Photo by Chet White | UK Athletics
Photo by Chet White | UK Athletics
On Monday, John Calipari promised to play Dontaie Allen when the time was right, but as the minutes passed and Kentucky’s onslaught continued to fight Louisville, the former Pendleton County star and Mr. Basketball on the couch. Why?
“This is what I’ll tell you,” Calipari said afterwards. “I said to Dontaie today, ‘Be prepared for your chance. Terrence [Clarke]If I don’t think he can go, I’ll go with you and it’s your chance. ”
Clarke has been dealing with an ankle injury since the North Carolina game and wore a walking boot for most of the week. He didn’t start, but played 16 minutes, 12 minutes in the first half. Calipari said that because he didn’t play Allen in the first half, he didn’t want to throw him in the second half.
“I thought twice about putting him in, once in the first half, which I wish I had because I could have played him in the second half. If I don’t play a man in the first half and it just goes on, you know. But he gets a chance; it just wasn’t tonight. And I coached the game to win. That’s all I did. “
Kentucky shot a chilly 29.4% from three today, with just five of the 17 tries. Eight minutes into the second half, Kentucky didn’t hit a field goal. As a senior at Pendleton County, Allen averaged 42.9 points and 14.2 rebounds per game. He shot nearly 40% of three during his high school career. The Cats came 1-5 in this game and desperately needed a win to get some momentum in the conference game. Almost nothing is working right now, but isn’t it the right time to give Allen a chance?
Let’s revisit those quotes from Cal’s call-in show on Monday.
What I say to Dontaie: ‘Be prepared for your chance. He has had an incredible attitude. I want to see him get in the game, know the game plan defensively, know what he’s doing, and then let some balls fly. “
“He just can’t break in two or three other areas, let balls fly when you get in there and get your chance. And he will. I don’t know when it is, it could be this game, maybe not. He gets a chance. “
“Let me tell everyone out there that I stand for Dontaie if he gets the chance. I want him to do this well. The Kentucky kids we recruited here have done so well. Dominique (Hawkins), Derek (Willis), think about it, they play professionally. It took longer, but so what?
“I’m doing my best to let this kid go in, and you all want him to shoot. To stay on the ground, a defensive game plan, a lock-in. Play very easy and if you get a shot you will launch that thing. If you don’t shoot an open shot, I’ll take you out. Now it’s hard because it’s up to you now because you have to take responsibility for those shots. I’m rooting for him. “
The waiting continues.