Chet White’s photo | UK Athletics
Chet White’s photo | UK Athletics
On Monday, John Calipari promised to play Dontaie Allen when the time was right, but as the minutes dragged on and the Kentucky attack continued to fight Louisville, the former Pendleton County and Basketball star remained on the bench. Because?
“Here’s what I’m going to tell you,” said Calipari afterwards. “I said to Dontaie today, ‘Be ready for your chance. Terrence [Clarke], if I don’t think he can go, then I will go with you and this will be your opportunity ‘”.
Clarke has been healing an ankle injury since the North Carolina game, wearing a hiking boot most of the week. He didn’t start, but he played 16 minutes, 12 in the first half. Calipari said that because he did not play Allen in the first half, he did not want to play him in the second.
“I had the idea of putting it twice, once in the first half, which I would have liked to have done because I would have been able to face it in the second half. If I don’t play with a guy in the first half, and go on, you know. But he will have a chance; it just wasn’t tonight. And I trained the game to win. That’s all I did. “
Kentucky reached a cold 29.4% in three today, connecting in just five of 17 attempts. For eight minutes of the second half, Kentucky missed a field goal. As a senior in Pendleton County, Allen averaged 42.9 points and 14.2 rebounds per game. He shot almost 40% in three during his high school career. The Cats came to this game 1-5 and desperately needed a win to get some momentum for the conference match. Virtually nothing is working now, but isn’t it the right time to give Allen a chance?
Let’s take a look at these quotes from Cal’s call-in show on Monday again.
“What I’m saying to Dontaie:“ Be ready for your opportunity. He has an unbelievable attitude. I want to see him come into the game, know the game plan defensively, know what he’s doing and then let some balls fly. “
“He just can’t break into two or three other areas, let the balls fly when you get there and have your chance. And he will. I don’t know when it is, it may be this game, it may not. He will have an opportunity. “
“Let me just tell everyone out there, I’m rooting for Dontaie when he gets the chance. I want him to do so well. The Kentucky children we recruited here did very well. It’s been a longer race for them, Dominique (Hawkins), Derek (Willis), think about it, they are playing professionally. It took longer, but so what?
“I’m hoping this kid will come in, and you all just want him to shoot. To stay on the ground, defensive game plan, block. Make plays really easy, and when you get it right, you throw that thing. If you don’t fire an open shot, I will eliminate you. Now, it’s difficult because now it’s up to you, because you have to take responsibility for these photos. I’m rooting for him. “
The wait continues.