Dontaie Allen will have a shot to earn larger role in coming games

Justified or not, Dontaie Allen has been a point of contention amongst the Big Blue Nation and Kentucky head coach John Calipari. Bluegrass natives beg for a longer leash on the in-state product while Calipari sits him for one missed defensive assignment. Allen didn’t come to Kentucky as the typical five-star recruit, but a local icon who earned a scholarship based on his high school accomplishments at Pendleton County. He was outside the top 100 prospects in the nation, which Kentucky rarely commits to. But Allen was different in the eyes of the coaching staff.

A string of early-career injuries aside, everyone has yet to see what the coaches envisioned–not to Allen’s fault, though.

Part of that has been due to Calipari’s reluctance to play Allen a year ago, combined with not-so-subtle postgame shots at the current redshirt sophomore. Considering the blame of a 9-16 season in 2020-21 goes well beyond whether Allen produced or not, Cal’s comments on Allen mostly came off as forced life lessons.

There really wasn’t any reason for Allen not to play last season. A knee and neck injury kept him out his freshman season, so the next year was truly his first real run playing college basketball. Allen was Kentucky’s deadliest outside shooter last season with an overall mark of 31-78 (39.7 percent). On a Kentucky team that was just as desperate for outside shooting as it was a true point guard or legitimate post threat, Allen should have been a bigger commodity when it came to offense.

If anyone was likely to pop off for a breakout night last season, it was Allen, which he showed on two different occasions, both against Mississippi State. His only two 20-point scoring outbursts came against the Bulldogs, both times posting 23 points. Allen went a combined 13-24 from long range in those two outings.

On the flip side, there were eight games he played where he failed to register a single point in limited minutes. It was all or nothing from Allen, particularly because his deficiencies on the defensive end prevented Calipari from entrusting him for lengthier stretches. Allen practically fell out of the rotation midway through the season before Calipari began frantically searching for different options.

Two games into the 2021-22 season as one of the few holdovers from that historically bad Kentucky team, Allen’s role is even cloudier than before. Transfer Kellan Grady brings premier shooting. Davion Mintz and Keion Brooks Jr. are back. Freshmen TyTy Washington and Bryce Hopkins are more than capable of hitting from distance. Sahvir Wheeler is showing early returns of an improved jumper, too.

Despite being one of the veterans on this Kentucky team, Allen finds himself right back in the same spot he was a season ago.

Allen scored 14 points in just 21 minutes combined through UK’s two exhibition games. He was a DNP-Coach’s Decision when UK lost to Duke in Madison Square Garden.

Against Robert Morris this past Friday, Allen scored eight points in 10 minutes but didn’t see the court until the 7:09 mark of the first half. Calipari subbed him out with 2:20 to go. Allen played the final 4:54 of the second half with UK leading by 30-plus.

Opportunity is coming

Dontaie Allen’s outside shooting has not gone anywhere. Counting the two exhibition games, Allen is 6-11 from distance this season. He’s a known commodity in that regard at this point. The Falmouth, KY native has even showcased some improved defensive skills when it comes to blocking shots and moving his feet. That being said, Allen is still a negative on defense and hasn’t shown much more on offense outside of his elite catch-and-shoot ability.

Calipari isn’t blind to the situation. He knows exactly what Allen does well and does not. Allen isn’t part of the real rotation right now for a reason, but his opportunity is coming. Calipari recently referenced one of his former players, who possessed a similar skill set to Allen, as a reason why.

“Now, do you remember Derek Willis? I love Derek. He’s one of the great kids I’ve ever coached here,” Calipari said after the win over Robert Morris. The head coach went on to add that Willis struggled on the defensive end when he was playing at Kentucky. To the point where opposing teams would call out “Red!” any time they were matched up against Willis; a sign that they were going to attack his defense whenever he was on the floor.

But Willis’ shooting was invaluable, and Kentucky needed him on the floor, so he played. While the ‘Cats might not need Allen to the same effect, Calipari admitted Allen might receive the same treatment to help get him some more playing time under his belt. Even if some defense is sacrificed.

“I think we’re going to have to do that with Dontaie,” Calipari added. “Because first half he scored a three. It was great–and he gave up two. We lose. So, I want to get him some time.”

If there were ever a time for Allen to force Calipari’s hand and put the 6-foot-6 sniper in the lineup, the next few weeks will be the moment to make it happen.

Kentucky is in the midst of a seven-game stretch of home games, which began with Friday’s 100-60 win over Robert Morris. All seven opponents are not Power 5 programs. The ‘Cats will get back into action again Tuesday night against Mount St. Mary’s, where UK enters as overwhelming favorites. Kentucky figures to roll early as it did against Robert Morris, opening up plenty of minutes for Allen.

In reality, there’s no reason Allen shouldn’t play at least 15 minutes per outing over the next six games. Mount St. Mary’s, Ohio, Albany, North Florida, Central Michigan, and Southern University should not pose any serious threats for a full 40 minutes.

Yes, Kentucky is 11 players deep with Allen. Dispersing those minutes is a tough task for Calipari and company when so many players are deserving of more time. Daimion Collins has to play more. TyTy Washington needs to find his rhythm. Bryce Hopkins could use more run. The energy levels from Jacob Toppin and Davion Mintz make them impossible to leave off the floor for too long. Where does Lance Ware fit in?

The injury loss of CJ Fredrick for the season, while brutal for his trajectory, provides more potential minutes for Allen. But Fredrick hadn’t played all season to begin with, so it’s hard to gauge how much of those theoretical minutes Allen might actually be taking away.

Regardless, Allen is going to have a shot at earning a bigger role. These next six games could ultimately decide what his role the rest of the season is. With multiple sharpshooters on the roster, UK is less reliant on Allen to fill that gap. It’s going to be other parts of the game that decide if he’s deserving of more playing time.