The outpour of support and congratulations for Boston Celtics' 53^rd overall pick, Kadeem Allen, was just as strong and audible as it was for his teammate Lauri Markkanen, who was taken 46 picks before him. It was a litany of text messages, tweets and smiles for a Wildcat who embodied everything fans and coaches alike love in a student-athlete. It seemed everyone associated with Arizona Basketball, Arizona Athletics and the University of Arizona was "happy for Kadeem."

Graduate. Champion. Leader. NBA Draft pick. Allen represents so many great qualities that he endeared himself to everyone who uttered the "Bear Down" creed.

"Kadeem Allen is one of my favorite players that I've ever been around as a player, assistant coach or a head coach," said head coach Sean Miller at the 2017 NCAA Tournament in Salt Lake City.

It was the highest form of praise from the head coach and for good reason.

A "Big Bruiser" Comes to Arizona

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 became a redshirt senior stalwart for Coach Sean Miller's squad, and was bigger and stronger than most opposing guards. If he's not, his 6-9 wingspan allowed 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 made it difficult for opposing guards to drive on him or get off open shots.
 
So that was Allen's primary responsibility two years ago 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 was still his role. There was just one big addition.
 
He pretty much did everything else, too.

"Kadeem is the unquestioned leader of this team," Miller said at the beginning of the 2016-17 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 would give Allen the opportunity to earn 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 graduated in the 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 was as 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."

More Than Just a Saying

The mantra echoed throughout the Arizona Basketball program is a favorite quote of the head coach.

"With team success comes individual accolades."

Its proof can be found in Allen. The senior guard was a no-brainer selection to the Pac-12's All-Defensive team. Yet, he was also a Second Team All-Conference selection while averaging 9.8 points per game, showing that Allen's value to his team, throughout the stat sheet, was recognized by the conference's coaches as well.

But no numbers can really quantify how happy Allen is to have been an Arizona Wildcat and have had the opportunity to play for Miller. Nor do they truly paint the picture of his much-beloved Arizona career.
 
"He means a lot to me," Allen said of his coach. "He's one of the best coaches in college basketball, and it was an honor to play for him. I've tried to learn from him, to become the leader of the team, and become more confident in myself. I'm glad he put me in the position to show these guys the ropes. They follow what they see, so I went out there every day trying to work as hard as possible."

Less than 12 hours after being selected by the Celtics in the NBA Draft, Kadeem Allen's head coach was beaming about him to a group of youngsters at basketball camp.

"Kadeem Allen was the elder statesman for our team last year, and he was an all-conference player and an NBA Draft pick while only scoring nine points a game," Miller told the group of youngsters sitting on the floor of McKale Center. "He cared about his team and never once complained about his lot in life as a member of our program. Now, look at everything Kadeem became here. He became the first member of his family to graduate from college and left us as a tremendous teammate and leader."

And that is why it has been so easy to root for Kadeem Allen as an Arizona Wildcat and why so many fans will continue to root for him as he moves on to the next phase of his life.