Lance Allred

Lance Allred

Kyoto Hannaryz
Power forward/Center
Personal information
Date of birth	February 2, 1981 (1981-02-02)
Place of birth	Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Nationality	United States
High school	Salt Lake East High School
Listed height	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight	255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
College	Utah (2000-02) Weber State (2003-05)
Pro career	2005–present
Career history
USA Deaf Basketball team (2002) SPO Rouen Basket (2005) JL Bourg Basket (2005–2006) Sedesa Lliria (2006–2007) Idaho Stampede (2007–2009) Cleveland Cavaliers (2008) Scavolini Spar Pesaro (2009–2010) Maroussi B.C. (2010) Utah Flash (2010–11) Trotamundos de Carabobo (2011) Otago Nuggets (2011) Kyoto Hannaryz (2011–present)
Stats at NBA.com

Lance Collin Allred (born February 2, 1981 in Salt Lake City, Utah) is an American professional basketball player. Allred is hearing impaired, with a 75-80% hearing loss. He is the first legally deaf player in NBA history. (To improve his hearing, he wears a hearing aid.) He is also the author of Longshot: The Adventures of a Deaf Fundamentalist Mormon Kid and His Journey to the NBA, his memoir/autobiography published by Harper Collins. The book was critically acclaimed and featured in several sports publications.[1]

Early years

Allred was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, but he spent his very early years growing up in a Mormon community in Montana. He is a descendent of Rulon C. Allred, a prophet of the Apostolic United Brethren, a fundamentalist polygamous sect. However, his family became disenchanted with the group. They moved to Salt Lake City when he was seven, and completely broke away from the extremist sect six years later. He did not play organized basketball until eighth grade, when he joined a team in the local LDS Church league.

His skills developed quickly, and with his tremendous height (nearly seven feet), he was a star basketball player at East High School in Salt Lake City. During his senior year, he averaged 17.3 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.7 blocks per game, earning many prestigious honors for his performance. He was named 1999 Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Utah, and earned First Team All-State selection in Class 4A by both The Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News. Also, Allred was ranked as the "Best in the West" at the center position by Pac-West Hoops, and was hailed as a Top 100 Recruit by CNN/Sports Illustrated. He was heavily recruited by many schools, but ultimately decided to attend the University of Utah.

College career

Allred saw limited action as a freshman at Utah. He played in just 17 games, averaging 2.2 points and 1.8 rebounds in only 5.6 minutes per game. The following season (2001–02), his playing time increased slightly, but he continued to struggle. At the end of his sophomore year, he transferred to Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. Allred later explained his reason for leaving the Utes, revealing a terrible relationship with head coach Rick Majerus. Allred accused Majerus of constant verbal abuse, usually focused on Allred's hearing impairment. Allred told The Salt Lake Tribune that Majerus had once said: "Lance, you've weaseled yourself through life using your hearing as an excuse. You're a disgrace to cripples. If I was a cripple in a wheelchair and saw [the way] you play basketball, I'd shoot myself." Two other Utah players confirmed some of what Allred claimed, but two assistant coaches said they never heard it. Majerus denied the allegations while describing the statements as "extremely insensitive." He was later cleared of allegations of discrimination, though the investigation did not determine whether Majerus had actually made the offensive remarks.

Allred found new hope and motivation at Weber State. With increased playing time as a junior, he averaged 11.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game for the Wildcats. He worked hard in the offseason, building enough muscle to increase his weight from 240 pounds to about 270. His senior year (2004–05) was spectacular: he led his team with 17.7 points and 12.0 rebounds per game. He ranked third in the nation in rebounding, trailing only Paul Millsap and Andrew Bogut. He almost single-handedly carried Weber State to the championship game of the Big Sky Conference Tournament (where the Wildcats lost by two points) . For his efforts, he was named First Team All-Big Sky and also First Team All-Utah by the Deseret News.

Professional career

2005-2006

Allred began his professional career as an injury replacement for the French LNB club SPO Rouen Basket. He averaged 5.5 points and 3.9 rebounds in 11 games played. In January 2006, Allred was an injury replacement for another LNB club, JL Bourg Basket. In four games he averaged 2.5 points and 1.5 rebounds. Allred then played for Sedesa Lliria of the Spanish LEB2 league averaging 15.0 points (on 60.2% shooting) and 7.2 rebounds in 10 games played.

2006-2007

In 43 games (19 starts) with the Idaho Stampede of the NBA D-League, Allred averaged 10.1 points on .524 shooting, and 5.7 rebounds in 20.9 minutes per game.

2007-2008

In 38 games (all starts) with the Idaho Stampede, Allred averaged 16.2 points on 51.2% shooting, 10.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 29.6 minutes per game. He was named to the 2008 D-League’s Red All-Star Team and was also the winner of the D-League’s Dream Factory Friday night inaugural game of H.O.R.S.E. He won the game with expert use of the back board (all of his shots were bank shots) and claimed the first official H.O.R.S.E. title awarded in about 30 years.

On March 13, 2008, the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers signed Allred to a ten-day contract. Allred missed his only field goal attempt during 18 seconds of action in his debut for the Cavaliers on March 17, 2008. Allred is the first legally deaf player in NBA history.

On March 25, 2008, the Cavaliers signed Allred to a second ten-day contract. On April 4, Allred was signed for the remainder of the 2008 season.

2008-2009

After entering training camp with the Cavaliers for the 2008-2009 season, he was released after playing in the preseason debut against the Toronto Raptors, where he made one rebound and one blocked shot in 4 minutes and 10 seconds of gameplay.

Allred began the regular season outside the NBA, with a return to the Idaho Stampede.

2009-2010

Allred signed with NSB Napoli during the summer of 2009.

In October he signed for 60 days for Scavolini Spar Pesaro (Italy).

In January 2010, he returned to Idaho to play the remainder of the season with the Idaho Stampede.

2011

In 2011 Allred signed with the Otago Nuggets of Dunedin, New Zealand. He was a member of the starting five along with fellow American Scott O'Gallagher.

Personal Notes

• Allred is currently writing two books, a 14th century historical novel and a Victorian satire.

• His autobiography was published during 2009: 'Longshot: The Adventures of a Deaf Fundamentalist Mormon Kid and His Journey to the NBA'. Two years in the works, it focuses on his early years in a polygamous sect, overcoming obsessive-compulsive disorder, and prevailing over legal deafness to reach the NBA.

• Allred's father is a high-school history teacher.

• Allred is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

• He competed in the 2002 World Deaf Basketball Championship in Athens, Greece, leading Team USA to a second place finish.

NBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2007–08	Cleveland	3	0	3.3	.250	.000	.500	.3	.0	.0	.0	1.0
Career		3	0	3.3	.250	.000	.500	.3	.0	.0	.0	1.0

See also

• Miha Zupan, a deaf Slovenian basketball player who also plays professionally alongside hearing people

External links

• Lance Allred's official website
• NBA.com: Lance Allred player profile
• Lance page on Weber State's fans basketball site - WeberHoops.com
• Photo of Lance (on left side) in USA Deaf Basketball team during their time-out at 2002 World Deaf Basketball Championship in Athens, Greece
• USA Deaf Basketball official website
• Review of Lance Allred's autobiography by LDS historian Matt Bowman