The city of Dalzell, SC (population 2.060) would seem an unlikely setting for the home of one of the greatest guards to ever play in the Big East conference. But it was Dalzell where the son of a U.S. Air Force welder committed himself to being the kind of player that could transform a program. And Ray Allen did exactly that.

Connecticut basketball was on the rise when Jim Calhoun recruited Allen in 1992. The young man had traveled extensively throughout his young life as his father's duty assignment took him--California, Great Britain, and Germany, even being teased by students for holding an English accent. At 15, his family settled near Shaw AFB in South Carolina and that's when Allen's basketball career took off, leading Hillcrest HS to the South Carolina state title. While not a top 50 recruit, he was recruited heavily by Kentucky and Connecticut, but chose UConn because Jim Calhoun outworked Kentucky coach Rick Pitino for the commitment.

On a recruiting visit to Kentucky with fellow UConn signee Derron Sheffer, Allen recalled that "Jamal Mashburn was taking me around on my visit and I went in there and Rick Pitino, he sat with his friends on the other side of the bar. Me and Derron joke about it; we said if it were Coach Calhoun, he would be sitting down at the table and getting our food for us because he really wanted us."

Despite a 16-15 record in 1992-93, Connecticut basketball was ascendant in 1993-94 and Allen helped lead the way. Second on the team in scoring behind leading scorer Donyell Marshal, Allen provided immediate impact in the backcourt, scoring 20 in his second collegiate game versus Virginia and earning nine double figure games in Big East play as the Huskies roared through the Big East race, finishing 16-2 and 26-3 overall , ranked #2 in the nation entering the Big East tournament, where they were upset by Providence in the semifinal. Allen was named to the Big East All-Freshman team with a 12 point per game average as the Huskies advanced to the round of 16 in the NCAA's, its best run in four seasons. He became UConn's first sophomore All-America selection.

With Donyell Marshall having left Storrs after his junior season for the NBA, Allen took over as the scoring leader for the Huskies and was just short of unstoppable. He averaged 48 percent shooting and 44 percent from three point range, the Huskies started the 194-95 season 15-0 and earned the school's first ever #1 ranking following a 90-61 rout of Pittsburgh where Allen scored 24. The New York Times headline proclaimed it "Another UConn Romp, Another Allen Highlight Film."

"In the last 3 games, Allen, the leading scorer in the Big East and the owner of a 51 percent shooting average, has made 18 of 27 3-point attempts," wrote the Times' Jack Cavanaugh. "Allen has scored 134 points in the last 5 games."

Allen led the Huskies to a repeat 16-2 mark in conference play but the Huskies were halted at the Big East final, falling to Villanova 94-78, Named to the All-Big East first team as a sophomore, Allen was second overall in shooting for the Big East, trailing Villanova's Kerry Kittles.

Declining an offer to leave school for the NBA Draft in 1995, UConn earned a third consecutive regular season title in 1995-96 and became the first Big East school ever to do so. Following an overtime loss to Iowa in the Great Alaska Shootout, the Huskies won its next 23 straight before Allen was held to two second half points in a 77-65 loss at Georgetown. His season with was a 39 point effort versus Providence; for the season, Allen averaged 23.4 points per game as UConn finished the conference race 17-1. Having come close in each of his two prior seasons, the Huskies won the 1996 Big East tournament with a 12-0 run to end the game, as Allen hit the winning basket with 10 seconds left--his only field goal of the second half.

Allen scored 24 and 25 points, respectively, as the Huskies took a #1 seed into the first two rounds of the 1996 NCAA tournament, but was held to 9 for 25 shooting in the regionals versus Mississippi State, ending a remarkable season at 32-3. His play not only earned him Big East Player of the year and consensus All-American honors, but the United Press International selection as its Player of the Year.

Ray Allen opted to leave Connecticut after his junior season, and was selected fifth in the 1996 draft by the Milwaukee Bucks .His NBA career was the stuff of legend: a 10 time All-Star, he won titles with the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat, and owns the NBA career mark for three pointers with 2,973. He once made 72 consecutive free throws with the Celtics, and holds shooting records with three different NBA teams. He averaged 18.9 points over a 19 year pro career, and was named to the Basketball Hall of fame in 2018. In his three years at Connecticut, Ray Allen never won an NCAA title but he set the standard for those that followed. The Huskies were 89-13 in his tenure there, 49-5 in conference play, with three regular season titles in as many years.

"I believe that Storrs is a special place that doesn't create a lot of distractions for you but you learn the environment," Allen said. "It's an institution of higher learning and it's a place where you can perfect your craft, get better, take it to the next level and young people have to be smart enough to understand that."