Celtics fans line up to see Allen, trophy

(NECN: Brian Burnell, Hartford, Conn.) - A local hero returned to Connecticut today, bringing with him a piece of hardware that was hard won. Boston Celtic guard Ray Allen was joined by Connecticut Governor Rell this afternoon. The former UConn Husky brought the trophy to the state capital in Hartford to share it with the grateful green fans. Allen has roots in Connecticut back to his college days at UConn and there were as many Allen-the-Husky fans there as there were Allen-the-Celtic fans. Allen credits his college, Jim Calhoun at UConn of course, with instilling some of the work ethic that's made him successful at the next level. "He recruits guys he knows will get along with each other and that will take a little bit of a beating from him from time to time and use that as a great criticism to get better in their careers," said Allen. Allen grew up in many different places because his father was in the military. He has adopted Connecticut as his home. His mother lives there and has been active in the community through his "Ray of Hope" foundation for years. "We got proof of it right here. Ray, he, we had a logo that we had years ago, 11 years ago, called Heaven or Hell clothing. He endorsed the product. This is my daughter when she was two. You see her now. She's thirteen and its just been the spirit of building in our community that Ray still does today," said Anthony Griffin. Another big reason why Connecticut comes out when Ray Allen comes home -- championship trophy in hand, or not. Allen wasn't the only Celtic there. Rajon Rondo and Tony Allen from the current team joined him along with Celtic great Jo Jo White. In Connecticut, though, Ray Allen was the big draw.