Thomas Allard arrived at Penn State with a Division II résumé and has quickly made himself part of the conversation for a major role in the Nittany Lions’ rotation.
The 6-foot-7, 210-pound guard transferred in from the University of Alabama in Huntsville after spending the summer getting adjusted to the program, the workouts and the demands of a new level. His first conditioning session stood out immediately.
“It was fun,” Allard said, recalling strength coach Tyler Janota having the Nittany Lions run the grass hill next to the Bryce Jordan Center.
“I've run hills before, but Coach T had some variations that made it a little more difficult,” Allard said. “But it was fun.
It was team bonding in a way. We all had to get through it, and that's what the summer's for.”
That summer work has carried into the fall. Allard started both exhibition games and saw a major workload in each, including a team-high 34 minutes against Drexel. Penn State coach Mike Rhoades said Allard has earned that kind of trust because of the way he plays.
“He's done a great job of really working and getting stronger this summer, and he's come with a great attitude,” Rhoades said. “He plays the right way.
He's a high basketball I.Q. guy. That's why you see him on the floor a lot.”
Rhoades also pointed to Allard’s ability to stay within himself. He doesn’t force the issue, and that restraint has helped him fit quickly into Penn State’s system.
Over the summer, Allard concentrated on adding muscle while working with Janota in the weight room, and Rhoades said he made a “great job” of improving physically during those sessions.
The production has followed. Against St.
Bonaventure, Allard hit 4 of 5 shots from 3-point range, showing the kind of perimeter upside that can stretch a defense. In the Drexel exhibition, he posted a team-best +15 while contributing four rebounds, four assists and three steals.
For Penn State, his appeal goes beyond the stat line. Allard is a graduate student with four seasons of college basketball behind him, and that experience is part of why the staff likes what he brings.
He made the NCAA Division II Sweet 16 with Alabama-Huntsville last season while averaging 13.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. Before that, he won at least 20 games in each of his three seasons at Lincoln Memorial University.
“In my Division II time, I won a lot of games, and I saw a lot of different teams and a lot of different organizations win,” Allard said. “I think just bringing that mentality, I think that's a big part of winning.”
That mindset was one reason he wanted to come to Penn State in the first place. He saw a chance to help Rhoades build the kind of winning program the staff is aiming for in Happy Valley.
Assistant coach Clay Conner said Allard has stood out because of how much he has grown and because of what he has already seen in college basketball.
“He's also played in a lot of college basketball games,” Conner said. “He's played in the NCAA tournament, Division II.
Played in nationally ranked games. He's seen a bunch of different coverages.
He's seen different schemes on both sides of the ball, so I think his familiarity with stuff like that has really helped him.”
The biggest reason Allard has turned heads, though, is simpler than all that: he understands exactly who he is as a player. Rhoades said not every player has that kind of clarity, but Allard does.
Allard believes the jump can work because the core of his game already translates.
“Those skills that I had at the Division II level, they're translatable here,” Allard said. “Just have to pick up the physicality, pick up the mental toughness, all that comes with this jump to this level.”
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