Naturally, the players and coaches in the Huskies locker room were frustrated by the loss as was most everyone else back on campus in Storrs, Conn. But so too was a UConn old-timer who left the school 14 years ago: Ray Allen of the Celtics.
"I was disappointed," Allen said prior to the Celtics' meeting with the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night. "Like most guys that I played with, guys that I've seen or talked to in the past couple days, we were all disappointed.
"I don't even know the last time we lost to St. John's," he continued. "We've always had their number, and just, first round of the Big East tournament, the players at UConn, traditionally we go into that tournament with our heads held high looking to make some real noise. You know, our season was hanging in the balance. The last couple games were big, and it just seemed like we didn't come to play. So yeah, I was disappointed."
Allen spent three years at UConn between 1993 and '96 and earned Big East Player of the Year honors as a junior before leaving to enter the NBA draft. The one-time first-team All-American was selected No. 5 overall in the 1996 draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, but he still remains in close contact with coach Jim Calhoun's program to this day.
"Mostly in the summer," Allen said. "Mostly in the late summer, going into September. Just going up there to play, to get some pickup games. I work with some of the guys and I use the training room. So I'm around quite a bit before our season starts."
Allen is the lone UConn alum on the Celtics roster, though the visiting Grizzlies sport three former Huskies in Rudy Gay, Marcus Williams and last summer's No. 2 overall draft pick, Hasheem Thabeet.
