Dec. 21, 2016
SAN DIEGO -
By Mick McGrane, GoAztecs.com Senior Writer
(@MickOnTheMesa)
As an aspiring Division I basketball talent, Dakarai Allen briefly became headline news at Sacramento's Sheldon High School as the victim of a kidnapping.
Few know the story, of course, because if nothing else, fame is fleeting.
Sort of like Allen's acting career.
"Just being able to pick up a script and walk out there and make it your own, it was something I really enjoyed," said Allen, whose time spent in theater classes at Sheldon included a play in which he was able to escape the clutches of would-be abductors. "I felt like it came easy to me. But once the scripts started getting serious, I thought, 'OK, time to get back to the gym.'"
A move that may have cheated Hollywood of a potential star, but greatly benefitted San Diego State's men's basketball program.
Now in his final season with the Aztecs, Allen has mastered another script, the one authored by head coach Steve Fisher. The one that demands you play defense lest your starring role fade into the background of the bench.
"In the past, we've had Skylar Spencer as the league's back-to-back defensive player of the year," Fisher said. "We want to keep that honor at San Diego State. We've got the best defensive team in the league and we want to have the best defensive player recognized.
"In that regard, Dakarai is the leader of the pack. He knows it and he takes great pride in it."
He also has a history of it.
As a high school player, Allen often conducted his own scouting reports, seeking outside information on an opponent's top player in an effort to organize a battle plan. If it was less technical than it was an exercise designed to intimidate, it was nonetheless efficient.
Said Allen: "We used to go to camps (in high school) and I would ask guys in the media, 'Who's the best guy on their team? Who's everybody talkin' about? And I would go out there and stick him. I would guard him as hard as I could to try and shut him down and embarrass him. That's what got my name out there. I was always searching to find out who the best player was, always trying to see if he was really as good as everybody said he was.
"It got to the point before games where guys were saying they hoped it wasn't Dakarai who was guarding them. They'd say, 'Hey, Dakarai, go guard somebody else.' I had Zach LaVine (former UCLA and current Minnesota Timberwolves guard) tell me that once and now he's in the NBA. Just knowing that I've done it against guys who have gone on to be that successful has always given me motivation."
And the numbers prove it. The 6-foot-5 Allen, who has made every start this season after starting 17 times in his first three seasons, has emerged as one of the nation's elite defenders. According to Synergy Sports Technology, he concluded his junior year ranked No. 1 in the country among 949 Division I players in points per possession allowed (0.591) with at least 200 possessions defended. He also led the Aztecs with a career-best 40 steals last season and ranked fifth with 20 blocked shots.
Through nine games this season, he is first on the team in defensive rebounds (33) and second in blocks (10) and steals (14). He is the only Aztec at 6-5 or smaller to have five blocks in a game (vs. San Diego Christian on Nov. 16) since at least 1996-97.
All of which keeps him in good stead with the head coach, but Allen also knows that his objective of advancing to the pro ranks requires he show an ability to score. He averaged 6.4 points last season after averaging 2.5 and 2.6 as a freshman and sophomore, respectively. He heads into SDSU's game against Southern Mississippi at the Diamond Head Classic on Thursday averaging 7.8 points while shooting nearly 50 percent (49.1) from the field, the second-best mark on the team.
"Dakarai worked very hard on his offensive game in the offseason," Fisher said. "He's confident, and we're looking forward to that translating into better production at the offensive end."
Allen is coming off a performance in the Aztecs' 73-41 win over Alabama State on Dec. 12 in which he became the team's fourth player since the 1996-97 season to record at least 10 points, three rebounds, one block, three assists, one steal and finish with one or fewer turnovers.
"Over the summer, I worked out a lot on my own before we even started (team) workouts," he said. "It's my last year. They've always told me that youth is wasted on the young here. I didn't really understand that when I first got here. I know my offensive game is going to be what helps me get a job in the future. Even though I'm known for my defense, there are always things that I can work on to get better on defense, too. But offense is what is going to help me most moving forward and with the team this year.
"We struggled a lot on offense last year. I just want to improve that part of my game so that it becomes another aspect of our team that people have to watch out for. We have a responsibility to our city, to our school and to our program to put the best possible product out there that we can."
Much like staging a first-rate theater production.
"What we do with basketball is a lot like (acting)," said Allen, whose co-star in one of his high school plays involving a day at the beach was classmate and teammate D'Erryl Williams, who is also in his final season at SDSU. "We perform in front of crowds all the time. And when I'm on the court, I'm totally different than I normally am. The things I do when I'm out there, I would never do if I wasn't on the court.
"People sometimes take my antics on the court the wrong way. But it's something that I'm really passionate about. People don't really know what's going on inside my mind, so sometimes I use body language to portray my feelings. Coach Fish always reminds me about it, so sometimes I have to switch it off. I don't know, I probably need a name for this character that I become when I'm out on the court. Dakarai on the court is just really focused. It's like this savage mentality, honestly. I go out there and try to dominate within my role. People probably don't understand it, but the coaches do because they see me every day. I just blame it on basketball."
Or on the kidnappers, who suddenly conclude they want no part of the man they've kidnapped.
"I'm not a book that you can judge by the cover," Allen said. "I'm a guy who's really loving. But when you're in a game, there's a lot at stake; this is my life."