Brought into this world at eight pounds and four ounces, Kadeem Allen quickly earned the nickname "Big Bruiser" as an infant in Wilmington, North Carolina.
 
He was big. He was strong. He was disruptive.
 
Some things never change.
 
Twenty-something years later, those three words – big, strong, disruptive – describe Allen's prowess on the basketball court. At 6-feet-3-inches and 205 pounds, Allen, a redshirt senior stalwart for Coach Sean Miller's squad, is bigger and stronger than most opposing guards. If he's not, his 6-9 wingspan allows him to be disruptive enough to be a pest to opponents.
 
With those skills, Allen transformed himself into a true defensive stopper at the guard position. His size and strength, combined with his quick feet and long arms make it difficult for opposing guards to drive on him or get off open shots.

 
So that was Allen's primary responsibility last year as a junior. Be the best defensive guard on the court and make things as difficult as possible for the opposition. As a senior, that's still his role. There's just been one big addition.
 
He pretty much does everything else now, too.


 
"Kadeem is the unquestioned leader of this team," Miller said earlier this season. "I'm telling you right now, I've not seen a better defensive player than him. You just really marvel at his effort and his leadership as a senior. We're obviously going to count on him to do everything. It's really fun watching his development. When he's open, he can shoot the basketball. He showed that last year. I think his confidence will continue to grow in that area. He's really become a heck of a player."
 
The natural follow-up question, is how did he become a "heck of a player?"  Well, it was a combination of hard work, homework and maturity.
 
When Allen arrived in Tucson prior to the 2014-15 season, he joined a team loaded with talent. With T.J. McConnell, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Stanley Johnson, Gabe York and Parker Jackson-Cartwright already on the roster at the guard position, Miller wanted Allen to redshirt.
 
He laid out his plan to Allen, who was skeptical at first, but on board quickly after.
 
"You're coming from junior college and you're the national player of the year, you're thinking you should be playing and you shouldn't sit out," Allen said. "But playing on a team like that with Rondae, Stanley and T.J., it would have been a wasted year just having a couple of minutes (of playing time)."
 
There was another major reason for Allen to redshirt that Miller explained. The extra year at Arizona would allow Allen to easier achieve his college degree. That was a major selling point for a person who is the first in his family to attend college.
 
"When he brought me in and talked about the redshirt, I was hesitant," Allen said. "As he broke it down, he said, 'I want you to graduate, I want you to get a degree. When the ball goes flat, you need something.' I hadn't thought about that until I came to Arizona."
 
Allen will graduate this spring, and needless to say the redshirt year allowed him to become a better player on the court as well. Most days in practice that season, he was matched up against either Hollis-Jefferson or Johnson, two players currently in the NBA. When he was on the sideline, he would watch those two, especially Hollis-Jefferson, and watch the way he defended.
 
"It was very beneficial for me," Allen said. "It helped me work to get closer to graduating and also put me in the position I am in right now to be a leader of this team and have a chance to do something great. That year, going up against those guys, it put confidence into my game and made me a better player."
 
Allen has played in seven of the eight games this season and is averaging 28.3 minutes per game, 8.4 points per game and 3.4 rebounds a contest. But no numbers can really quantify how happy Allen is to be an Arizona Wildcat and have had the opportunity to play for Miller.
 
"He means a lot to me," Allen said of his coach. "He's one of the best coaches in college basketball, and it's an honor to play for him. I've tried to learn from him to become the leader of this team and become more confident in myself. I'm glad he put me in the position I'm in to show these guys the ropes. They follow what they see, so I'm out there every day trying to work as hard as possible."