On the final day of the Arizona Wildcatsβ holiday break, Kadeem Allen telephoned coach Sean Miller from his home in Wilmington, North Carolina, with some thought of asking for more time.
It was Christmas Eve.
βI told him like I might not make it back for Christmas,β Allen said, that βIβd make it back the 26th.β
It wasnβt that Allen was homesick, of course. Heβs already in his third year at Arizona after transferring from Hutchinson (Kansas) Community College, and by far the oldest player on the UA roster this season.
It was that he just spent four days with his 3-month-old daughter, Genesis, and the visit hit him harder than he may have expected.
βItβs different,β Allen said Wednesday, at UAβs weekly news conference. βBeing here the first three months (of her life), I didnβt really know what it really was until I got home. I held her and looked into her eyes.
βIt was just like, βYeah, itβs the real thing now.β β
Allen has been enveloped in children and family his whole life, so that in itself wasnβt different. He comes from a family of 15 kids, and says he has many nephews and nieces.
Many of those family members have been helping out with Genesis while Kadeem, as always, remained focused on his Arizona basketball and studies. When she was born, basketball season was gearing up and he didnβt make it home for her birth.
FaceTime video calling helped dad see his newborn child but it wasnβt quite the same as with a physical touch.
βIt was just a good feeling,β he said. βI was just happy to be with her and be able to hold her.β
The father of three children himself, Miller indicated it was an emotional phone call to receive.
Miller listened, they talked.
But Allen boarded a plane at 7 a.m. Christmas just as scheduled, so he could get back to Tucson in time for a Christmas evening workout intended to kick off the Wildcatsβ preparation for Pac-12 play.
βAnytime you talk to your players during this period of time, you have to be sympathetic and compassionate toward what they have going on,β Miller said of the midseason break, during which he encourages players to visit family and friends. βIn Kadeemβs case, heβs one of 15 kids in his family and he has a daughter he cares about a lot. I think from his perspective he wants to do things right, which is awesome to hear.β
The two agreed what that last point meant: It meant coming back on time, especially as the Wildcatsβ clear-cut leader this season.
βThe point I made to him is the way heβs able to do things right is to graduate, to finish what heβs begun here at Arizona in the very best fashion possible,β Miller said. βAnd being able to be here as the leader for practices is kind of a tone-setter for the next month or so.β
Allen understood.
βI know what I signed up for,β he said.
This season, Allenβs role has been a little bit of everything, guarding key perimeter threats, scoring and ballhandling, all while playing as many minutes as possible with the absences of guards Allonzo Trier (suspension) and Parker Jackson-Cartwright (ankle sprain).
Thatβs the way Allen leads, Miller said, not by assembling guys for off-season get-togethers and then disappearing when times get rough on the court. Itβs by showing up and working hard, all the time.
βI donβt know if Iβve coached a better leader than Kadeem,β Miller said. βItβs not what he says; itβs what he does. He spent four days at home, and I think he would have loved to spend more.
βBut he came back as a member of our team. You sacrifice certain things and he did. Thatβs why we love him.β
Besides, there are ways Allen can intertwine basketball and fatherhood over his final months at Arizona. Along with seeing her father via video calling, Genesis is scheduled to visit Tucson in the middle of next month, and thereβs always her pictures, too.
Among them are the ones that Allen has already posted to his Instagram account, one with a grinning Genesis looking over his shoulder, and a few others he took after posing her with a basketball.
βShe was focused on the ball the whole time,β Allen said, then grinned softly.
βSo β¦ maybe we have something.β
Rim shots
- Miller said UA will continue to monitor Jackson-Cartwright with the possibility of playing him in at least limited form against Cal and Stanford this week, if nothing else to give a partial eighth man to the Wildcatsβ rotation. Jackson-Cartwright returned to practice this week after suffering a high ankle sprain Nov. 30. βWeβre still very much in a wait-and-seeβ mode, Miller said. βIβm anxious to see how he will continue to develop, whether weβll play him at all, what role heβll have and how quickly he can come back.β
- All UA players returned on time for practice after their holiday break, and freshman Kobi Simmons said he was rested after four days at home in Atlanta. βIt was just recovery for your body in different ways. Thatβs all,β he said.
