Dontaie Allen found the fight that John Calipari wants

allen-nov-27

It was the kind of game Dontaie Allen fans did not want to see. The Kentucky sophomore got another chance to show why he could be dependable for coach John Calipari this season and he could not make a shot against outmanned North Florida Friday night.

He was 0-for-4 from the field to start the game that UK eventually won 86-52 in a rout for its fifth straight win.

Rather than pout or let the missed shots impact his overall play, Allen regrouped to finish with 14 points on 5-for-12 shooting — 2-for-8 from 3-point range.  However, he also had seven rebounds, two assists and one steal in 19 minutes. He did not commit a foul or have a turnover.

Calipari noticed.

“Again, Dontaie, I told him, ‘You can miss shots. If you fight, I’ll leave you in,'” Calipari said after the game. “He didn’t fight early in the game. He didn’t come up with the ball, he ran the wrong way, he pushed. You’re not missing shots and playing.

“Then all of a sudden, he missed shots, but he fought. When we came in at halftime, the guys said, ‘That’s the way to fight, Dontaie.'”

Calipari has not talked off about Allen’s fight. It has usually been either he’s making or missing shots but not playing well enough on defense. Allen said he gained confidence during the offside and worked to “set me up as a basketball player” this season.

“Last season seven rebounds (in one game) was not me,” Allen told UK Radio Network analyst Mike Pratt after the game.  “For me, it is just having a strong faith in God but also knowing my teammates are there.

“I am going to miss shots but teammates keep finding me and that gives me ultimate confidence to keep shooting.”

Pratt tried to get Allen to compare last year’s 9-16 team to this team that has now won five straight after losing to Duke. Allen then did his best Calipari impersonation and answered the question he wanted to answer instead.

“This year is a great group of guys. A lot of guys work hard. You go to the gym at 8 or 9 at night and you might see one, two, three guys . . .  you never know. Everybody works hard every day,” Allen said.

Pratt then wanted to know if Allen thought a performance like the one Friday might force Calipari to have to play him. Again, Allen had a different response in mind.

“I hope so but I want to shout out BBN real quick. I love you all,” Allen said to the fans sitting courtside at Rupp Arena after the game to hear the postgame show. “I appreciate you all. I love the support and know all my brothers do, too.”

4 Responses

  1. Dontaie didn’t have his best shooting night, but he had 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal with no turnovers and only one foul in 19 minutes of play. His defense is much improved and he plays team ball even though his team mates don’t always look for him like they could and should. Bryce deserves more PT also. He might have been able to guard Keels where nobody else could. The 2 of them could have been difference makers in the loss to Duke.

  2. Good luck to Allen.
    Off the record. Central Michigan is no better than playing a high school team in the state of Kentucky.
    Went to tip off classic in Ft. Myers. OSU vs Florida. OSU has also played a number of really good teams. That’s called scheduling. Bellermine has played an incredible schedule as well. Hey Prof What’s the combined record of teams that UofK has played excluding Duke? This junk scheduling should be brought up with Mitch.

  3. My congratulations to the Wildcats they are my favorite team forget last year and keep the ball moving as for coach Cal I think hed a great coach keep the wins a comming go big blue..🏀

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