Recruiting Report: Chassell’s Milly Allen (2018)

GRAND RAPIDS — Chassell does not fit the definition of a good ‘bus’ team. The Panthers are not a team whose appearance is intimidating the moment they step off the bus, a team that makes you go ‘oooh’ just by the way they look in warmups. Underestimate the Panthers at your own peril, though. That’s part and parcel with how the Panthers made it to the MHSAA state finals for the first time this season: they may not have been overly impressive to look at — on paper or in person — but dang were they good. That goes double for senior point guard Milly Allen, who almost certainly doesn't measure up to the 5-foot-3 she’s listed as on the roster. She *MIGHT* be 5-2, if she stands on her tip-toes. Oh, and by the way, that was her that just blew past you while you were reading that sentence. Anything that Allen lacks in size, she makes up for with speed. And with heart. Her play in the first half of the Class D semifinals kept the Panthers from going under against a much more experienced team from Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes, keeping the Panthers within 10 points, and enabling them to come back with a furious second-half rally. Lakes scored 18 points off the Panthers’ first-half turnovers, and led 33-24 at the break. “We started to realize we were fine,” Allen said. “At halftime, everyone told each other, ‘We’re fine. We’re nine points away. We’re still in this, keep pushing.’” And they wanted to push the ball. That’s where Allen’s specialty comes in. Chassell's Milly Allen (left) drives past a Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes defender in the MHSAA Class D semifinals at Calvin College. (Photos courtesy of The Oakland Press/Drew Ellis) “We wanted to use our speed against them. We thought maybe we could burn them with our speed,” Chassell coach Brandi Hainault said. “We could tell they were gassed. It was a lot for them to put a full-court press on us. We knew that if we kept up, eventually, we’d beat them with our guards.” Even though Lakes forced Chassell into 18 turnovers for the game, the Panthers were still able to break the pressure often enough to make a difference. And Allen, who led the Panthers with 17 points, was key to that. “We did what we wanted: We tried to create some pace and some turnovers. We wanted to go up the floor and create pace ourselves. I know they like to play that way,” Lakers coach Steve Robak said. “(Allen) was very fast, and we did not do a good job of containing her. She was able to get around us when we were trying to press or trap, and that was the thing that created the most problems was (Allen) tonight. … I didn’t see much adjustment in their press break at all. They tried to get the ball to (Allen) every time, and let her use her speed. … I really feel like most of the game we had trouble with (Allen) when she had the ball.” Try as they might, the longer-limbed Lakers couldn’t stay in front of the Panthers’ point guard. It was the same message that Adrian Lenawee Christian coach Jamie Salenbien preached when his Cougars faced Chassell in the championship game on Saturday. Lenawee did a better job of not letting Allen’s speed beat them, winning 57-36 to end Chassell’s run. “Staying in a stance, and trying to keep those guards in front of you, because they were fast,” he said. “They could get an angle on you, and you were in trouble.” Allen is mulling over the decision on where to play basketball in college, but it’s clear — despite the small size — that she has the skills to do so. She has good form on her shot, but just needs some space to get the shot off. She can score (15.9 points per game as a senior), and will stick her nose in on the boards, averaging around three rebounds per game. But it’s her speed and quick hands (104 steals) that set her apart.