Dontaie Allen has to learn to talk more on defense. (Jeff Houchin/Nolan Media)
Kentucky was needing any kind of boost the first half against Ohio with Oscar Tshiebwe barely playing after two early fouls, point guard Sahvir Wheeler in foul trouble, and Kellan Grady not scoring.
Dontaie Allen hit a 3-pointer to help the offense and also pulled off a rebound to earn some praise from coach John Calipari after Kentucky’s 77-59 comeback victory Friday night.
“He did better. I’ve got to get him talking,” Calipari said after the game.
Calipari said he had the same type talk with Keion Brooks, who had a career-high 22 points and eight rebound in 37 minutes.
“If he doesn’t talk (on defense) — do you remember when guys came together and they were getting wide open? Well, he was involved in that. I kept saying, ‘You have to speak.’ He’s a quiet kid, and let me say this, one of the greatest kids I’ve coached. He is. And we’re trying to do everything (to help him),” Calipari said.
“I left him in when he made a shot and when he came over I said, ‘Listen, you have to talk. They’re getting you in these screening situations and they’re slipping them. You have to talk.’
Again, Calipari reiterated what a “great kid” Allen is and how he’s trying to get teammates to help him on defense much like the Cats did for former Cat Derek Willis.
“I love coaching him,” Calipari said. “His confidence now defensively, instead of, ‘Oh, my gosh,’ he knows his teammates are all there to help him now because we’re yelling it, red, red, red. Now he has more confidence.
“There is such a thing as defensive confidence. If you’re standing there and you back away and a guy just shoots it, you have no confidence. You’re afraid he’s going to dribble by and you’re going to be embarrassed and you can’t recover and blah, blah, blah, blah.
If you have confidence defensively, you’re taking away a jumper, say, and if this dude drives I’m going to be in front of him.
“But playing him before he catches and all those kind of things, but he’s doing good.”
However, there remains one reality for Allen that likely will not change this year.
“Some of the guards in front of him are playing better,” Calipari said.
Allen’s role is to be ready to help in any way, even if it is just hitting his only 3-point try when UK overall was 3-for-16 from 3. If he understands that and UK fans accept it, Calipari sure sounded more eager to find ways to give Allen a chance to succeed than he has most times the last two seasons.
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Keeping him on the bench is Calipari’s way of "helping" Allen.
http://bigbluefans4uk.com/2021-22DataandWritings/SPREADSHEET_IMAGES/00%20Individual%20Effficiencies.png
Through 4 games, Allen has appeared in 3 games, averaging 8.3 minutes per appearance. His individual efficiency for the 3.0% of all UK possessions he has ended with a shot, free throw opportunity or turnover has been 1.45 points per possession ended (pppe), 2nd best among players having at least 1% of the possessions (everyone except Payne, Ware, Canada, or Watkins).
Compare Allen’s production to Calipari sweetheart Tyty, who has consumed over 20% of all UK possessions and provides only 0.88 pppe. Or Brooks who has consumed 18.2% of all UK possessions while providing only 0.77 pppe.
It should be clear that Allen not only has earned more playing time, it is in the team’s interest that he get more playing time and more possessions. Furthermore, it is clear that Tyty and Brooks should be getting much less of each until they demonstrate an ability to contribute more to the team for the possessions they use.
This is not the end of this sad tale. Oscar Tshiebwe is scoring at a team high rate of 2.61 pppe yet he is only ending 6.4% of all UK possessions. How can Calipari be called a coach and allow this gross mismanagement of this team’s talent to persist.
FYI, some others of interest:
Wheeler: 16.9% at 1.30 pppe
Collins: 4.6% at 1.27 pppe
Grady: 8.4% at 1.23 pppe
Mintz: 8.0% at 1.25 pppe
Each of these players should be on the court ahead of Tyty or Brooks.
One should wonder what factors Calipari considers when awarding playing time and encouraging offensive assertiveness for individual players, because it is clearly not on-court productivity or efficiency during the games.
Oh yes, Tyty has an NBA future to worry about!!!!!!!!
How can anyone forget that!!!!!
Nice post statman Prof. – I’d like to see how well these players preform in a full court press. Big part of basketball. Coach usually waits until the end of the season to try this. Really do not think it’s in his gameplay although being touted as a defensive coach.
I’ve watched Allen over at Woodland. Sure wish I was in that game. Almost 🙂
More KY kids need to be recruited, hence Sheppard. Can you imagine the fallout if he did not get this player?
He better find a big man. UofL has a monster coming in. King. 9′-2" wing span and can play.
I fear that Reed Sheppard will experience the same fate as a Kentucky kid that others have under this coach, a nice seat down the bench. He will not ever be one of Calipari’s favored kids.
Allen got to learn to play defense and I’m not the only cat fan notice he can’t play defense and Cal is with him more than what we see maybe Cal see something we don’t know.. As far Sheppard it’s another two years before he puts on uk uniform and Hess got time develops more in is his game. Maybe the best ky prospect since Rec Chapman..
Tshiebwe 0.018018018 0.072072072 0.09009009
Washington 0.031496063 0.007874016 0.039370079
Brooks 0 0.029126214 0.029126214
Wheeler 0.05 0 0.05
Grady 0.06122449 0 0.06122449
Mintz 0.011764706 0 0.011764706
Collins 0.045454545 0.113636364 0.159090909
Allen 0 0.08 0.08
Toppin 0 0 0
Hopkins 0.022222222 0.022222222 0.044444444
Payne 0.333333333 0 0.333333333
Ware 0 0.1 0.1
Canada 0 0 0
Watkins 0 0 0
0.02875 0.02625 0.055
Defense is a team activity, much more than offense, but one individual measure of individual contributions on the defensive end can be blocks and steals. So far, this team has averaged about 0.027 blocks and steals per minute of the game played by a player
The players above average with steals are in declining order Grady, Collins, Wheeler, and Washington.
The players above average in blocks in declining order are Collins, Allen, Tshiebwe, and Brooks
I have heard Calipari say for now the third season that Allen cannot play defense. I have watched him play, and frankly, I don’t see him involved with any more frequent defensive breakdowns than the other players, especially Tyty. Just because the powerful and mighty Wizard of UK proclaims it so does not necessarily make it so.
Allen rides the bench because he is NOT in Calipari’s favored group. Never has been, and never will be.
How about the 8-3 football Cats? Big game coming up Saturday in Louisville? Chance at a 10 win season? Senior day ceremony?
The football team has an abundance of opportunity, but to achieve 9 or 10 wins, it must elevate its game above anything we have seen so far this season.
Turnover and a porous secondary have plagued this team the entire season.
Coach Stoops again yesterday said, "we have to get that fixed"
Well, if not now, when? Why not even sooner than the present?
This team, like most teams, revealed its character with respect to the turnovers and poor pass defense very early this season. Everyone has seen it, yet these things have not been fixed.
Is that on the coaches? Players? Both?
Professor, you got to remember they knew our secondary was our weak point when the season started and then injury started to mont up on the defense hast help either. We can whine and dine all we want. Our football program is in great shape since Stools has taken over
You tell us Professor? UK has lined up against some pretty good football teams. At least looking from the starting point this season anyway. To be honest, looking at the schedule in early September, I didn’t see any possibility of a 10 win season, but I do now.
I still say UK lags behind the SEC in football talent across the board, and that includes teams in the east like UT, UGA, Florida, LSU, and even MSU out of the west, etc. They sit at 8-3, and that record for Kentucky standards is remarkable, with a lock now on 2nd place in the SEC East in the books which is unheard of. As for 9 or 10 wins in 2021, I am willing to wait and see before counting them out. I think they have a shot at it TO’s or not. My goodness, they lead the nation in TO’s and still keep winning. If this team can beat Louisville at Poppa Johns Saturday, they should be primed for a bowl game to get that 10th win. Lose at Louisville, and that could be a problem.
All in all, I love what I am seeing from UK football. Only looking for better years ahead, expecting it now even. What UK football needs is more talent to match the talent they will face in this league. Saban is the coach he is because of the players he gets.
schedule strength is difficult to define and measure. However, the best measure of schedule strength in football I have found is Sagarin’s strength of schedule. I have reviewed his methods and find his approach sound.
The average college football schedule this year has a Sagarin rating of 56.91. UK’s schedule strength through 11 games is 68.13, above average by about 11.2 points per game.
However, in the SEC, UK’s SOS is the weakest in the conference. So, I don’t think UK should be pointing to how difficult a schedule is to explain its W-L record unless the point is that UK might have 1 or 2 more wins than it would otherwise had if it played an average SEC schedule.
The average SEC Schedule strength is 72.74, and SEC teams with the most difficult schedules have been Arkansas (76.32), Auburn (75.88), and LSU (75.45). Louisville’s SOS is 72.62, slightly below the SEC average.
This year is not unusual in this regard as UK seems to play one of the weakest schedules in the SEC every year, and this year it is the weakest.
I was at the TN game. UofK did not punt one time. We had our chances. KY has some hard nose players. TN had an injury after ever single extra 👉
Professor, your stats doesn’t amount to anything this early of the season. I like what I’m seeing and another thing we haven’t been 100 percent as a team due to injuries. Cal knows his back is against him and he will have this team ready for March madness. You can’t judge now they will be a better different team when comes in March
Beau Allen wears the same #
Go bowlin’ in Tampa. Wisconsin gets the win. Let’s get some revenge down here in Tampa.
Also the SEC roundball committee are fools for not hosting the tourney down here. Nashville is great, but they should mix it up more. Fans would enjoy the warmer weather.
Football Cats have had some huge wins. Been to ever Sec game this year w/o buying any ticket package from UofK. Also carte baby!
Go back and look at our games to date this year. Dontaie is not getting burned by anyone. His defense has improved. He rebounds, is willing to pass for an assist, and he even gets a blocked shot every now and then. Dontaie needs more playing time and he simply will not get that here. I hate to say it, but he would get more PT at Louisville or Western KY. He would become another Johnny Juzang at either school. There are plenty of other SEC schools that would love to have him. Calipari has more kids go to other schools and become stars than any other blueblood school that I am aware of. I fear Reed Shepherd will be the next KY kid that Coach sits.
Still early in the season. Let’s see what happens