Temple's Allen testing draft waters

Several days after Temple lost its first-round NCAA tournament game to Cornell in late March, Owls junior Lavoy Allen reported to the Liacouras Center for his meeting with coach Fran Dunphy.

"Coach asked me if I was thinking about forgoing my senior year, and I said yes," Allen said.

Last Friday, the 6-foot-9 forward submitted his name for June's NBA draft. Since Allen has not hired an agent, he has the option of returning to Temple for his final season.

"I'm not leaning one way or the other right now," Allen said Tuesday.

A Pennsbury High graduate from Morrisville, Bucks County, Allen is one of 77 non-seniors who have declared for the draft. Sunday was the deadline for the players to make their intentions known, and they have until May 8 to withdraw and retain their college eligibility for 2010-11.

The 13-day window was mandated by the NCAA, and the period ends more than a month earlier than it has ended in recent years.

Last spring, players had until June 15 to change their minds; that was just 10 days before the draft. A June 14 date remains in place for the 2010 draft - in accordance with the collective-bargaining agreement between the league and the National Basketball Players Association - but it has been rendered moot by the new NCAA date.

A lot of the lobbying for the change was said to have been done by coaches in the Atlantic Coast Conference. One reason is that the coaches wanted to get rid of some of the uncertainties created when underclassmen go off to be evaluated by the NBA.

On Thursday, the league will release the list of early entrants. NBA teams then can begin working out prospects, but the invitees are not allowed to miss any classes as they visit teams.

Allen averaged 11.5 points and 10.7 rebounds to become the first Temple player to average a double-double since Ollie Johnson pulled it off in 1970-71. He already is a 1,000-point scorer. The forward was a first-team all-Atlantic Ten selection last season as the Owls went 29-6 and claimed their third consecutive conference tournament championship and NCAA berth.

Before testing the waters, Allen consulted his parents.

"They are real strong on me going back to school and getting my degree, but they said they'd support whichever way I go," he said. "Coach Dunphy said he'd help me through the process."

Allen said he likely would audition for the 76ers, the New York Knicks, and the New Jersey Nets in the coming days.

"Right now, some people say I may go second round, or undrafted," Allen said. "I want to go to these workouts and show that I am better than what maybe they've seen."