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As the calendar begins creeping toward the final days of December, various outlets naturally start to reflect on the year gone by. Who was the Person of the Year? The Sportsman of the Year? Newsmaker of the Year?
In terms of basketball in the great state of Michigan, some of the proclamations are easy.
The best rebounder in the Mitten? That would be Andre Drummond.
Best pure scorer in the state? The honor would have to go to Central Michigan’s Marcus Keene, he of the the 31.9 scoring average. That figure leads the country by a significant margin, with Alec Peters of Valpo checking in more than six points behind.
Stan Van Gundy
Who gives the most compelling post-game pressers? It has to be Stan Van Gundy, sideline general for the Pistons. It’s almost worth seeing them get blown out once a week just to see how many synonyms SVG can come up with for the word “disgusting.”
But one question is a little trickier to answer: “Who is the deadliest shooter in the state of Michigan?”
The natural thought would be to go to the professional ranks. But the Pistons haven’t exactly been scorching the nets this season. The backcourt of Reggie Jackson and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope can get hot on occasion from downtown, but both are more appropriately placed in the “streak shooter” category.
Wolverines, Spartans? Nobody is really lighting it up from deep there, either. Duncan Robinson has picked it up of late, but still he has not stroked it quite like he did during his debut campaign in Ann Arbor.
So where does this distinction belong? Of all the ballers in the state, which one of them has the softest touch, the sweetest release, and the most picturesque follow through?
The answer might surprise you. There’s a good chance you haven’t even heard of this player -- yet.
The Corey Allen Show
In due time, everyone in Michigan will know the name Corey Allen; freshman guard for the Titans of Detroit Mercy and supreme outside shooter.
You might call last Thursday night his coming-out party. You could also call it one of the most impressive shooting exhibitions this state has seen in years.
Feast your eyes on this line: 11-17 from the field, 9-13 from 3, 2-2 free throws.
Corey Allen
The remarkable part of Allen’s career night is that for the first half of the game, he was more chorus member than leading man.
He took just a handful of shots and looked to be on his way to a relatively uneventful evening. He had just six points and the Titans trailed by 15. Allen would say after the game that he was feeling the game out, not wanting to force shots. Whatever that plan entailed, it paid the highest of dividends in the second 20 minutes.
Many elite shooters talk about just needing to see the ball go through the hoop once and then it’s off to the races. Allen converted right out of the gate in the second half on a pair of short jumpers. They’d be the last measly 2-pointers he would hit all night.
The silky-smooth freshman would attempt four triples over the next handful of minutes, tickling the nets each and every time. A 15-point Fort Wayne lead was sliced to just two.
After a short dry spell, he cashed in again, this time in the deep corner with the shot clock running down. It was reminiscent of the shot Steve Smith drilled against the Pistons in the playoffs years ago, only this time Allen was warming Detroit hearts instead of smashing them into pieces.
All told, our state’s purest shooter would connect on 7-of-9 from three-point land in the second half. The scrappy but outmanned Titans eventually fell short to Fort Wayne, but still, even in defeat, the evening belonged to Allen.
Mr. Big Shot, Jr.
Watching him, you can’t help but be reminded of another legendary Motor City hooper, and another #1, Mr. Chauncey Billups. Chauncey was an excellent outside shooter, but he never did it with a tremendous amount of arc. He didn’t flick that beautiful rainbow the way Joe Dumars would, but it wasn’t exactly a Gary Payton line drive either. It was somewhere in between, but more often than not, the ball found its way feathering just over the front of the rim. The release was quick but easy, the kind of natural stroke that looks the same at the free throw line as it does 30 feet from the basket.
Those same characteristics can be used to describe Corey Allen. Give him an inch and he’ll take a mile. In fact, give him no room at all and he’ll float out near the half-court logo and knock one in from there. That’s exactly what he did in the game’s final minute, effortlessly swishing one final trey from an absurd distance. The outcome was essentially decided, but it didn’t make the shot any less impressive.
Allen’s second-half barrage was Chauncey-like, too, in that there was no forcing of shots or monopolization of the ball. You’d think that a guy in that type of zone would find a way to get up 18 or 20 shots in the half. Allen only took 12. He was hot as a pistol, the best player in the gym. Yet he still played with a certain calm, getting most of his looks within the natural flow of the offense.
“I’ll Take 3-Point Marksmen for $600, Alex”
Head coach Bacari Alexander said of his fabulous freshman after the game, “To do it against this type of opponent (Fort Wayne) was equally as compelling, because here is a team that’s sitting at 10-3, and they’ve played some people (beat #3 Indiana). They’ve seen some high-caliber players. And they did not have an answer for Corey Allen.”
The only answer in relation to Allen comes in the form of a question, like you’d see on Jeopardy. The correct response for Mr. Trebek in this case would be, “Who is the best shooter in the state of Michigan?” You now have control of the board.
In all likelihood, this season of transition for Detroit Mercy will not result in league championships or Cinderella stories. The Titans have been competitive much of the time, but figuring out how to close games and secure victories could be a year or two away.
But no matter the record, you can’t take the shine off Corey Allen, a basketball sniper with a range that extends from 19 feet all the way to the nearest concession stand.
The game that Dr. Naismith created over one hundred years ago has evolved into something fluid and beautiful. There are dribblers so good it appears the ball is surgically attached to their hand and passers so creative that they could double as magicians. There are sky-walkers that hang in the air forever before throwing it down with authority.
But there’s no skill in the game so pure, so synonymous with the game’s roots, as shooting the basketball. It’s a trade that can be perfected without anyone else around. As long as the ball is pumped up and the rim is ten feet high, you can work from dusk till dawn to develop that perfect release.
At this very moment, around these parts, there is nobody doing it better than Detroit Mercy's Corey Allen.
