Allison's scoring was unexpected. But Allison's defense was a greater concern. After Utah coach Rick Majerus compared him with Carter and Tom Gugliotta in mid-November, Allison's game went into a funk. Smith told Allison Monday he would be benched if he didn't improve. It got into my head that I needed to play harder.
Offense is an afterthought.
But after averaging 4.7 points in 15.5 minutes a game last season, most experts figured his scoring would soar when his minutes did. Allison is averaging 22.2 minutes a game, but he tends to vanish at times. He scored just five points against Utah, three against Maryland and none against Indiana. He took no more than three shots in any of those games. He just needs to shoot.