All things considered, head coach Patrick Nee is pleased with the direction of the Allen Red Devils basketball team.
“We’ve been a work in progress, a little bit up and a little bit down,” he said. “When we’re moving the ball, playing defense, when we’re playing where we’re supposed to be, we’re a pretty darned good team. Right now, we’re just too inconsistent.”
Allen’s 71-45 victory over OnPoint Academy of suburban Oklahoma City on Wednesday moved ACC to 3-1 overall.
But with three more upcoming contests by Monday — Allen is in the midst of a five-games-in-seven-days schedule — just getting through this portion is no small feat.
Allen’s roster has five players out with varying degrees of injury, and Nee is uncertain when — or if — the squad will be back at full strength.
“It’s hard to see that many good players in street clothes on the sidelines,” Nee said. “We still have enough on this team to make a run at conference. We can just worry about the guys who are here.”
Allen took control against OnPoint late in the first half, courtesy of a 13-1 run. LJ Hill’s steal and layup just before the buzzer pushed Allen’s lead to 31-17.
The fun continued early in the second. Hill connected twice from 3-point range as the lead eventually ballooned to the 30-point mark.
“We didn’t come out with the type of aggression I wanted to,” Nee said. “We were a little flat at the start.”
Part of that may have been due to simple exhaustion. Allen had played the night before in a loss at Hutchinson and didn’t arrive back in Iola until the predawn hours on Wednesday.
And even though his bench was limited, Nee turned to a full-court press, as a means to help turn defensive intensity into offensive opportunity.
The plan worked. Allen limited OnPoint to a paltry 18% shooting and forced 10 turnovers in the first half, 21 for the game..
“There were a couple of times where we had a nice little run,” Nee said. “Guys started to relax on offense and began hitting shots.”
That said, there’s plenty to improve, he added, starting with Allen’s propensity to settle for outside shots.
The Red Devils were 5 of 25 from 3-point range.
