Dontaie Allen nears long-awaited UK debut. Absence ‘made me a stronger person.’
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As Dontaie Allen told it, a telling moment came last week during a weight-training session. He was doing squats when the trainer asked him how his knee was holding up.
“I’m, like, what? What are you talking about?” Allen told media members during a video conference call Friday.
Of course, the trainer was talking about Allen’s left knee, the one in which he tore the anterior cruciate ligament early in his senior season for Pendleton County High School. It’s the ACL injury that kept the 2019 Kentucky Mr. Basketball on the sideline the rest of that season and his UK freshman season of 2019-20.
“I just forgot,” Allen said. “Like, that’s the space I’m in right now. I don’t even think about it. I’m ahead of where I was. In a lot better space. It’s going really well.”
Of course, Allen’s return hit a significant bump when he broke his collarbone during the rehabilitation process for his knee. He spoke of a silver lining in dealing with a double dose of adversity.
“I learned that I’m very resilient,” he said. “I’ve not gone through anything like I’d gone through the last two years. I think, honestly, it made me a stronger person, and that can only carry on to the court.
“It’s kind of a blessing in disguise.”
When asked how the knee and shoulder injuries can translate into a better player, Allen spoke of the sober reality of not being able to play basketball.
“It’s almost like your life is on the line,” he said. “That’s almost the mentality that I have: my life is on the line every day. And if I don’t put that kind of effort into it, then I’m not going to make it. … Just getting my mind into that kind of mental space has gotten me stronger. I’m more consistent in that way.”
Of course, Allen has not played in a game since December 2018. A layoff of almost two years (assuming COVID-19 does not cancel the 2020-21 season) might seem daunting.
But when asked to compare the high school Dontaie Allen who scored 3,255 points (11th highest among Kentucky prep players) and grabbed 1,228 rebounds (22nd highest) with the Dontaie Allen in 2020-21, he had a succinct response.
“Oh, he’s better,” he said, meaning the present-day Dontaie.
Allen suggested that his new, improved version is more basketball savvy.
“If you watched me a couple years ago, I was more like go-go-go-go-go,” he said. “It wasn’t really, like, OK. … His basketball IQ was bad. … Maybe his mind wasn’t moving slow enough while his feet were moving fast. … But now, I’m going-going-going just like always, but my mind is moving slower.”
Not surprisingly, Allen said he can give the 2020-21 Kentucky team good shooting. But he said several teammates are also good shooters. Or as he put it, “this team has a lot of ‘buckets.’”
Another way he said he can contribute might sound counterintuitive. Someone who hasn’t played for Kentucky — or in a basketball game in 23 months when this upcoming season begins — cited his experience.
“Being a good leader on and off the floor for the freshmen coming in …,” he said. “I think I can share with them what Coach Cal (John Calipari) expects, which is pretty much just going hard at all times and not really taking plays off.
“I didn’t play a game, but I was always around it. Being literally in the huddle. … Basically a lot of small things I can share.”
Allen, a 6-foot-6 guard, was Kentucky’s first in-state scholarship player since 2013. He dismissed any notion of feeling added pressure that comes with that distinction.
“My biggest goal is to go out there and work as hard as I can,” he said. “I don’t feel like there’s any added pressure. This is where I want to be. This is the culture, like, I wanted to be in. And I’m ready to work my hardest … and just get things done here.”
This story was originally published October 16, 2020 at 4:03 PM.
