By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – Sonny Allen never liked to be the center of attention. As a basketball coach, he never sought adulation. When his teams won, his players got the credit.
So, it wasn't surprising when he told his family years ago that when he died, he didn't want a funeral or a celebration of life. No muss or fuss.
Just get together as a family and enjoy each other, he said.
As their dad suggested, the Allen family decided to come together and enjoy each other in lieu of a funeral after their father passed away on September 11, 2020..
And they chose to do so at Old Dominion University, where Sonny Allen had his first job as a head coach, won a national championship, integrated Virginia college basketball and installed a revolutionary fast-break offense that changed the game.
"ODU is where it all began," said Jackie Eldrenkamp, one of Allen's six children and stepchildren, who as a young girl would dress up in a cheerleader's outfit and emulate ODU's cheerleaders.
Sonny Allen with daughter Kelly
"I was just a little girl but still have great memories of going to the games and of Dad coaching at the Field House. I remember the fans clapping with the blue blocks and I remember a lot of the players who were like family.
"It just feels right to come celebrate Dad with our ODU family."
Sonny Allen walked-on to the basketball team at Marshall University without a scholarship, eventually became a starter and coached for five seasons before coming to Old Dominion.
That's why more than a dozen family members chose to gather Thursday night to gather at Chartway Arena, when the Monarchs host Marshall, to celebrate Sonny Allen. Of the two schools where Allen coached, ODU and Marshall meant the most to him.
The 8 p.m. game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.
The Allen family will be honored at halftime of a game now hailed as "Sonny Allen Night." A video will be played with photos from his great ODU teams. The family and a handful of Allen's former players will be introduced on the court.
The family had planned to gather last season before the pandemic forced then to postpone. A year later, there's more to celebrate. The family learned a few months ago that Sonny Allen will be inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.
The Allen family will be in Virginia Beach for that induction ceremony on April 30, but decided to meet at ODU anyway.
When I asked him why, Billy Allen, Sonny's son, texted me a copy of a note from Athletic Director Wood Selig that was packed away with a book that Selig had made for the family.
The book contained a story about Sonny's passing but also dozens of memories and comments that fans, former players and coaches posted online after their father died. Billy and Wood were middle school and high school classmates and have remained close throughout the years.
Sonny Allen with son, Billy, at the 1975 Final Four
"The people at Old Dominion have been so good to our family," he said. "Wood is like a member of our family.
"Some of our greatest memories of our life, of our childhood, are in Norfolk. The games that were played here, the people, the fans, everything about our years there left us with awesome, awesome memories."
Their father created some awesome memories for ODU fans as well. He took over as coach at what was then known as Old Dominion College and transformed the basketball program.
At the time, ODC played schools such as Randolph-Macon and Hampden-Sydney before a smattering of fans at local high schools and a small, on-campus gym. By the time he left, ODU had played before sellout crowds at Scope, beaten teams such as Tulane and Auburn and dropped one-point home losses to Indiana and Virginia Tech.
He won 181 games in 10 seasons and twice took ODU to the Division II Final Four. In 1974-75, his 10th and final season at ODU, the Monarchs won the national title, the first team championship in school history.
He left to coach at SMU and the players he left behind formed the backbone of the 1976-77 team that finished 25-4 in ODU's first year in Division I.
His fast break system revolutionized college basketball. He wrote a book called "The Sonny Allen Fast Break" and it became must reading for hundreds of coaches around the nation.
Indiana coach Bobby Knight called him the nation's premiere expert on the fast break. His numbering system, No. 1 is the point guard, No. 2 the wing guard, etc., is now a universal feature of basketball around the world.
And his teams were a blur on the court. In 1967-68, the Monarchs averaged 98.2 points per game and blew out Richmond Professional Institute, 152-110, at the old Norfolk Arena. RPI later became VCU and, yes, the schools had a torrid rivalry even then.
"The reason the fast break worked so well was because Sonny made things simple," said Dave Twardzik, the former ODU All-American and color commentator for the ODU Sports Radio Network.
That summed up Sonny Allen's philosophy. Work hard and keep it simple.
Allen's legacy extends beyond Xs and Os. Raised by a single mother in poverty in Moundsville, West Virginia, his difficult childhood infused him with a burning desire to succeed and a Christian faith that gave him the moral compass to do the right thing.
He championed racial equality when it was an unpopular thing to do.
When he interviewed to become coach at Old Dominion in 1965, he insisted on being able to recruit African American players. He had roomed at Marshall with Hal Greer, who was Black and would go on to an NBA career.
As Will Driscoll, who heads the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, said recently, it was a gutsy thing to do, and not just because recruiting Black players would be unpopular. He also put his career at risk. Turn down one head coaching job and the word quickly gets around.
But the late Bud Metheny, then ODU's athletic director, said yes, and Sonny recruited Buttons Speakes and Bob Pritchett, the first African Americans to play for a predominantly white school in Virginia.
Other Virginia college coaches quickly followed Sonny's example.
Sonny was a doting father who dearly loved his children Billy, Jackie, Kelly Marcantel and Jennifer Allen; and step-children Jimmy Warner and Tedi Holdmann.
Yet even with his kids, he kept things simple.
Such was the case in 2006 when Kelly graduated from LSU.
His graduation card to her was short and sweet:
Kelly,
Congratulations on your college degree – also on your 1st job as an adult.
Proud of you
Work hard
Be a good citizen
Life is good
Have a great day
Love U Dad
"Be a good citizen." That sentence stuck with the family.
Billy said his four sisters got together shortly after their father's death and brainstormed how to have a yearly celebration in which the family paid homage to Sonny. March 8th is now "Sonny Allen Be A Good Citizen Day."
The family had t-shirts printed and every family member takes that day off to do volunteer work. They've worked at homeless shelters and churches. They pass out cards to people who've done good deeds.
Allen family members visited ODU in 2020
Jackie and other family members who live in western North Carolina became responsible for policing litter on a stretch of highway all year long. Under the adopt a highway program, a sign along the side of the road reads: "Be A Good Citizen. Coach Sonny Allen."
Sonny's eight grandchildren and five great grandchildren all take part, or will take part when they are old enough, in March 8th volunteer work.
"We want to make sure," Billy Allen said, "that they're all good citizens."
They certainly had a great role model.
If you are interested in donating to an ODU basketball scholarship in Sonny Allen's memory please call Jay Haeseker at the Old Dominion Athletic Foundation at 757-683-6964 or click the link below.
CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO SONNY ALLEN SCHOLARSHIP
ODU Celebrates the Life and Legacy of Former Basketball Coach Sonny Allen Thursday Night
