Recruiting: Ponchatoula’s Allen Graves commits to Santa Clara men’s basketball

Ponchatoula’s Allen Graves, perhaps the top 2024 men’s basketball recruit in Louisiana, has committed to Santa Clara.

1000% committed!!🙏🏀 #Committed @CoachMadry @SantaClaraHoops @336Edits pic.twitter.com/cen33NyDUJ

— Allen Graves (@allengraves_5) June 27, 2023

The 6-foot-9 first-team All-State performer also has offers from Texas A&M, UNO, Southeastern Louisiana and Northwestern State.

Graves led the Green Wave to the Division I non-select state title this year as a junior. He scored 23 points and 16 rebounds in the championship game victory against New Iberia to earn Most Outstanding Player honors. Graves averaged 19 points per game this past season.

“The work that I’ve put in throughout these years with my brother and him being a college athlete and my sister being a college athlete,” said Graves after winning the state title. His brother Marshall played on the LSU basketball team and his sister Amoura is entering her third season at Auburn.

“Just being able to train with them and have the advantages that I do. Just to be able to go to a practice of a college team and just watch how it runs and just being able to put the work in like a college player. I feel like it helps me at the high school level to be able to play on another level of basketball.”