Over the first portion of Allen’s men’s basketball season, one of the unsung heroes has been Kansas City, Mo. sophomore Ahmed Mahgoub. Mahgoub, in his second season at Allen, has played 12 of the Red Devils 14 games this season.
This season has come with its fair share of ups and downs for Mahgoub, and the team. Allen hasn’t had a full roster all season. Mahgoub missed three games in the middle of the Red Devils eight-game win streak.
“We’ve had to fight through a lot,” Mahgoub said. “We’ve had a few guys hurt, and a couple of us got sick. It was nice to see that even when we are down in games, we can still come back, even being short handed. It just shows how tough we are as a team.”
In the final game of the streak, Mahgoub matched his career-high with 19 points against Oklahoma Wesleyan’s junior varsity team.
“I feel like I started off slow,” Mahgoub said. “The last few games, I feel like I’ve picked it up and have become more confident shooting the ball and being more aggressive.”
The bulk of Allen’s schedule this year has been against junior varsity squads. That all changes after the break when the Red Devils dive head first into the Jayhawk Conference schedule.
“I’m really excited to get started in conference play,” said a smiling Mahgoub. “The KJCCC is a tough conference. Playing all the good teams in the conference and knowing some nights there will be college scouts out there. We get a chance to test ourselves against some good competition.”
The team has set some big goals for conference play. With a 14-game conference slate this season, the Red Devils are looking to improve on last season’s 6-14 mark in the KJCCC.
“The goal is at most two losses in conference play,” Mahgoub remarked. “We all think we can do it. This group of guys is great and I’m just ready to go out there and play.”
Mahgoub is averaging a little under nine points per game this season, and has been one of the more consistent players for the Red Devils this season.
“I’m a do-it-all kind of player,” Mahgoub said of his role on the team. “My basketball IQ brings a lot to the game and I play hard every night. I can do a little bit of everything and coach Shaw trusts me to do a lot.”
Unlike last season due to the pandemic, players this season are free to work on their own. That leads to lots of high-intensity pickup basketball games and off-court bonding. One of the best bonds Mahgoub has is with his roommate, freshman guard Nick Whittick.
“Off the court, everybody likes everybody and we laugh all the time,” Mahgoub said. “Last year it was like everybody was in their own groups and it was hard to get to know everybody and come together. Nick and I talk about everything, Most of it doesn’t even have to do with basketball.”
Mahgoub is looking into the nursing field as a career, thanks to his family.
“I have an aunt in nursing,” Mahgoub said. “I shadowed her before I came to Allen and really liked what she did. I haven’t been in the field or been in nursing classes yet though.”
