Lance Allred

Lance Allred
Personal information
Born (1981-02-02) February 2, 1981
Pinesdale, Montana
Nationality American / Mexican
Listed height 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight 255 lb (116 kg)
Career information
High school Salt Lake East
(Salt Lake City, Utah)
College
NBA draft 2005 / Undrafted
Playing career 2005–2016
Position Power forward / Center
Number 41
Career history
2005 SPO Rouen Basket
2006 JL Bourg-en-Bresse
2006 Club Bàsquet Llíria
2006–2007 Idaho Stampede
2007 Grises de Humacao
2007–2008 Idaho Stampede
2008 Cleveland Cavaliers
2008–2009 Idaho Stampede
2009 Scavolini Pesaro
2010 Idaho Stampede
2010 Maroussi Athens
2010–2011 Utah Flash
2011 Trotamundos de Carabobo
2011 Otago Nuggets
2011–2012 Kyoto Hannaryz
2012–2013 Fuerza Regia
2013 Trotamundos de Carabobo
2013–2014 Halcones de Xalapa
2014 Al Rayyan Doha
2014–2016 Leones de Ponce
Career highlights and awards
  • 2× NBA D-League All-Star (2008, 2009)
  • All-Star Kyoto Hannaryz, Japan BJ-League (2012)
  • All-Star Fuerza Regia, Mexico LNBP (2013)
  • All-Star Halcones Xalapa, Mexico LNBP (2014)
  • All-Star Fuerza Regia, Mexico LNBP (2015)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Lance Collin Allred (born February 2, 1981) is a Mexican American former professional basketball player.[1] Allred is deaf, with a 75–80% hearing loss.[2][3][4] He is the first legally deaf player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) history.[3] To improve his hearing, he wears a hearing aid.[4] 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.[5] In summer 2015, Allred retired from professional basketball, after a successful 10-year career around the world, established his own company, L Squared Productions LLC and transitioned into keynote motivational speaking and sports commentary in both television and radio. In August 2015, Allred signed with the American Programs Bureau as a motivational speaker. In September 2015, Allred's second book, Basketball Gods: The Transformation of the Enlightened Jock, went number 1 on Amazon.com in three separate categories. In 2016, Lance was the opening speaker at TEDxSaltLakeCity with his presentation, "What is your Polygamy?"

Early years

Allred was born in Pinesdale, Montana, a fundamentalist Mormon Polygamist Commune. He is the grandson of Rulon C. Allred, a prophet of the Apostolic United Brethren, a fundamentalist polygamous sect. Rulon was born in Colonia Dublán, Chihuahua, Mexico, which allowed Allred to receive Mexican citizenship. However, Allred's family became disenchanted with the group. They moved to Salt Lake City when he was seven, and completely broke away from the church six years later.[2] He did not play organized basketball until eighth grade, when he joined a team in the local LDS Church league.

Allred's 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.

Basketball career

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. After transferring, Allred accused Utah coach Rick Majerus of constant verbal abuse, usually focused on Allred's deafness.[6] 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.[2] If I was a cripple in a wheelchair and saw [the way] you play basketball, I'd shoot myself."[6] Two other Utah players confirmed some of what Allred claimed, but two assistant coaches said they never heard it.[6] Majerus denied the allegations while describing the statements as "extremely insensitive." An investigation concluded that Majerus did not discriminate against Allred.[6]

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

Allred in the Cleveland Cavaliers locker room

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 Club Bàsquet Llíria of the Spanish LEB2 league, averaging 15.0 points (on 60.2% shooting) and 7.2 rebounds in 10 games.[7]

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.[8]

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.[9]

On March 13, 2008, the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers signed Allred to a ten-day contract.[10] 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.[3] On March 25, 2008, the Cavaliers signed Allred to a second ten-day contract.[11] On April 4, Allred was signed for the remainder of the 2007–08 season.[12]

After entering training camp with the Cavaliers for the 2008–09 season, he was released after playing in the preseason debut against the Toronto Raptors, where he made 1 rebound and blocked 1 shot in 4 minutes and 10 seconds of play.

Allred began the regular season outside the NBA, with a return to the Idaho Stampede. Allred signed with Italian NSB Napoli during the summer of 2009.[13] In October he signed a 60-day contract with Scavolini Pesaro.

In January 2010, he returned to Idaho to play the remainder of the season with the Idaho Stampede.[14]

In 2011, Allred played for the New Zealander Otago Nuggets of the National Basketball League.[15] He then signed with Kyoto Hannaryz, in Japan for the 2011–12 season.

In 2012, Allred signed with Fuerza Regia of Mexico.[16]

National team career

Allred joined the Mexico national team for the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games.[17][18]

Career after basketball

Lance Allred speaking at TEDx SaltLakeCity 2016

After his final season in Puerto Rico, with Leones de Ponce, Allred retired from basketball and established his own LLC, L Squared Productions, and quickly established himself as an up-and-coming keynote motivational speaker and prominent television and radio sports analyst within his home state of Utah. In August 2015, Allred was asked to join the American Program Bureau, the oldest speakers' bureau in the world. The following month, in September, Allred mass released his second book, Basketball Gods: The Transformation of the Enlightened Jock, on Amazon, in Kindle format, and it quickly rose to #1 in three separate categories. Allred is now a full-time keynote motivational speaker, traveling the country to speak to corporations, conventions, non-profits and schools, with an emphasis on: leadership, perseverance and grit. On September 17, 2016, Lance was the opening speaker at TEDxSaltLakeCity, with his presentation, "What is your Polygamy?".[19]

Personal notes

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

References

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