Red Devils ready for fresh start

The Allen County men head into the 2018-19 season aiming much higher than what they achieved the year before.

The Red Devils went 10-21 last season. That record, in combination with some off-the-court issues, made the experience one to forget for head coach Andy Shaw.

Shaw, now heading into his seventh season at the wheel, aims to prove the slate is clean.

“Last year was a disappointment for me and I made sure that I let these guys know that,” Shaw said. “We need to be closer to .500 and really my goal is to get up to 20 wins. One of the main differences from last year’s team is our character. We had a lot of good kids on our team last year but we had some kids that weren’t doing things the right way. But to this point, this new group has bought in and done it right. If we’re acting right off the court we’ll perform on the court the way we need to.”

So far, that transformation seems to be going well for the Red Devils. Allen County returns five sophomores off of last year’s team and that core has helped Shaw integrate this season’s new players into the team.

“I’ve been pleased with our effort,” Shaw said. “We have guys that are trying to play the right way. We have 11 new guys and they’re trying to learn we’re still trying to get our system in. Attitudes have been good and they’ve been playing hard and those are the two things that are most important to me right now.”

Those freshmen are led by Park Forest, Ill., forward Malik Hardmon who turned down scholarships from several Division II four-year schools to take a shot at junior college. In the Red Devils scrimmages heading into the season, Hardmon scored in double-digits throughout play and is expected to keep that offensive output going throughout the year, especially with the Red Devils losing both of last year’s leading scorers.

Other newcomers who are expected to make an early impact include freshman guard Trez Hankins from Moore, Okla. and Richmond, Va.’s Nathan Williams who is a sophomore transfer and the team’s tallest player at 6’8”.

“That lack of size was somewhat by design,” Shaw said. “My better teams have always been on the small side. This year we’re probably one of the smaller teams in the conference and that’s OK because that’s kind of where the game is trending. Positionless basketball. You see it in the upper levels of Divison I and even the NBA. We want to play fast and up-tempo and have fun.”

Leading the way for the returners is sophomore point guard Perry Carroll out of Ottawa who’s the team’s top returning scorer at 10.8 points per game and is expected to be a focal point on both sides of the ball for Allen this season.

“He’s going to be someone we lean on early to control the game and to get guys in the right spots,” Shaw said. “He’s our quarterback. He leads everything that we do, offense, defense and off the court. He’s emerged as our leader. I don’t think he’ll be our high point man but he will be involved in everything that we do.”

Also expected to help out is Darius Love who had a really nice first semester but had to sit out during the second semester due to ineligibility. In his 14 games played last season, he averaged 10.6 points per game and 3.5 rebounds. 

The Red Devils were picked last in the preseason KJCCC men’s basketball coaches poll.

Allen opens up at home on Friday when they host Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa for the first game of the Allen Classic at 7 p.m. They’ll play Labette on Saturday at 7 p.m. as well.