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Hoops Hall of Famer Ray Allen receives degree from UConn

University of Connecticut basketball player Ray Allen with the ball during a 1994 game against Winthrop, in Storrs.
Robert W Stowell Jr
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University of Connecticut basketball player Ray Allen with the ball during a 1994 game against Winthrop, in Storrs.

STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Twenty-seven years after hitting his last jump shot in the building, Ray Allen walked back into Gampel Pavilion on Sunday wearing a cap and gown.

The 47-year-old basketball Hall of Famer sat in the stands with other graduating students, under a banner commemorating the retirement of his UConn jersey, then took his place in the procession to receive his bachelor's degree in general studies.

The two-time NBA champion was greeted with a loud ovation as he was handed his diploma and gave a thumbs up to his family.

“It’s never too late to learn,” Allen told the Hartford Courant. “This day isn’t about me, it’s about the people that helped me along the way to finish this mission, be on this journey to graduate from college."

Allen, who averaged 19 points during his three seasons at UConn, left school early for the NBA. He began taking classes again during the second half of his 19-year pro career with Milwaukee, Seattle, Boston and Miami. He said he got serious about finishing his degree during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“That was one of the best things that happened to me because it kept me with a purpose every single day, kept me with intention,” he said.

Allen said he was inspired to finish school by his children. That included his daughter Tierra, a former Quinnipiac University volleyball player, who was the first in the family to graduate college.

“She inspired me because I saw her graduate and now my kids see me graduate,” he told The Courant.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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