When his recruiting process first began, Bradley-Bourbonnais senior big man Nick Allen didn’t have Illinois State University anywhere on his radar. But like a series of storm cells, Redbirds coach Ryan Pedon just kept on popping up on Allen’s doppler.
And now, Allen’s a Redbird.
Allen, the 2023-24 Daily Journal Boys Basketball Player of the Year, made his commitment to Illinois State official Monday. While it’s not where he originally saw himself a couple years ago, now he can’t imagine being anywhere else.
“Illinois state wasn’t my first pick coming into it; once I got to know the coaches, especially Ryan Pedon, they changed my mind,” Allen said. “The view he has for the program and the family atmosphere was one of a kind.
“It is a great spot for me as a player too, the development he sees in me and the role that he wants me to fill in the future is exactly what I was looking for,” Allen added. “He checked all of the boxes and then some.”
Recruiting service 247 Sports cites the 6-foot-11 Allen as a three-star recruit, the ninth-ranked prospect in the state and 46th-ranked center nationally. In addition to being named Player of the Year locally, the two-time All-Area selection was named an Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Class 4A All-State first-team selection and an Illinois Media All-State second-teamer.
He averaged 19 points per game last season, fifth in the area, hauled in an area-best 9.2 rebounds per game and was second in the area with 52 blocks on the season. The two-time All-SWSC Red Division selection had a dozen college offers, with two-thirds of them from Missouri Valley Conference, including ISU.
As he’s seen Allen blossom into one of the top players in the state and big men in the country, Boilermakers head coach Ryan Kemp has also seen the Allen family devote themselves to helping Nick find the perfect fit, just like they did with Nick’s brother, 2023 Bradley-Bourbonnais graduate and current Eastern illinois football player Matt Allen.
“We are so happy for Nick and his family. They have been through a very rigorous process trying to find the right fit for Nick for almost two-and-a-half years,” Kemp said. “There is a lot of pressure from many different voices during the college recruiting process.
“They have been open to listening to all of those voices and in the end, Nick felt like Illinois State was the most persistent throughout the process and had the best vision for his academic and basketball career,” he contunued. “Coach Peden and his staff were tremendous to Nick, his family and the BBCHS coaching staff.”
Allen was one of three future Redbirds to commit Monday, along with Waubonsie Valley guard Tyreek Coleman and forward Isaac Ericksen from North Carolina. Allen and Coleman are summer teammates with the Illinois Wolves, and the trio went on their visits together, giving the three plenty of familiarity with one another to decide to become the next generation of ISU hoops.
“We were the top three prospects for ISU at the time [of our visit], and we all got along great and loved what Pedon had in mind for us as players and people,” Allen said. “So, we talked about it on the visit and wanted to team up, and committed on the same day.”
Before he sports the Redbird red and white, Allen has one more season in Boiler red and white. With at least 18 wins in each of his first three seasons, including a pair of SWSC Red title in that span, Allen and the Boilers are no stranger to success, and look to find even more of it this winter.
“I’m super excited for the high school season coming up,” Allen said. “I just get to focus on my game and play hard knowing that I am settled for college. It’s a great feeling.”