Topic: Tony Allen

Anthony (Tony) Allen (born January 11, 1982 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American professional basketball player with the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA. As a swingman, he can play as a guard or forward.

Allen played at Chicago's Crane High School, where he was a basketball standout. At Crane, Allen played alongside future Celtics prospect Will Bynum. A 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m), 213 lb (97 kg; 15.2 st) shooting guard, Allen spent his freshman year (2000–01) playing for Butler County College in El Dorado, Kansas, where he averaged 16.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.8 steals, going on to being named Jayhawk West Conference Freshman of the Year. During his sophomore year (2001–02) at Wabash Valley College in Mount Carmel, Illinois, he led his team to 32–6 overall record and fourth place at the NJCAA championships.

For his final two college seasons (2002–2004), Allen transferred to Oklahoma State University (OSU), where he was named the national junior-college transfer of the year by collegeinsider.com, and cited by college basketball commentator Dick Vitale as one of the top three junior college transfers during his junior season. He was named the Big 12 Player of the Year his senior year, after averaging 16 points per game and leading the Cowboys to the Final Four. Allen became the first player in OSU history to score 1,000 career points in just two seasons. He graduated from Oklahoma State with a degree in education.