit that tightly cropped his muscular frame.

But Allen didn’t inspire a rousing standing ovation from the audience at yesterday’s press conference based on good looks alone.

Athletic Director Steve Bilsky emphasized Allen’s confidence, competitiveness and experience as the traits that solidified his position as head coach.

Not even these qualities, however, communicate what it is about Allen that led to his unprecedented transition from assistant coach in August to interim coach in December to head coach in March.

Yesterday, there was just something about the way Allen carried himself as he addressed the audience that struck me. And it wasn’t what Allen said but how he said it that stood out.

The way that he paused to think before every sentence; the way that he spoke from his heart rather than a sheet of paper; the way he made eye contact as he picked individuals out of the Palestra stands to personally thank them.

“You couldn’t imagine how I feel right now, because I keep saying, I feel like I’m living the dream and I’m going to keep going to work each day with that mindset,” he said. “That’s going to allow me to stay humble, hungry, aggressive and appreciative.”

Those qualities can’t be explained on paper.

Allen’s mostly improvised speech displayed everything that one would expect from a natural leader — an intense passion for what he does, gratitude for those that guided him along the way and humility despite achievements that others can only dream of.

Allen was captivating in the way that he expressed his desire to give back to the university that he says has given so much to him. Though others may say the same thing, you believe it when it comes from Allen’s mouth.

“No one man, no one person, no one professor, no one team is bigger than this university and all that it represents,” he said. “I am committed to making sure that as a group, as [assistant coach John Gallagher] would say, we leave it better than we found it,” he said.

While it may be difficult for some to comprehend how a person with less than two years of coaching experience has been able to gain nearly unanimous support from fans, alumni and players, you have to see him in action to fully understand why he’s been placed at the helm.

In roughly thirty minutes, Allen brought back confidence to a program that has been persisting largely on hope.

“I refuse to bask in the glory. We have a lot of work ahead of us, and I’m up to for the challenge,” he said.

As he walked away from the podium, Allen delivered one final assurance to the crowd.

“We will get it done. We will get it done.”

LAUREN PLOTNICK is a sophomore economics major from Potomac, Md., and is Sports Editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. She can be contacted at plotnick@dailypennsylvanian.com.

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