Tempe, Ariz. • The white van would hit Interstate 10 in Phoenix nearly weekend of the spring and summer, bound for California. That’s where Timmy Allen’s career blossomed in one of the country’s top AAU programs, enabling him to thrive as a University of Utah freshman forward.
Along the way, he learned about more than basketball. “I promise you,” Allen said, “I grew up in that van.”
Ray Arvizu Jr. drove the van and steered Allen through those trying years when the teenager’s mother was dying of cancer. Arvizu became what labels a “brother, mentor, father figure,” influencing him during those six-hour drives for practices and games with the Compton Magic.