Lobo Allen-Tovar: Happy on the outside; inside, not as much
Dec. 4—Jay Allen-Tovar is having a blast.
Seriously. He is.
Pay no attention to what you read on social media about his mood or even what your own eyes may tell you about how he appears, at times during Lobo basketball games, to be frustrated or down after a bad play.
"I'm working on being more positive going into the games," said Allen-Tovar, the 6-foot-9 Lobo forward coming off his first double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds in Tuesday's 101-94 rivalry win over New Mexico State in Las Cruces.
When he is struggling on the court, he wears his emotions on his sleeve.
And he knows what some of you think. He pouts, or he has a bad attitude or checks out after a bad play.
"I see the tweets," he said Friday, politely fielding questions about a topic many others might understandably be frustrated being questioned about: one's mood.
"... I mean, it is what it is. There's different perspectives for everybody. I mean, if you guys think I look mad or depressed, I mean that's how you guys feel. But I'm completely happy. I'm always happy. I'm here. I'm alive. My family's OK. My friends are OK."
Earlier this season, Lobos coach Richard Pitino openly criticized some of his players' on-court demeanor and ability to shake off bad plays and move on to the next, though he never singled out any player. As the Lobos (5-3) have progressed over the past month, it's now apparent Allen-Tovar's on-court demeanor seems most directly tied to his comfort in what position he's playing.
More specifically, when he's playing the '4' — traditionally the power forward spot — he's comfortable and confident. When asked to play a more traditional center role, or '5', he seems to hit a mental roadblock.
It's not surprising, then, he flourished Tuesday in Las Cruces playing mostly at the '4'.
Still, Pitino knows there will be times when the San Jose, California, native will have to log minutes at both spots, meaning there is still work to do figuring out if his struggles at center are more mental (as in Allen-Tovar is so uncomfortable and unconfident as a '5' that he's stopping himself from playing well before he even gets on the court) or more physicial (as in he's just not yet ready to handle a back-to-the basket role while battling with bigger Division I centers).
"It's probably a little bit both," Pitino said. "He's not all that strong right now. He's less than 200 pounds. You kind of look at him and think that he's maybe bigger than he really is. He's 190 pounds. ... So, I think a little bit of it's strength. I do think he's more comfortable out there (at the '4')."
Pitino's system often asks its '4' spot to play out on the perimeter, facing the basket and spacing the floor more than having two big men, and their defenders, closer to the basket clogging up the lane.
"I feel like I do a lot of good things at the '4', especially on the perimeter," said Allen-Tovar. "And it's not always scoring; it's stretching the defense out. It's getting a big out there so they can't help (defensively near the rim) — stuff like that.
"But the '5', I don't want to say too much about it. The guys are a lot bigger to guard. And I'm also down there at the block — I don't feel like I can help the team too much at the '5'. I mean, I try. ... I think it's a feeling of like, less freedom at the '5'."
PITINO'S GUARANTEE: Asked about the response he's received since Tuesday's big rivalry win in Las Cruces, where Pan Am power outages prevented ESPN+ from streaming the game, Pitino said:
"I did have a lot of people say — throughout the town, dropping the kids off or whatever — 'Great win. Wish I could've watched it.' That's the weird part about it was there was a lot of fans that wanted to watch it that didn't get to see it. ... So, come out Monday night and see it. Hopefully we don't have a blackout either. But that's the only thing I can guarantee you. If you come Monday (in person to the Pit), you will see the game."
Monday
Men: New Mexico State at UNM, 7 p.m., 770 AM/96.3 FM, themw.com (streaming)
