Allen does another pre-draft workout

Jarrett Allen spent a long day in Atlanta on Monday.

The early-entry draft candidate had a grueling pre-draft workout with the Hawks. He also had lunch and dinner with members of the coaching staff and front office. It was well into the evening before the freshman center out of Texas was done with his visit.

“They said that I did well,” Allen said. “They liked how I fought through the workout. It was a 1-on-0 workout. It was tough with no rest, but they liked how I kept fighting. The Hawks had me doing some transition stuff, normal bigman stuff and seeing if I could make decisions on the go.”

It was the second pre-draft workout for Allen. He estimates he will have seven or eight more workouts in advance of the NBA draft June 22. Next up are the Timberwolves.

Allen, 6 feet 11, 234 pounds, appeared in 33 games for the Longhorns. He averaged 13.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 0.8 assists and 0.6 steals in 32.1 minutes. Allen said he started thinking about turning professional toward the end of his first season.

“I started doing better, but I didn’t hire an agent at first because I wasn’t sure it was the right time for me to come out,” Allen said. “After talking to people who knew NBA people, it felt like the right time for me.”

The Hawks have three selections in the draft, including No. 19 overall in the first round.

Allen attended the NBA Scouting Combine in Chicago last month. He measured a 7-5¼ wingspan, a 9-1½ standing reach, a 31½-inch no-step vertical and a 35½-inch max vertical. Allen was one of the players assigned to the Hawks for an interview at the combine. He got added time with the organization in Atlanta.