He doesn’t say much.
But what he lacks in volume, he makes up for in ability.
He keeps his head down, his eyes on the basket and — usually — puts the ball in the hole.
KeVaughn Allen has been a mainstay in the scoring department for the Florida basketball team this season.
The explosive 6-foot-2 sophomore guard leads the No. 19 Gators (14-4, 5-1 SEC) in scoring at 13.2 points per game. In addition, he also leads UF with 35 made three-pointers.
With an ability to slither his way to the basket as well as step out for the three ball, Allen has a knack for scoring points.
In bunches.
His 21 points under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden kept the Gators within striking distance during their battle with then-No. 5 Duke on Dec. 6.
On Dec. 29, Allen returned to his home state to play against Arkansas in the opening of conference play. And despite relentless booing from the 20,355 fans in attendance at the infamous Bud Walton Arena, the Little Rock native drilled five threes and torched the Razorbacks’ defense to the tune of 21 points.
And who could forget the Tennessee game?
With the Volunteers close to retaking the lead in the final minutes of the game, Allen answered the call, drilling a pair of three-pointers to seal the victory for UF, posting a season-high 23 points in the process.
But since that awe-inspiring performance, things have taken a turn for the worst.
Allen scored a combined 16 points in Florida’s last three games. In those three games, he missed all eight of his three-point attempts and is 5-for-18 from the field.
In the Gators’ 57-53 loss to No. 24 South Carolina in Columbia on Wednesday night, Allen took three shots in a game that desperately needed something similar to a ball actually going through a hoop.
He hit a single free throw — his only point of the game.
Before I continue, I must say there are many reasons why Allen’s offense has deteriorated, and it’s not just from him not taking and making shots. Defenses could be guarding him more physically off the ball. There could be double teams. The list goes on.
With that said, Florida is 0-for-3 against ranked teams this year (Florida State, now No. 10, was unranked when the two teams clashed back in December). For the Gators to be a realistic threat to top teams in the postseason, Allen needs to be doing his part.
And that’s scoring the basketball.
Ray Boone is a sports writer. His column appears on Fridays. Contact him at rboone@alligator.org or follow him on Twitter @rboone1994.
KeVaughn Allen dunks during Florida's 94-71 win over the University of Arkansas at Little Rock at the O'Connell Center on Dec. 21, 2016.
