By Jimmy Lemke
Sports Editor
In an unfortunate series of events, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee lost one of their top recruits for the season, Joe Allen.
The junior forward who played for Whitnall High School through 2000, Allen spent most of this past decade around the world while serving for the U.S. Army. Following a stint on the All-Army basketball team, Allen played two seasons at St. Mary’s College in Texas before transferring to UWM during last season.
The 6′6”, 230-pound forward was expected to be a big part of the Panther rotation in the post, seeing as he is a strong player and one of the tallest on the team. Without Allen, time in the post will be divided up between freshmen Tim Flowers, Kevin Johnson and Anthony Hill, sophomore Jason Averkamp, and seniors Paige Paulsen, Torre Johnson, and Marcus Skinner.
Joe Allen tore his quadriceps tendon by his knee while performing lay-up drills during Panther Madness. Following a second MRI last Tuesday, Allen went into surgery on Wednesday to repair the tear. He will miss the entire 2007-08 season.
Allen was anxious for the season to start, but now will have to wait another year to take the court. Allen is optimistic about his future in Milwaukee. “I haven’t played a game yet, but it seems like it will work out. My past has made me a bit of a pessimist, but they’ve treated me like family since I’ve been here.”
