Terps: Ex-Lake Clifton star returns; Lucas joins Clippers

By David Driver
Posted: January 26, 2010

John Lucas was back in town on Sunday, but more on that later, including an anecdote from his relationship with coach Lefty Driesell. First, we’ll address this year’s Maryland team and a visit from a Baltimore player tonight.

Antoine Allen, a former basketball standout at Lake Clifton, will return home when Miami plays Maryland at Comcast Center at 7 p.m. Allen, a freshman guard for Miami, led Lake Clifton to a regional title as a senior in 2008 when he averaged 16 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists per game. He was a Baltimore Sun first-team All-Metro selection and is a product of the Cecil Kirk AAU program, which also produced former Miami star Jack McClinton.

Allen then played during the 2008-09 season at Mississippi Elite Christian Academy before heading to Miami. He has come off the bench in 15 of the first 19 games for the ‘Canes and is averaging 8.7 minutes and 3.3 points. He was also recruited by Maryland, Virginia, Florida State and Kentucky. His cousin, Marcus Hatten, is a former standout at St. John’s who has played overseas for several years. Hatten is also related to John Vaughan, a former Laurel High basketball and football standout who concluded his college hoop career last season at George Mason University.

Miami is 15-4, 1-4 in the ACC. One of the assistant coaches is Jake Morton, who scored 909 points with 194 assists during his college career at Miami. Morton, who is from Bowie, has been an assistant coach at Bowie State, St. Francis (Pa.) and James Madison. He played pro ball in Israel for six years.

Longtime Terps fans may be interested to know that Lucas, a former All-American guard, is now an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers were in Washington on Sunday and left town with a win over the Wizards, who continue to have their share of problems on and off the court.

Lucas had a phenomenal career at Maryland at a pivotal time in the Terps’ resurgence under  Driesell. He was the point guard and leader of a team that included seniors Tom McMillen and Len Elmore. He was so quick — Lucas also won an ACC singles title in tennis — that he was able to score without ever developing a jump shot. He also was tough, which Driesell knew.

When Lucas was a senior, Lefty would yell during timeouts when things weren’t going well, and he almost always directed his words at Lucas instead of Steve Sheppard, nickamed “The Bear,” Mo Howard and Brad Davis. Asked why he always appeared to be on the receiving end, Lucas said:

“Because Brad would just be in a daze (after that), Mo would pout, and The Bear would cry.”

Lucas never said whether Sheppard appreciated his humor.

Comment on this entry • No responses