Portland State Basketball added to its strength inside with the signing of forward KJ Allen to the Viking program for 2023-24.
Allen, a 6-6, 255-pounder, spent the past two seasons at Texas Tech. In 2022-23 he averaged 2.4 points and 2.0 rebounds in 9.3 minutes per game.
"I am really excited for KJ to become part of the Portland State Viking family. He is a great person and a high character guy," said Coach Jase Coburn. "It was a very competitive recruiting process for KJ because other programs are aware of his talent and potential.
"KJ is going to bring tremendous experience to our team as he comes from a great program and has played at a high level. He is a tremendous scorer and rebounder. He can get up off the floor, defend at the rim and block shots. This is a huge addition to our team. I am excited for KJ to grow as a player at Portland State."
Originally from Los Angeles, Allen attended Winchester High School. He played one season at East Los Angeles College and was part of a team featured on Netflix's Last Chance U. He averaged 18.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game as a freshman during the 2019-20 season, starting all 30 games.
The Huskies went 29-1 before the coronavirus cut the season short. Allen was named South Coast Conference North Player of the Year after helping the team win 25 straight games and go 8-0 in conference play. He shot a remarkable .674 from the field and averaged 20.4 points per game while shooting .772 in conference play.
He did not play in 2020-21 as the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Allen then signed to play at Texas Tech in 2021.
Allen joins a Viking team that returns nine letterwinners, two starters and one redshirt. Allen is Coburn's fourth signee for the coming year.
GRANT-IN-AID SIGNEE
KJ Allen, 6-6, 255, SR, Los Angeles, CA (Winchester HS/East Los Angeles College/Texas Tech)
PREVIOUS SIGNEES
Kelcy Phipps, G, 6-2, 175, FR, Torrance, CA (Bishop Montgomery HS) – November 9, 2022 (NLI)
Ishmail Habib, G, 6-0, 175, SO, Chicago, IL (Bishop Walsh/South Plains College) – April 20, 2023 (grant-in-aid)
Tre-Vaughn Minott, C, 6-9, 260, JR, Montreal, Quebec (NBA Academy Latin America/South Carolina) – April 22, 2023 (grant-in-aid)
