Calipari suggests Dontaie Allen might make his Kentucky basketball debut soon
While talking about the importance of bench players Keion Brooks, Johnny Juzang and Nate Sestina to this Kentucky basketball team, John Calipari dropped in a bit of a surprise Tuesday night.
UK freshman Dontaie Allen — the reigning Mr. Basketball in the state of Kentucky — could be making his debut for the Wildcats in the near future.
Calipari said that Allen, who has been sidelined since December 2018 following a major knee injury, impressed during a recent practice session.
“Dontaie met with me and we’re going to give him a little time to condition. I may start playing Dontaie,” Calipari said after UK defeated Mississippi State 80-72. “He went through a workout with our team — doing individuals — and I had never seen him go that hard. Like, ever. I went, ‘That’s who you are now? Are you ready to go?’”
Allen, who underwent surgery for a torn ACL and torn meniscus in January of last year, returned to the practice court earlier this season, but he had not been able to practice fully with any regularity due to continued symptoms of the injury.
With just a few weeks left in the regular season — and no positive updates on Allen’s status from the Kentucky coaching staff — it was beginning to look like the former Pendleton County star might be headed toward a redshirt year.
Calipari’s comments Tuesday night suggest that’s not necessarily the case, though the UK coach did stress that he would be mindful of Allen’s future and would not waste a season of eligibility for spot duty on this Wildcats team.
“What I don’t want to do is use his year if I don’t intend to play him,” he said. “I’m not going to play him 30 seconds or a minute and then use a year up. I won’t do that to the kid.”
Kentucky has just nine regular-season games left before the SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament.
The Wildcats could use someone with Allen’s unique knack for scoring. He was averaging 42.9 points per game as a senior and was on pace to become the state’s second all-time leading scorer — behind only “King” Kelly Coleman — before suffering the knee injury last winter.
Apparently, that scoring ability has shown itself during these UK practice sessions.
“He is a great practice player for us, because he can score the crap out of the ball. And he can shoot. So it forces us to step out a little bit,” Sestina said. “It’s starting to come together, and he’s in good shape. He’s getting back to it. He’s starting to jump a little bit. So he’s feeling confident, which is good for us. And it’s good for him, too, to kind of have that back under him.”
Allen was also a prolific three-point shooter in high school, and that’s an area where UK has struggled this season. The Cats made just one of 10 three-point attempts Tuesday night, lowering their standing to 31.9 percent for the season. Allen was shooting 39 percent from three-point range at the time of his injury last season, and he was a 40-percent three-point shooter as a high school junior, despite being the overwhelming focus of every opposing defense.
For his high school career, Allen made 246 three-pointers.
UK also played a rotation of just six players for most of Tuesday night’s game. Sestina was more effective against Mississippi State, picking up 15 minutes off the bench. Sestina’s play — and EJ Montgomery’s productivity — meant just five minutes of playing time each for Brooks, who picked up two quick fouls in the first half, and Juzang, who did not attempt a field goal.
Calipari noted the Cats’ lack of depth, just eight healthy scholarship players following the recent departure of Kahlil Whitney. “We’re down to two and the rent is due. We could use one more guy,” he said.
Allen could give them a total of nine during this all-important stretch run.
“Just another scorer,” Sestina said of what the UK freshman could bring to this team. “The kid averaged 45 points a game his senior year. I don’t care who he was playing — 45 points is 45 points. So, he’s a big-time scorer, and he could add that for us.”
This story was originally published February 5, 2020 at 12:16 AM.
