A two-time All-Ivy guard at Penn, 6-4 Jerome Allen was still trying to carve his niche in the NBA after two seasons spent with three teams.
Drafted in the second round by Minnesota in 1995, he averaged 2.6 points in 41 games as a rookie with the Timberwolves. Minnesota renounced his rights after the season and he signed as a free agent with the Indiana Pacers. He split his second pro season between Indiana and Denver before his rights were renounced by the Nuggets in July, 1997.
Allen was a three-time All-Ivy First Team selection who finished his collegiate career as the Quakers' all-time leader in assists (505) and steals (165), and he was the fifth-leading scorer in school history (1,488 points). He shared Player of the Year honors with Columbia's Buck Jenkins after a sophomore season in which he led the Ivy League with 5.3 apg. After a junior year in which he ranked third in the league with 4.6 apg, he led the league in assists at 5.8 apg and ranked third in scoring at 14.1 ppg as a senior, when he again earned Player of the Year honors. He ended his college career with a bang in his third straight NCAA Tournament appearance, scoring 30 points against Alabama.
As an NBA rookie, Allen appeared in 41 games as a reserve with the Timberwolves but logged only 362 minutes, and only 83 minutes in the final 55 games of the year. He missed 15 games in the second half of the season due to bursitis in his right knee.
Signed by the Pacers, he appeared in 51 games, all but one as a reserve, before being traded to Denver on Feb. 20 in exchange for Darvin Ham. He spent the last two months with the Nuggets and came off the bench in 25 games, but after the season his rights were renounced by Denver.
1998-1999 REGULAR SEASON
Signed for the remainder of the season by the Bucks on 5/5
Averaged 13.0 ppg, 5.6 apg and 3.3 rpg in 30 games this season for Limoges of the French League
1997-1998 REGULAR SEASON
1996-1997 REGULAR SEASON
Allen signed with Indiana on Aug. 17, 1996 and played in 51 games with the Pacers, averaging 3.2 ppg and 2.1 apg. He made his only start of the season on Feb. 16 against New York.
Four days later Allen was traded by the Pacers to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Darvin Ham. He saw only limited action for the Nuggets, averaging 2.6 points and 1.7 assists per game and tying his career high with seven assists in a 96-90 loss at San Antonio on April 8.
For the season, Allen appeared in 76 games and averaged 3.0 points and 2.0 assists in 12.4 minutes per game, shooting .353 from the field and .323 from three-point range.
1995-1996 REGULAR SEASON
Allen averaged 2.6 points and 1.2 assists in just 8.8 minutes per game as a rookie. He never really got untracked and saw just 83 minutes of playing time after Jan. 1. During that period he also spent 15 games on the injured list with bursitis of the right knee.
Though his field goal percentage was just .343, he hit 10-for-33 from three-point range for a .303 mark. Despite his limited action, he sank 10 of his last 25 attempts from behind the arc after missing his first eight tries.
Following the season, his rights were renounced by Minnesota and he signed with the Indiana Pacers.
