He was almost out this year.. Got thrown a life line at the last minute. Apparently Pat Reidy has been working with him and he's improved.. But his main issue has been confidence. So jury is still out i say.

I hope he does have a break out year, otherwise this will be his last.

would rater see him not shoot 3's and improve inside game where he should be.

Pat Reidy has been working with him since before the start of last NBL season, so it's been going on for a while now.

From the accounts I've heard, Pat and the Crocs veterans reckon they had never seen a lazier, more unprofessional kid than when he first came into the league. Arrogant as hell, and thought he was going to come in and dominate the league straight out of St Mary's. That anecdote is followed up by Pat saying he has done a complete 180 to the point where he is now one of the most professional guys on the team, and one of the hardest workers in the league.

At times you get the feeling that he is one breakout game away from being a legitimate pro player, and it's all just a confidence issue. At other times you find yourself asking if he has learnt a thing in his two pro seasons. The kid hasn't dunked the ball once in an NBL game yet. Isn't that kind of weird for a guy a hair under seven foot who has seen plenty of court time through 61 NBL games?

One problem with Ben is that he is reeeeeally slow. Defenders can pick what he is about to do three seconds before he does it. He is a lot slower than people think he is from afar. He gets his fadeaways blocked routinely because guys just read it and react because they have plenty of time for him to turn over his left shoulder. Slow footspeed and bad footwork are a bad combination for big body. That's where Pat comes in.

Secondly - he has seemingly bad core strength which combined with the bad footwork = bad balance (and bad positioning in the post). You will often see him pushed out of position on the low block by smaller, skinnier defenders because they have better body control, footwork, and core strength. Again, Reidy can show him how to keep his center of gravity low in the post and where to put his feet, but the strength and conditioning staff have a role to play here too.

The other problem I see with Ben is he seems at times a little confused in that he was a stretch big and now he's being told to be a banger. Would he have been better off to just be left as a soft, cocky shooter who could stretch the floor and provide a little offense off the bench? He wouldn't be a franchise center or even a starter, but at least he would be a contributer. Right now he is giving nothing to the team.

I hope that what has happened here is that Pat Reidy has broken him down before he can build him back up again, erasing all the bad habits taught to him at St Mary's and over his junior career to the point where he is no longer a stretch four, or a banging center -- but a blank slate. The old "one step back, two steps forward under the tutelage of an NBL legend" trick...

Here's hoping.

I am somewhat bemused by the "bad habits taught to him at St Mary's" comment.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/27054/ben-allen

He received few minutes at Indiana (his first stop in college). I can't claim to have followed him closely during this part of his career but I get the general impression that his time in Indiana was limited because they didn't want him to be a stretch forward/big and were trying to remodel him into an inside player. I get the impression he wasn't too interested.

After transferring, sitting out his redshirt season he got few minutes his first season at St Mary's precisely because of all the things that people have been talking about his first two seasons in the NBL. His senior season he had a very defined role and was able to essentially play as a stretch 4 with Omar Samhan doing all the dirty work on the inside at the 5. He had a decent pick and pop, passed quite well out of the high post and finished okay on the inside when McConnell or Delly found him for open looks. He also seemed to gain a lot of confidence becase he got to do the thing he's quite good at and seemingly likes doing. ie shooting threes. (46 of 117 in 34 games)

I guess my general point is that the bad habits existed long before he got to Saint Mary's and if you'd watched the progression between his junior and senior seasons you'd realise how many good things he learnt during his time there.

Disclaimer: Yes, I am a Gaels fan.

Corey Webster will have a big year. Mark my words.

Kiss of death? Remember Heal talking up Daniel Joyce?

Nothing wrong with a big prone to jacking threes (stop laughing, all of you!), if they make them. Allen was 2/13 3P last season.

We've seen a few mostly unheralded bigs drop away from the league, like Behrendorff and Vanderjagt. Pledger's been one of the few, not-so-dynamic but gradual improvers.

Remember Allen did his best stretch 4 work, while Omar was inside dominating (scoring and rebounding)

The NBL generally kills big guys, as it is a small man's league (see Worthington as a dominant physical presence!).

I have watched Allen and he has nothing in the NBL, not a consistent enough shooter to make up for all his other weaknesses (too slow, cant/wont defend, wont rebound etc etc).

I don't have a problem with the guy, but sometimes it just doesn't work out (see Axel Dench). Its kinda funny and sad that he would have to work his ass off just to be a poor man's Andrew Goodwin

Another problem with Allen (and to a lesser extent other underperforming Crocs youngsters Blanchfield and Mick Cedar), is that since John Rillie left the club, there hasn't been a senior voice of reason on the playing roster. Allen hasn't really had a benevolent teacher on the team, since Rillie left before he came.

Russell Hinder is a fine "hype" guy, but he is not a level-headed rock on the court. He doesn't really hold guys accountable, and he doesn't have many skills to teach. He is more of a "G-up" guy, and sometimes he pumps himself up too much to the point where he isn't focused and usually turns in poor performances in do-or-die games.

Peter Crawford and Luke Schenscher are/were great players for the club, but were not leaders in any sense of the word. Holmes, again, is not really a leader. Those guys are more of the "i will carry my weight and do my job on my own, so you should too" style of veteran.

Watching John Rillie guide Brad Newley from a raw talent into a well-rounded professional player and NBA draft pick was one of the greatest things I've seen in the history of the club. With all the young guys on the roster (Cedar, Cedar, Norton, Allen, Blanchfield), they really need a veteran presence to step up and shephard the flock on the court.

Would great to see Holmes step up and be that guy.

He's on a two year contract, so he'll be here for a while at least - might even play out his career in Townsville. In his prime right now at 28.

So he wasn't exactly the first option

Dan has proved time and time again he is unable to play defense. He has poor core body strength, is unable to slide his feet and refuses to take contact through his chest. Get's blown by time and time again at SEABL level.

Thankfully Ballarat run the shuffle, Dan can be hidden in the offense at the 2 spot.

So he had one good defensive game against CJ. Too be honest CJ put up so many poor contested shots in that game from watching the video anyone carrying a hand to those shots could of been considered to have played good D.

I wouldn't really consider development players "NBL players" when you're talking up a calibre of player though. Coenraad is one thing, but surely Joyce should be ahead of others though having had a good amount of actual game experience.