I love the Last Chance U series from Netflix. The original school of East Mississippi Community College was legendary and I didn't think the show would ever be topped. Year two at the school was even better and featured former, and future, Red Raider Dakota Allen, who used his time at EMCC like a season abroad. The show then went to Independence, Kansas and Los Angeles, California for a much different spin on JUCO athletics.

The show wrapped on the football world and the show was going to end completely and then out of nowhere, the Last Chance U brand was back, except this time they were on the hardwood.

The inspiring stories generated by this past season by Coach Mosley and the East Los Angeles basketball team were legendary. I watched and enjoyed the show, but didn't really imagine I'd see any of these guys again. But here we are.

During 2019-20, the season featured on Last Chance U, KJ Allen averaged just over 18 points per game and nearly 10 rebounds while shooting 67 percent from the field using the dunk as his weapon of choice. Allen's rebounding splits work up to nearly three a game on the offensive end and seven per game on the defensive end. In 30 games, Allen also added 16 blocks and 53 steals.

Here are some highlights from KJ Allen. Please enjoy:

Allen went the JUCO route after some trouble getting eligible out of high school. East Los Angeles did not play this past season due to COVID-19, but the recruiting for Allen hasn't waned at all. Allen had been offered by USC, Washington State, TCU, SMU and several other universities

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More importantly, the announcement of KJ Allen joining the Texas Tech men's basketball team stops the bleeding of the roster that's been happening in the last week. Kyler Edwards, Mac McClung, Tyreek Smith, Vladislav Goldin, Jamarius Burton and Jaylon Tyson all entered the transfer portal and are leaving Texas Tech. Tyson never even got to campus before jumping in. Add to that Terrence Shannon, Jr., who has entered his name into the NBA Draft.

Sure, Shannon and any others can still potentially return to the Red Raiders, but they aren't here right now.

There are only seven dudes on campus right now officially involved in the Texas Tech basketball program: Kevin McCullar, Clarence Nadolny, Marcus Santos-Silva, Chibuzo Agbo, Avery Benson, Barrett Peery and Mark Adams.

My small glimmer of hope that no one else is leaving is the announcement of Allen and a Texas Tech MBB Instagram post that has a picture of each of the players highlighted. The post on Instagram was labeled "Run it Forward" -- a take on the popular phrase 'Run it Back.' The post was then shared by Agbo with the caption, "Here to Stay."

The clouds are breaking, and the sun is finally shining on Texas Tech Men's Basketball.

A Brief History of Texas Tech Men's Basketball in the NCAA Tournament

 

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