Claw of the parish

PINE PRAIRIE -- Kameron Allen wasn’t a selfish basketball player and that was an actual issue.
Early on in her decorated four-year career with the Pine Prairie Lady Panthers, Allen would be so focused on getting her teammates involved that she sometimes passed up on open looks at the basket.
“She was too unselfish,” Pine Prairie coach Renotta Edwards said. “She is such a team player. She would pass up opportunities to get her teammates involved. I called a come to Jesus meeting with her. I told her that she would make us better by doing both.”
“It made me realize that if I don’t take those shots that we weren’t going to put up as many points on the board,” Allen said. “I had to involve them but also do my work.”
Allen quickly made that adjustment and became one of the most prolific scorers and leaders in program history. The four-time all-district shooting guard may have saved her best play for her final season, as she was able to overcome a shoulder injury and COVID-19 to help lead the Lady Panthers to their first playoff win in more than a decade.
For that, Allen has been chosen as the 2021 Girls All-Parish Most Valuable Player.
“I didn’t even know how to explain her,” Edwards said. “She is so quiet and humble. She just gets it done. No matter the situation. She is not a cocky kid. She puts her head down and goes to work.``
“I shook it off,” Allen said. “It was not going to stop me. I am not going to let anything stop me.”
Allen, who as a junior became only the second player in program history to eclipse 1,000 points scored, grew up playing the game but not as a shooting guard. The 5-foot-4 shooting guard lined up at forward-center in middle school.
“She was taller than the average middle schooler so she was playing post,” Edwards said. “When she came to Pine I told her that she was going to play point guard.”
The transition from the front court to back court was an easy one for Allen.
“I wasn’t scared or anything,” Allen said. “I already had good ball handling skills because I always practiced. I would always take the ball down the court.”
Allen isn’t intimidated by much of anything.
Whether that is driving in the lane against a taller player or being forced to play through a painful injury, Allen has the mindset to power through the pain or obstacles.
After playing through a partially torn meniscus as a junior, Allen played with a shoulder injury earlier this season but then came something that was a little more daunting to deal with -- getting and recovering from COVID.
“She was very sick,” Edwards said. “When she came back she had lost 10 pounds. She was really affected by it but she came back better than ever. It was amazing.”
“I just love to play,” Allen said. “I don’t believe in anything stopping me. I am going to get through it.”
Allen earned District 5-3A first-team honors after averaging 15 points, 3 assists, 4 rebounds per game. Allen’s highlight for the season though wasn’t any individual accolade but winning her first playoff game.
“It was really a big accomplishment,” Allen said. “We had been talking about that since our freshman year to do that. I was really excited because we reach one of our goals.”