Michigan State Basketball: All-time Tom Izzo era "what if" team

Michigan State Basketball: All-time Tom Izzo era “what if” team

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 27: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans talks to Chris Allen #3 during the game against the Kansas Jayhawks in the Midwest Regional semifinals of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 27, 2009 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – MARCH 27: Chris Allen #3 of the Michigan State Spartans looks on against the Kansas Jayhawks in the Midwest Regional semifinals of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 27, 2009 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

If there was one player who seemed to have an extreme amount of potential but who never lived up to it because he was on a loaded roster and eventually transferred after his junior season due to off-court issues that went against team rules, it was Chris Allen.

The former top-50 recruit was one of the best shooting guards in the 2007 class and it looked like he was going to be an elite shooting in East Lansing.

Not just a shooter, Allen was a solid athlete and the hopes were high that he would become a star, but he came in with a class of Kalin Lucas, Durrell Summers and Austin Thornton. He was third fiddle in a talented class and while he showed promise, he never truly broke out.

Allen had his best season as a junior, helping lead Michigan State to a Final Four with 8.2 points per game, shooting 43 percent from the floor and 40 percent from deep.

While we can never say what Michigan State would have looked like during his senior year had he stayed, he likely would have helped the Spartans finish better than 19-15. He also could have seen a major junior-to-senior production jump.

We’ll never know as he finished his career at Iowa State.

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