After ‘being in the dark a little bit,’ Kentucky’s Dontaie Allen sees a bright future
If you’ve liked Dontaie Allen — and who in the Big Blue Nation hasn’t? — then you’ll probably love how Kentucky’s favorite basketball son spoke Wednesday.
Allen envisioned expanding his game. Better ball handling. Foiling defenses crowding him to take away his signature jump shot. Or as he called it, using a “rip-drive” to score.
Talking with reporters at a UK basketball camp in Ryle High School, Allen acknowledged being labeled in the past as a catch-and-shoot specialist.
“I feel I was definitely viewed as that,” he said. And, he added, the UK gang that couldn’t shoot straight last season at times depended almost solely on Allen to be just that.
The 2021-22 season will be different now that several players billed as shooters (transfers Kellan Grady and CJ Fredrick, plus perhaps Davion Mintz) can lighten his load, Allen said.
“I feel with the shooters we have this season, I’ll be able to show my total game,” he said.
Allen said he hoped Mintz would withdraw from this year’s NBA Draft and play another season for Kentucky.
He also spoke highly of TyTy Washington, likening the freshman to former UK guard Tyrese Maxey.
“The way he shoots, his form, . . . in my mind, it’s like a flashback,” Allen said of Washington. “(Like) just seeing Tyrese.”
Allen described himself as being in better shape physically and mentally.
“At the end of the day, it just comes down to confidence,” he said. “I wouldn’t say I was lacking confidence (last season). But . . . I’d say it’s something I’ve worked on all summer. And I’m going to be more than great in my eyes come this season in all aspects of my game.”
Allen even saw being idle during the 2019-2020 season because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament and subsequent shoulder injury as a positive.
“During the time off . . . I realized how hungry I was to get back,” he said. “. . . I think the best thing was I just got to explore and find out things about myself. And I think that will be a key going through the next stages of my career. Like, obviously, basketball is a big part of my life. And I know it will continue to be for the next 10, 15 years, God willing.”
Allen spoke of the injuries helping enable him to put basketball in perspective. He broadened himself. For instance, he’s taken up golf.
How good a golfer is Allen? “Not great, not great,” he said before adding, “but I like riding the golf cart. That’s the reason I go.”
The camp at Ryle High School, which drew about 70 participants ages 6 to early teens, served as a reminder of Allen’s popularity. His hometown of Falmouth was only about 40 minutes to the East. His name during the introduction of players and coaches drew a noticeably louder cheer.
UK Coach John Calipari has described the camps and plans for the team to also do community service as a way for the players to learn about the rabid interest in Kentucky basketball.
When asked to put in words the message to be conveyed, Allen said, “There’s a sense of great pride.”
With great pride can come great scrutiny. At times last season it seemed all eyes were on Allen.
“I think the big thing with me was I was just playing my game,” he said. “A lot of things could distract or get to certain people in that position. But, me, I just kept my head down and kept working.”
How one-dimensional was Allen’s offense? Seventy-eight of his 100 shots were three-pointers. All but eight of his 39 baskets were threes.
His average of 14 minutes a game was the ninth most for a UK player.
No, Allen said, even in an age of more than 1,600 players in the transfer portal, he did not consider leaving UK.
“Nah,” he said. “The biggest thing for me . . . I pride myself on working hard. I’m not a quitter.”
Oddly, Kentucky’s two games against Mississippi State showcased Allen as a shooting star. He made 16 of 28 shots (13 of 24 three-point attempts) in those games. In a nine-game stretch between those star turns, he made two of 18 shots and scored a total of eight points.
Allen saw the second Mississippi State game as a springboard into the future.
“It was huge,” he said of scoring 23 points in Kentucky’s season-ending loss in the Southeastern Conference Tournament. “. . . I was in the dark a little bit, and hit the light.”
Allen spoke of a bright immediate future for Kentucky basketball.
“A lot of good pieces on this team,” he told reporters, “and you all are going to see it.”
This story was originally published June 3, 2021 at 7:42 AM.
