John Calipari Answers Your Dontaie Allen Questions, Part 16

In the latest installment of Why Didn’t Dontaie Allen Play More, a popular trivia game this basketball season, John Calipari said he found a lineup that was working in the second half and rode it until the end.

“We shot 60 percent in the second half and I just ran with the guys that were playing well,” Calipari replied to a question about Allen sitting the bench.

“If you watched, what they were doing to Dontaie, they were going right at him defensively. Whoever he was on, that’s what they were doing, and our biggest thing is we were getting great stops and scoring, so maybe next game he may play 25-30 minutes. This game it was my choice and I rode with the team that was playing well in the second half.”

Calipari is right–Allen did not play well when he got his opportunity in the first half. He was a -8 in his seven minutes, missed his only two shots and was a liability defensively. No one is arguing that he was lighting it up before he disappeared to the end of the bench.

But is it crazy to think he could’ve helped in a one possession game in the second half? Maybe, maybe not. Zero minutes though? Zero? You have Devin Askew playing 32 minutes with no confidence in his shot, and crucial mistakes down the stretch yet again. Can’t spare a minute or two for Allen to get a second look?

Calipari didn’t see it that way, and he’s with the team more than us, he said.

“See, everybody can say what this team is, but I’m with them everyday,” Calipari said. “‘Let’s open it up and drive it.’ How did that look? I’m with them everyday. We’re trying a lot of different things. Playing faster, we were looking good, we just didn’t make any baskets.”

More from the Coach: