His greatest success was at Tennessee State where he won three Ohio Valley Conference titles and was the 1993 national Coach of the Year.

Born in Charlottesville, Virginia, Allen played collegiately at Roanoke College, where he was the first recruit of new head coach Charles Moir.

[1] Roanoke's first African-American athlete, Allen is still the all-time leading scorer (2,780 points) and rebounder (1,758) at any level in Virginia college history.

[2] He averaged 24 points and 15 rebounds per game, holds 18 college records, and led Roanoke to its first NCAA tournament appearance in 1968.

In 1993, he was the Basketball Times National Coach of the Year after leading Tennessee State to an Ohio Valley Conference title and to the school's first NCAA tournament appearance.