Ronald J. Dubois Sr.
May 19, 2008
Edna Besson
May 21, 2008
Ellender Memorial High School girls’ basketball coach Kenneth Dixon first watched Deana Allen’s game develop in middle school.
It was clear even then she had the physical tools and determination to become a great player.
After a standout four-year career as a starter at Ellender, Allen received her greatest recognition to date. She was named Louisiana Farm Bureau’s Miss Basketball for the 2007-08 season.
“I feel really honored and blessed,” said Allen, the first Lady Patriot to receive the award. “I feel I set my mark here at Ellender as far as girls’ basketball.”
In her senior season, Allen averaged 23 points, 10 rebounds and five assists per game. She led the Lady Patriots to within 69 seconds of claiming its second consecutive state championship.
“The longer the game goes on the stronger she gets,” said Dixon. “That’s an exceptional quality. She just a tough kid, very intense.”
For the 5-foot-9-inch Allen, the biggest improvement in her game has been her play in the paint.
“She’s not the biggest player on the court, but when we needed to go inside, we selected her to post up,” Dixon said.
Although the stats have progressed every year, Allen believes her freshman (2004-05) and junior seasons (’06-07) were her best.
“My freshman year, people weren’t expecting me to do the things I did,” she said. “I shocked them. My junior year was just my breakout season.”
That breakout season included the Lady Patriots 37-32 win over Southwood High for the 5A-state championship and being named Class 5A Most Valuable Player. She was named Class 4A MVP this season.
Allen put Ellender up 49-45 in the state title game in March against St. Michael Catholic High School. However, the Lady Warriors scored six points in the last minute for a 51-49 upset of the top-seeded Lady Patriots.
“It was disappointing because I feel we have the best starting five in the state,” she said. “To get that close and not get the trophy, it hurt a little.”
Past winners of the Miss Basketball award, which the Louisiana Sports Writers Association has given since 1996, have had tremendous success in college.
Alana Beard (2000) and Seimone Augustus (2002) – their schools’ all-time leading scorers (Duke and LSU, respectively) – led their teams to multiple Final Fours and were named National Players of the Year before getting drafted to the WNBA.
“I can definitely see myself playing at the next level and doing some of the things they did or even more,” said Allen.
That will not happen at the University of New Orleans though. After signing a letter-of-intent with the Lady Privateers, Allen has decided to play the next two years at Pensacola Junior College.
“There was a lot of pressure, and I signed in the early signing period,” she said. “I was just ready to get it over with, and it was one of the schools I was interested in at the time.”
She believes playing at a smaller school will help her as a person and an athlete.
“There were a lot of problems that started to occur – personal problems,” she said. “I feel like going to junior college first will ease my transition and set me on a different road.”
While Division I basketball is on hold, the future is still bright for Allen. She received her diploma on Monday, her drive to succeed is unwavering, and she has a support system backing her every move.
“I just feel real special at this moment, right now,” she concluded.
Ellender Memorial girls’ basketball coach Kenneth Dixon and Deana Allen show off the 2007-08 Louisiana Farm Bureau Miss Basketball trophy she recently received. * Photo by KEYON JEFF
