Highly touted wing Timmy Allen commits to Utah basketball

Timmy Allen, one of the Top 200 recruits nationally in next year’s incoming class, announced that he has committed to play for the University of Utah.

Allen, a 6-foot-5 wing player out of Red Mountain High School in Mesa, Ariz., posted Monday night on Twitter: “Happy to announce I have committed to the University of Utah.”

ESPN.com and Scout.com rank Allen a four-star recruit, while 247Sports labels him a three-star recruit and the top player in Arizona.

Todd Fazio coached Allen at Red Mountain this past season before resigning in the offseason to start a youth basketball academy. Fazio said the first attribute that stands out about Allen is his competitive nature whether in practice, open gyms, games or playing Ping-Pong.

“I’ve coached a lot of talented kids,” Fazio said. “I don’t think I’ve coached a kid with his talent that competes the way he does.”

Allen averaged 19.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.0 blocks and 1.0 steals per game in 12 games for Red Mountain last season. He sat out the first nine games of the season because he transferred to Red Mountain after having played the previous season at Desert Ridge. 

Allen earned First Team All-Region as well as a spot on the region’s All-Defensive Team. Red Mountain finished the year with an 18-9 overall record, and set a school record by winning 11 games in a row. The team won the East Valley Region for only the second time in school history, and qualified for the state tournament. Allen played in the state tournament despite an injured ankle.

“The biggest thing with him was he could guard every position on defense and he could play every position on offense,” Fazio said. “Timmy is not going to be a point guard in college, but he played point guard for us. He could really handle the ball [for a] good-sized kid. One thing that really stands out with him, as a coach, is his passing. He is one of the better passers that I’ve coached, just his ability to see things, his feel for the game.”

Last week, the Utes announced that 6-foot-5 shooting guard and Los Angeles-area standout Devante Doutrive joined the program with intentions of sitting out this coming season as a redshirt and playing for the Utes in 2018-19. Scout.com ranked Doutrive a four-star recruit. The same week, Oakland native Naseem Gaskin announced via Twitter that he has committed to join the Utes as part of its 2018-19 incoming class. ESPN.com and 247Sports ranks Gaskin, a 6-foot-3 guard, a three-star recruit.

Before the start of the fall semester, junior college guard Kolbe Caldwell, a 6-foot-5 combo guard from Bowling Green, Ky., joined the program as a transfer. Caldwell will have three seasons of eligibility remaining starting this year.

Utes on TV

The Pac-12 released its full men’s basketball television schedule for the upcoming season on Tuesday. All 29 of the Utes regular-season games will be televised this season, including 15 games on the Pac-12 Network and 10 games on ESPN’s family of networks. Fox Sports will also broadcast five Utes games.

Utah’s nonconference nuetral court matchup with Utah State in Vivint Smart Home Arena on Dec. 9, will air on the Pac-12 Network, while ESPN2 will broadcast the Utes’ nonconference meeting at BYU on Dec. 16.

The Utes’ games in Las Vegas as part of the MGM Resorts Main Events on Nov. 20 and Nov. 22 will air on ESPN’s networks. The game at Butler on Dec. 5 will air on FS1.