He has a couple of offers in Italy for this fall and will attend some NBA camps this summer with hopes of catching on as a minimum-salary player. Allred envisions himself still playing a decade from now in obscure European markets such as Iceland or Scotland or Denmark.

"I was a European history major in college," he says. "I love that stuff."

At some point he'd like to go back to school and get his PhD and teach history like his father. Last year he bought 20 acres of land in the Teton Valley with most of his NBA money and that's where he plans to build his first home.

Allred is still writing, with two books on tap — a historical novel about Teutonic Knights in the 14th century and a Victorian satire — and would like to compile some of the stories cut from "Longshot" into a book.

Despite his tumultuous childhood, his hearing and OCD problems and abuse from coaches, Allred says he has few regrets in life.

"I've enjoyed the path I've taken," he says. "It's been more a path of self-discovery because I believe I've turned every stone. I can say I did the best I possibly could."

E-mail: sor@desnews.com