Maryland basketball season review: Seth Allen

Seth Allen

(#4, 6'1", 190, guard)

Seth Allen will forever hold the distinction of being Mark Turgeon's first commit in his time with Maryland (three days before Nick Faust re-committed to the program), playing a solid role as a true freshman in 2012-13 and showing potential as a volume outside shooter -- something Maryland was sorely missing.

In late October, it was announced Allen had broken his foot -- a tough injury for any player to recover from (see Pe'Shon Howard), but an especially tough injury for a Maryland team that had nearly no depth at the point guard position. Allen missed the first dozen games, including close losses against UConn, Oregon State, George Washington and Boston, returning in late December.

Stats

Allen ended up averaging 13.4 points and 3.0 assists per game as a sophomore, ranking second and first on the team in those respective categories. His field goal percentage rose nearly 20 percent, his three-point percentage sky-rocketed (up from 31.2% to 38.0%), his free throw percentage ticked up slightly (a 6% increase) and he even turned the ball over less while playing nearly eight more minutes per game.

The advanced statistics show Allen's marked improvement as well. His offensive rating rose from 96.8 to 111.8, all of his shooting numbers rose and he recorded an assist on more than one out of every five baskets while he was on the floor. His biggest improvement, however, came in his turnover rate -- the percentage of Allen's possessions (possessions ending in Allen making a shot, missing a shot that is not rebounded by the offense or a turnover) that resulted in a turnover. Allen's turnover rate was 23.8% his freshman year, but fell to 14.8% this past season.

Everyone saw that Allen improved from his freshman year to his sophomore campaign -- he was more capable of taking over games, and was Maryland's second most dangerous scorer when he was healthy. But the stats paint an even friendlier picture, as we see a guard whose shooting and ball-handling are improving rapidly.

High point

A career-high 32 points against Florida State on February 8, avenging the Terrapins' blowout loss to the Seminoles less than a month before. Allen made 11 of his 15 field goal attempts, including a staggering seven of 10 three-pointers, with four rebounds, two assists and one turnover.

Low point

Besides the injury? The first Florida State game, where he missed all eight of his shots (including all six of his three-point attempts), scoring just one point.

2014-15 outlook

We know one thing about Seth Allen's role next season: he will definitely be the number two point guard, behind incoming freshman Melo Trimble. That's if all goes according to plan -- Turgeon is planning on starting Trimble, but freshmen are inherently an unknown quantity, and it would certainly not be shocking to see Allen start at the position early in the year.

That being said, let's assume the plan works and Trimble does start at the point. Does Allen then start at the two, moving Dez Wells to the three and forcing a smaller lineup? It's certainly an interesting question, as Maryland has potential starters at the three and four in Jake Layman and Evan Smotrycz (while Damonte Dodd, who we hear made big strides towards the end of the year, and Michal Cekovsky will likely compete for the center job with Charles Mitchell coming off the bench). It may just be a matchup scenario, with Maryland picking between bigger (Wells/Layman/Smotrycz) and smaller (Allen/Wells/Layman) lineups throughout the season depending on the opponent, but it will certainly be one of the more interesting storylines next season. One thing's for sure, however -- the more Maryland gets Allen on the floor and puts the ball in his hands, the better.