Castle Air Force Base near Merced, California, the son of Walter Sr. and Flora Allen. A military child, he spent time growing up in Saxmundham, Suffolk, England, in Altus, Oklahoma, at Edwards Air Force Base in California, and in Germany. After years of traveling and continual moving, his family settled in Dalzell, South Carolina for the next four years, where he would attend high school. When he first arrived, the young Allen was often made the odd-man-out, whom kids often picked on, due to the accent acquired during his formative years in Britain. Although never completely fitting in with the other kids, Allen's natural athletic gifts, and his obsession with hard work, allowed him to excel in every sport he played. When a growth spurt left him with a natural advantage in basketball, he decided to dedicate his free time to becoming the best basketball player he possibly could. Fueled by his desire to become the top player on the military base where he lived, Allen practiced at length daily, so long as it did not interfere with his studies. By the age of fifteen, he was playing for Hillcrest High School's varsity team, and would eventually lead them to their first state championship game. In that game, Allen showed his NBA potential by posting an impressive 25 points, to go along with 12 rebounds, in a blowout victory for Hillcrest Wildcats. At Hillcrest, he was teammates with future Major League Baseball player Terrell Wade. Amid the resulting attention from colleges, especially from the University of Kentucky, Allen ultimately accepted an offer from the University of Connecticut. College career Allen attended the University of Connecticut from 1993 to 1996 after being recruited by assistant coach Karl Hobbs. While at UConn, he was named USA Basketball's Male Athlete of the Year in 1995. In 1995–96, his final college season, Allen was a first-team All-American and won the Big East Player of the Year award. Allen finished his UConn career third on the Huskies' career scoring list with 1,922 points and set a single-season school record by connecting on 115 three-pointers in 1995–96. In 2001, Allen was named honorary captain of the 25-member UConn All-Century Basketball Team. On February 5, 2007, his name and number were honored at Connecticut's Gampel Pavilion during the "Huskies of Honor" ceremony at halftime of the men's basketball game against the Syracuse Orange. On December 7, 2018,