Ray Allen, NBA legend, takes high school prep job
Ray Allen feels like the best high school coach of all time, already. That’s obviously an exaggeration, but the NBA Hall of Famer will now make his run as the new Director of Boys and Girls Basketball and the head boys coach at Gulliver Prep in Miami.
The journey of Ray Allen
Allen starred at Hillcrest High School in South Carolina and UConn before being selected with the fifth overall pick in the 1996 draft. He played for the Milwaukee Bucks, Seattle SuperSonics, Boston Celtics and Miami Heat during an 18-year NBA career that ended in 2014.
Allen finished his NBA career with averages of 18.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game. Ray was a 40.0% career shooter from behind the three-point line, including a career-best 45.3% in 2011-12.
The 46-year-old California native was one of the most decorated guards of his generation, earning 10 All-Star selections and winning NBA titles with the Celtics in 2008 and the Heat in 2013.
Allen was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in September of 2018.
Ray Allen going going, back to Miami
Yes, the subheading above is a terrible Will Smith reference, but it’s true.
We tend to remember Allen’s time in Boston, rightly so. He’s one of the most iconic Celtics of all time, but this new gig will bring Allen back to a place where he had a ton of success in a short time.
After feeling unappreciated and non-prioritized during the 2012 off-season,. Allen rejected a two-year, $12 million offer to return to Boston and accepted a three-year deal with the Miami Heat. During Allen’s first season with the Miami Heat, he averaged 10.9 points per game and made 88.6% of his free throws while playing an average of 25.8 minutes per game. playing Milwaukee in Game 3 of the first round of the playoffs, Allen made his 322nd career three-pointer in the playoffs, which broke Reggie Miller’s record for most three-pointers made in NBA playoff history.
In 2013, Allen picked up his $3.23 million player option to stay in Miami. During the regular season, Allen played in 73 games, starting 9 of them, averaging 9.6 points and shooting 37 percent from three-point range. In the playoffs, the sharp-shooter helped lead Miami to an Eastern Conference Finals rematch, Allen hit four 3-point shots in the fourth quarter and put them up 2–1 in the series. The Heat won the series in six games to advance to the NBA Finals for the fourth straight year and Allen’s second. The Heat faced the Spurs again in the 2014 NBA Finals, but they lost the series in five games.
If you follow high school basketball in Florida, or anywhere really, it’ safe to say Allen’s Gulliver Prep squad will be must-see.