Todd Blanchfield
July 23, 2020
Ben Allen
- Nationality: AUS
- Date of Birth: 30/12/86
- Place of Birth: Melbourne (VIC)
- Position: CTR
- Height (CM): 211
- Weight (KG): 116
- Junior Assoc: VIC - Diamond Valley
- College: St Mary's of California / Indiana
- NBL DEBUT: 22/10/10
- AGE AT DEBUT: 23
- LAST NBL GAME: 22/03/14
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 27
- NBL History: Townsville 2011-13 | Sydney 2014
- Championships: 0
- None
BIO: Ben Allen was born in Melbourne (VIC) and began playing basketball as a junior with the Diamond Valley basketball program. Allen received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 2004. He spent two years year there and played for the program’s state league team (2004, 2005).
NBL EXPERIENCE
Ben Allen made his NBL debut with the Townsville Crocodiles at 23 years of age. He scored four points in his first game.
As a rookie, Allen averaged 3.2 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.4 assists as the Crocodiles finished in second place (17-11).
2011/12
After losing in the semifinals for three straight years under coach Trevor Gleeson, the Crocodiles chose to move in a different direction, replacing him with US coach Paul Woolpert. Townsville also chose to move on from imports Will Blalock and Rosell Ellis, replacing them with former NBA guard Eddie Gill and Elvin Mims. The team retained the majority of their local roster from the previous season, the only major change being Jacob Holmes (via Adelaide) and Townsville junior Mitchell Norton replacing Nathan Crosswell (to Adelaide) and the retiring Brad Williamson.
Just prior to the season kicking off, Russell Hinder would suffer a broken leg that would see his sidelined for the entire NBL season. Greg Vanderjagt, who was unable to make a NBL roster the season before, signed on as a late replacement.
Peter Crawford (14.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.6 assists) and import Eddie Gill (13.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists) led the way statistically, but a breakout season from Todd Blanchfield (7.2 points and 3.3 rebounds), which took him from the end of the bench to being a member of the starting unit, gave the Crocodiles a completely different look. Blanchfield saw his minutes double from 9.7 to 21.3 per game and his ability to space the floor (shooting 47% from the field) made it far easier for frontcourt players Jacob Holmes (10.4 points, 9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists), Luke Schenscher (10.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.2 assists) and Mims (9.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.3 steals) to score in the paint.
Townsville floated between third and fifth spot all season but a late season slump, where they lost the final two games of the season, dropped them to equal fourth place, equal to record to the Cairns Taipans (15-13). With Townsville and Cairns also having a 2-2 record in their head to head matchups, Townsville’s higher points percentage gave them the final playoff spot and dropped Cairns into fifth place.
Under the guidance of head coach Shawn Dennis, Townsville faced off against first seed New Zealand in the semifinals, comfortably winning game one (99-82) on the Breakers home court. Despite the Crocodiles strong form in game one, the Breakers evened the series in game two (83–94) at Townsville, before closing out the series in 17-point win in game three (97–80). New Zealand would go on to defeat Perth in the Grand Final series.
Despite seeing limited playing opportunities with the Crocodiles, Allen played in all 31 of the club’s games, averaging 2.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 0.3 assists.
2012/13
The Townsville Crocodiles opened the 2012/13 season with Paul Woolpert returning as head coach and a revamped lineup that included several key changes to the frontcourt. With the departures of veterans Luke Schenscher and Greg Vanderjagt, local centre Ben Allen stepped into a larger role across the season. Initially, the Crocs signed import Curtis Withers to bolster their interior presence, but Withers was released during the pre-season after failing to impress, with Allen’s pre-season form one of the reasons the team opted to move forward with a local rotation.
Allen appeared in 25 games and averaged 3.7 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 0.4 assists per game while playing primarily as a backup big man. He offered spot minutes behind starters Russell Hinder and, later in the season, Luke Nevill, after Nevill joined the club following a stint with the Indiana Pacers. Allen’s ability to stretch the floor and defend multiple positions provided valuable depth, and he remained a consistent part of the rotation even after the roster reshuffle.
Despite a rough 0–10 start, Townsville rallied mid-season behind the play of Gary Ervin and Nevill, winning 10 of their final 18 games. The Crocodiles narrowly missed the playoffs, finishing second last on the ladder with a 10–18 record.
SYDNEY KINGS
2013/14
During the 2013/14 season Allen averaged 0.4 points, 0.7 rebounds, and 0.1 assists and helped the Kings finish the regular season in a sixth place (12-16).
Ben Allen played four seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Townsville Crocodiles and the Sydney Kings. He averaged 2.7 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.2 assists in 101 NBL games.
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-14 | 27 | Sydney | 12-16 (6) | 15 | 56.0 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 75% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 75% | 0% | |
| 2012-13 | 26 | Townsville | 10-18 (7) | 25 | 297.0 | 93 | 49 | 9 | 13 | 36 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 48 | 34 | 102 | 33% | 5 | 19 | 26% | 20 | 25 | 80% | 41% | 36% | 15 |
| 2011-12 | 25 | Townsville | 15-13 (4) | 31 | 325.0 | 85 | 70 | 9 | 22 | 48 | 5 | 6 | 18 | 70 | 36 | 89 | 40% | 2 | 13 | 15% | 11 | 21 | 52% | 43% | 42% | 7 |
| 2010-11 | 24 | Townsville | 17-11 (2) | 30 | 306.0 | 95 | 51 | 11 | 19 | 32 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 48 | 38 | 90 | 42% | 6 | 18 | 33% | 13 | 17 | 76% | 48% | 46% | 12 | Totals | 101 | 984 | 279 | 181 | 30 | 60 | 121 | 12 | 19 | 41 | 176 | 111 | 285 | 38.9% | 13 | 50 | 26.0% | 44 | 63 | 69.8% | 45% | 41% | 15 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-14 | 27 | Sydney | 12-16 (6) | 15 | 3.7 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 75% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 75% | 0% | |
| 2012-13 | 26 | Townsville | 10-18 (7) | 25 | 11.9 | 3.7 | 2.0 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 1.4 | 4.1 | 33% | 0.2 | 0.8 | 26% | 0.8 | 1.0 | 80% | 41% | 36% | 15 |
| 2011-12 | 25 | Townsville | 15-13 (4) | 31 | 10.5 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 2.9 | 40% | 0.1 | 0.4 | 15% | 0.4 | 0.7 | 52% | 43% | 42% | 7 |
| 2010-11 | 24 | Townsville | 17-11 (2) | 30 | 10.2 | 3.2 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 3.0 | 42% | 0.2 | 0.6 | 33% | 0.4 | 0.6 | 76% | 48% | 46% | 12 | Total | 101 | 9.7 | 2.8 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 2.8 | 38.9% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 26.0% | 0.1 | 0.5 | 69.8% | 45% | 41% | 15 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 15 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
|---|
STATE LEAGUE EXPERIENCE
- AIS 2004-05 | Canberra 2016-18 | Diamond Valley 2019, 2021
FIBA EXPERIENCE
Allen was also a part of Australias Under 21 team for the FIBA Under 21 World Championships in 2005 which finished fourth.
COLLEGE
Allen began his NCAA career at Indiana, joining the Hoosiers for the 2005-06 season and playing on a 19–12 team that went 9–7 in Big Ten play and reached the NCAA Tournament Round of 32.
In that 2005-06 season at Indiana, Allen appeared in 31 games and made 2 starts, totaling 311 minutes and scoring 100 points (3.2 per game) while shooting 37-for-87 from the field (42.5%), hitting 17-for-43 from three (39.5%), and going 9-for-17 at the free throw line (52.9%).
Across those 31 games in 2005-06, he recorded 53 total rebounds (19 offensive, 34 defensive), with 12 assists, 6 steals, 7 blocks, and 23 turnovers.
Allen returned for Indiana’s 2006-07 season, when the Hoosiers went 21–11 overall, finished 10–6 in conference play, and again advanced to the NCAA Tournament Round of 32.
In that 2006-07 season at Indiana, Allen played 24 games and made 4 starts, logging 212 minutes and 19 total points (0.8 per game) on 9-for-27 shooting (33.3%), going 0-for-1 on three-pointers, and making 1-of-3 free throws (33.3%), while adding 37 rebounds (17 offensive, 20 defensive), 9 assists, 3 steals, 6 blocks, and 16 turnovers.
After leaving Indiana, Allen transferred to Saint Mary’s College of California and redshirted the 2007-08 season under NCAA transfer rules before becoming eligible to suit up for the Gaels in 2008-09.
In 2008-09 at Saint Mary’s, Allen played on a 28–7 squad that finished 10–4 in WCC play, and he appeared in 28 games off the bench, averaging 9.1 minutes while producing 62 points (2.2 per game) on 23-for-69 shooting (33.3%), 7-for-30 from three (23.3%), and 9-for-13 at the line (69.2%), alongside 1.8 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.
Allen’s senior season at Saint Mary’s in 2009-10 came on a 28–6 team that went 11–3 in the WCC, won the WCC Tournament title, and made a run to the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen as a No. 10 seed, beating No. 7 Richmond 80–71 and No. 2 Villanova 75–68 before falling to No. 3 Baylor 72–49.
In that 2009-10 season, Allen started all 34 games and averaged 27.6 minutes while putting up 10.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game, and during the WCC Tournament championship win over No. 18 Gonzaga (81–62) he hit four three-pointers as part of a career-high 20 points with 9 rebounds, then led Saint Mary’s in the Sweet Sixteen loss to Baylor with 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting.
Across his NCAA career spanning Indiana and Saint Mary’s, Allen’s combined totals were 117 games and 40 starts with 1,715 minutes, 545 points (4.7 per game), 399 rebounds, 114 assists, 31 steals, and 45 blocks, while shooting 205-for-460 from the field (44.6%), 70-for-191 from three (36.6%), and 65-for-89 at the free throw line (73.0%), and he earned 2010 All-WCC Tournament recognition during Saint Mary’s title run.
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