NCAA Basketball: 25 most mesmerizing players of all time

Duke always seems to have the guy, don’t they? The most interesting/polarizing thing about Allen is that he went from little-used bench player to having potential, to star, to underperformer to “whoa.”

Allen became one of those players that felt as if he was in college for the better part of a decade. In 2014-15, he arrived in Durham as a top-30 recruit on a team full of top-30 recruits. The roster sported eight players who would eventually play in the NBA as well as Rasheed Sulaimon and Matt Jones. Allen played sporadically during the season, sometimes seeing 18 minutes, sometimes seeing a single minute.

In the ACC Tournament that season, he played 21 minutes in the opening round game against North Carolina State, scoring 11 points. During Duke’s run to the National Title, he was non-existent until bursting onto the scene in the title game, scoring 16 points and leading the Blue Devils to victory while stars Justice Winslow and Jahlil Okafor sat on the bench with foul trouble.

He fulfilled his potential in year two, averaging 21.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.3 steals while shooting 42% from behind the arc. Hindsight being what it is, Allen probably should have bolted for the league following his sophomore season. Instead, he stayed long enough to become the villain.

Instances of poor sportsmanship, intentionally tripping opposing players and a very public meltdown on the Duke bench turned him into a punchline instead of the traditional ESPN lovefest. While some in the media attempted to come to Grayson’s aid, the excuses and explanations didn’t hold water.

Allen remained a productive player through the drama, playing in Durham for four seasons while piling up close to 2,000 career points. He was selected with the 21st pick in the 2018 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz. He was recently acquired by the Memphis Grizzlies.