Growth spurt has Gorman forward on recruiters’ radar

Results from a test projected Rosco Allen’s height would top out at 6 feet 2 inches. He was 8 years old and living in Hungary at the time.

“I guess it was off a bit,” Allen said. “I’ve been doing some growing over the last couple years.”

Two years ago, when he arrived at Bishop Gorman, Allen was a 6-2 guard with a promising future in basketball. He’s now a 6-8 forward, and his potential is off the charts.

A list Allen keeps in his cell phone best exhibits his ascent as a prospect.

“All the schools that have offered me? I have them written down,” he said, punching a few buttons and holding up the screen.

He reads the list: “Arizona, Arizona State, Brigham Young, Colorado, Harvard, Northwestern, Oregon State, San Diego State, Santa Clara, UCLA, UC Irvine, UNLV, USC, Utah and Washington State.”

Allen calls Las Vegas “my second home.” He was raised in Budapest, Hungary, until his parents, Brigitta and Daniel, moved the family here five years ago.

At 12, Allen started attending camps at UNLV, and last summer he received his first offer from Rebels coach Lon Kruger.

“At first UNLV offered me, and that was just a great start having a local school with interest in you,” Allen said. “I love the coaching staff. They built a great relationship with me.”

Other coaches are jumping in to try to form a strong bond with Allen. Kruger and Arizona coach Sean Miller were sitting courtside Saturday as Allen’s team, Pump N Run 2012 (Calif.), played in the adidas Super 64 at Foothill.

Down 17 points with 12 minutes remaining, Pump N Run rallied for a 58-56 victory over Full Package Athletics (Ill.).

“That was a crazy one,” said Allen, who finished with 18 points.

Allen was a reserve on Gorman’s Class 4A state championship team last season. He will play a bigger role as a junior, and his classmate, 6-5 guard Shabazz Muhammad, is another UNLV recruiting target.

Rivals.com ranks Muhammad the No. 4 player in the nation in the class of 2012. Allen has risen to No. 17.

“Not a whole lot of people knew about him before April,” Gaels coach Grant Rice said. “He’s going to continue to be a really good player, and he has a real bright future at the college level.

“He shoots the ball as well as anyone you’ll see. He does well handling the ball. He does a lot of different things well. He’s got an all-around game, and it’s just getting better.”

Despite that errant test nine years ago, Allen said his growth spurt was not totally unexpected. His father is 6-6, and his mother is 5-10. Now that he’s taller, his game has changed.

“I’ve had to adjust a lot, and now I’m able to play inside and out,” Allen said. “I used to just be able to shoot the ball, and now I’ve rounded my game to be able to attack and things like that.”

Allen is 195 pounds and soon to get bigger, because Rice plans to put him on a more intense weightlifting schedule after the summer.

“He’s definitely on the thin side, but he doesn’t play soft,” Rice said. “He’s got that ability at 6-8 to really be a true wing player.

“Rosco’s a complete team guy. He’s never interested in his own stats and stuff like that. But he can definitely score, and he’ll have big games.”

One stat does interest Allen: He said his grade-point average is about 3.7.

“I want to go to a school with a good basketball program,” he said, “and then also I want to get a good education. My mom really wants me to get into that, so I’ll make her happy. She’s definitely into my education.”