Gorman’s Allen commits to Stanford

Rosco Allen is a rare find on the basketball court, a 6-foot-9-inch forward with a smooth shooting stroke.

But the Bishop Gorman High School senior is equally talented in the classroom, with tentative plans to major in engineering in college.

Allen will get the best of both worlds, announcing Monday he has made an oral commitment to Stanford. He plans to sign with the Cardinal on Nov. 9.

“Their academics are incomparable,” Allen said. “And it’s a Pac-12 team. It just felt like a great fit on and off the court.”

Allen chose Stanford over offers from UNLV and North Carolina. He made official campus visits to UNLV and Stanford in September and said the Rebels “were in it, definitely.”

Stanford brought out its big guns during Allen’s trip. He met quarterback Andrew Luck and former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

“It was great, just a great experience,” Allen said.

Allen averaged 14.1 points and 6.2 rebounds as a junior to help Gorman win the Sunset Region title. He continued to blossom on the summer circuit with the Las Vegas Lakers.

“This year, people are going to see that he’s a lot more aggressive,” said Gaels coach Grant Rice, brother of UNLV coach Dave Rice. “Rosco is just so versatile at his height.

“I’m happy for him and his family. Stanford’s been recruiting him for three years, and he’ll definitely be successful there.”

Allen added: "Definitely, it felt like a great fit. I didn't want to wait any longer. It narrows my focus now, not having to worry about where I'm going to go and instead on the (upcoming) season."

UNLV has two remaining scholarships to give in its 2012 class. The Rebels remain involved with 6-8 Gorman forward Ben Carter, who watched UNLV’s practice Monday, and 6-6 Gorman swingman Shabazz Muhammad.

Grant Rice said he spoke with Muhammad on Monday and that the nation’s consensus No. 1 recruit plans to wait until the spring to choose a college.

NOTES — New Findlay Prep senior point guard Dominic Artis committed to Oregon on Sunday. Artis, a transfer from Richmond, Calif., pulled his previous commitment from UCLA. … Gorman will host a ceremony for its athletes signing with colleges at 11:30 a.m. Nov. 9.