Looking back at Dontaie Allen's career at Kentucky
Dontaie Allen‘s career as a Kentucky Wildcat has come to an end. Earlier today, the redshirt sophomore announced he is entering the transfer portal, closing the door on three years in Lexington. The news isn’t unexpected; Allen appeared in only 19 games this season, averaging 2.2 points and 1.2 rebounds in 6.4 minutes. Whether or not the Falmouth native should have gotten more playing time will forever be a debate among Kentucky fans, but there’s no doubt we’ll all be cheering for him wherever he goes.
For now, let’s look back on some of our favorite Dontaie memories.
August 2018: Commitment to Kentucky
One day after receiving a scholarship offer during his official visit to Lexington, Allen announced his commitment to Kentucky on Twitter. The Pendleton County native was fresh off a breakout performance at the Under Armour Challenge in Georgia, during which John Calipari watched him score 30 in one game. He picked the Cats over offers from Louisville, Florida, Pitt, Illinois, Oklahoma, Auburn, Iowa State, and Clemson.
Allen was Kentucky’s first in-state signee since 2013. In February 2019, he was introduced to the crowd at Rupp Arena during the Cats’ game vs. No. 1 Tennessee and received a huge ovation.
2019 Kentucky Mr. Basketball
Allen was well on his way to a historic senior year at Pendleton County, averaging 42.9 points and 14.2 rebounds, before suffering a torn ACL in his left knee on Dec. 22, 2018. He still took home the Kentucky Mr. Basketball award in March 2019 for a truly remarkable high school career. Allen finished with 3,255 points, which ranked 10th in state history, and 1,228 rebounds, 22nd in state history. He scored more than 50 points in six of 12 games his senior season. He is the 18th Kentucky Mr. Basketball to suit up for the Cats, the first since Dominique Hawkins.
The Mississippi State games
Allen redshirted his freshman season to rehab from his knee injury and a broken collarbone he suffered in a car accident in April 2019. He began practicing with the team in January 2020. A year later, Allen broke out in a big way, hitting seven threes en route to a career-high 23 points in Kentucky’s double-overtime win at Mississippi State. He led the Cats, who were without two starters, to the comeback victory, one of only a few highlights from a tough season. He became only the sixth freshman in school history to make seven or more threes in a game, and for his efforts, won SEC Freshman of the Week.
Three months later, Dontaie went off vs. Mississippi State again, tying his career-high with 23 points in Kentucky’s 74-73 loss to the Bulldogs in the SEC Tournament. He hit six threes; what would have been his seventh hit the back of the rim as time expired.
Even this season, Dontaie played well vs. Mississippi State. His stats — 5 points on 2-6 shooting (1-5 from three), 3 rebounds, and a block in 18 minutes — don’t jump off the page but he was engaged, making plays on defense and hustling in transition. This putback dunk got the Rupp Arena crowd on its feet:
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“How about the tip dunk he got?” John Calipari said of Allen postgame. “Then he finally made (a 3-pointer). How about the two he missed that were so in and out? You can’t miss a ball any closer than he missed. But I was happy for him. He had not played that much, and again, most of this stuff from me comes down to defensively playing harder than the other guy and playing with unbelievable energy.”
Allen’s three in that game was his final bucket as a Wildcat. He played only five minutes over three games the remainder of the season, going scoreless in each outing. This season, he only scored in double figures once, vs. North Florida on Nov. 26. In the six games Allen played ten or more minutes this year, he shot 13-42 (30.9%) from the floor, 6-31 (19.4%) from three. Still, he maintained a positive attitude, even in the days leading up to the NCAA Tournament.
“When I met with Dontaie Allen, and he was so upbeat and he said, ‘Coach, I just want you to know, I appreciate you,'” Calipari said last week. “Think about that. He’s not playing much. And he left the room and I’m like, ‘Man I hope something good happens for him.'”
The Kentucky Joe song about him
Dontaie didn’t just win SEC Freshman of the Week for his performance vs. Mississippi State in Starkville last year; he got his own Kentucky Joe song. After Dontaie’s big game, KSR’s favorite songwriter called in with a tune in his honor, “Shoot, Shoot, Dontaie (Let The Fire Fall).”
Shooting his NIL shot
No Kentucky player hopped on the NIL train faster than Dontaie Allen. Just over 30 minutes after the Name, Image, Likeness legislation went into effect, Allen announced he was partnering with The Players Trunk to sell exclusive Dontaie Allen apparel. A few weeks later, he signed a deal with Bojangles. In November, he debuted a series of ads with White, Greer and Maggard Orthodontics in which he was “Super Three-Ro,” defender of the Commonwealth.
Best of luck, Donatie. We’re all rooting for you.
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