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College coaches covet young Gorman swingman

Rosco Allen will be a new face on Bishop Gorman's boys basketball team this season after spending last year at the junior varsity level.

College coaches, though, need no introduction to the sophomore forward.

Allen, a 6-foot-7-inch swingman, said he has scholarship offers from UNLV, Arizona, Arizona State, Brigham Young, Santa Clara, Southern California and Washington State.

"What's funny is, some of the schools who came to see (varsity) got there kind of early," Gorman coach Grant Rice said. "I said, 'Because you guys are here early, you might as well watch the JV game.' He was hard not to notice."

More important, Allen starred on the summer tournament circuit with the Las Vegas Lakers and has continued to make a name for himself at various fall camps.

"It's just a great feeling to get looked at so early," said Allen, who plans to wait until after his junior year to make an oral commitment.

It doesn't hurt Allen's stock that he has grown about 3 inches since arriving at Gorman, Rice said.

"The scary thing is, he hasn't played one varsity minute yet," said Rice, who promoted Allen to the varsity team for last year's postseason. "He's got all these offers. That's a rare thing, but it just shows he's done a great job in the offseason."

Rice said UCLA and Stanford also are showing interest in Allen, whose strength is perimeter shooting.

Allen said he hopes to crack the starting lineup for the Gaels, who return 11 players from a team that won last year's Class 4A state title.

He is only one cog in a Gorman program packed with college prospects.

Rivals.com ranks sophomore wing Shabazz Muhammad the No. 8 overall prospect in the class of 2012.

Rice said senior guard Anson Winder has offers from UNR, BYU and Idaho, and senior point guard Johnathan Loyd has offers from Cal Poly, Northern Arizona, Southern Methodist and UC Riverside.

"What happens in the first few weeks of practice will determine who gets the most minutes for us," said Rice, whose team begins practice Nov. 14.

RECENT DECISIONS -- Seniors to make recent commitments include Centennial girls basketball player Alexis Byrd (Portland), Gorman girls soccer player Amanda Caufman (UNLV) and Gorman boys soccer player Sean Zaher (San Diego State).

Contact reporter Tristan Aird at taird@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203.

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