KeVaughn Allen didn’t even know he won SEC Player of the Week.
“At first, I didn’t know what (coach Mike White) was talking about when he said congratulations,” the 6-foot-2 shooting guard said Monday.
Not getting caught up with individual accolades is a virtue of Allen's, the Gators’ silent, effective assassin.
While the sophomore averaged 18.5 points, five rebounds and three steals last week to earn the award, he's more grounded than cocky.
“He doesn’t understand sometimes how good a scorer he is,” White said about Allen. “He’s such an unselfish kid. We did have to prod him for a while.”
And 15 games into the season, the prodding is paying off.
Against Tennessee on Saturday, Allen led a second-half UF comeback during which he made every shot he took, including four critical three-pointers.
White said Allen is becoming one of the most consistent players on the team.
Over his last seven games, he’s shooting 51 percent from the field and 53 percent from beyond the arc.
The Gators (12-3, 3-0 SEC) will look for another dependable performance from the sophomore guard when they play Alabama (9-5, 2-0 SEC) on the road at 9 tonight.
In last season's matchup, Alabama held Florida to under 30-percent shooting from the field in the Crimson Tide’s 61-55 win at the O’Connell Center, their first win in the arena since 1995.
And Alabama’s defense has improved. The Crimson Tide rank 13th in the nation, allowing 61.1 points per game thanks to intimidating rim protection from forwards Jimmie Taylor and Donta Hall.
“Playing against Alabama was tough,” Allen said. “Going into the half, we (were) down, and we had made a lot of mistakes going into that game.”
Allen was largely neutralized against the Crimson Tide last year, scoring 12 points but shooting 1-for-5 on three-point shots.
But Allen was a freshman in that game, and this year, his teammates have made a point of urging their leading scorer to be more aggressive.
“Nights when I’m not on," Allen said, "you know, I’m just missing, and they just come up to me and try to encourage me to shoot, you know, just continue to shoot and eventually that it’ll fall. That means a lot to me.”
Individual success aside, Allen knows earning a weekly award won’t help UF’s chances of winning the SEC.
“We have a ways to go,” Allen said. “We’re trying to get to a point where we can play 40-minute games, you know. And as of right now, we’re not right there. Just gotta continue to work and eventually we’ll be there.”
Contact Matt Brannon at mbrannon@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @MattB_727.
UF coach Mike White talks with guard KeVaughn Allen during Florida’s 77-63 win against Georgia on Jan.2, 2016, in the O’Connell Center.
