Allen puts Kentucky back in this Kentucky team

By MARK MAYNARD, Kentucky Today

Dontaie Allen did more than save Kentucky’s basketball team from a disastrous 1-7 start with a marvelous performance Saturday against Mississippi State.

What he did was give Big Blue Nation a reason to believe again.

Not that they ever stopped believing in the former Kentucky Mr. Basketball who for some reason was nailed to the bench throughout the first seven games. The talk show lines lit up like it was the second coming of Richie Farmer. They wanted to know why Coach Cal wasn’t playing this Kentucky kid with the pure shooting touch.

We all remember when coach Rick Pitino became put off by the number of callers who wanted him to “put Richie in the game.” It turns out the fans knew what they were talking about then too.

The same kind of mantra was building for Allen, who played only 20 minutes with two baskets in the first seven games. I’m sure it was getting under coach Calipari’s skin much like the Richie calls did for Pitino.

But, for me, there’s more intangibles to playing Dontaie Allen than just his shooting touch. Allen gives this Kentucky team an identity with its own fans that it was lacking. The fans will rally around anybody in a Kentucky jersey, but they absolutely adore those who wear a Kentucky jersey who are from Kentucky. Except it’s hard to rally around someone who plays the last minute of the game, if at all.

Allen won’t score 23 points every game although he’s no stranger to putting up big numbers after scoring 3,255 points in a sensational high school career at Pendleton County. He has a confidence in his shot that gives everybody else confidence. If he’s lacking on the defensive side, it seems like that is something that could come along given his wingspan. And he’s a great young man on top of it.

Having Dontaie Allen in the game and contributing makes this Kentucky team more watchable. I was watching Saturday night and not paying much attention until Allen entered the game and sank a 3-pointer. “Good for him,” I thought. The pressure to perform in this game was enormous given Big Blue Nation’s calls to Coach Cal that Allen deserves more (any?) playing time.

Allen’s performance that included seven 3-pointers opened the floor for everybody and led directly to the 78-73 double-overtime victory. It was exactly what the doctor (UK fans playing that role) ordered. The team-that-couldn’t-shoot-straight had found an answer.

His first 3-pointer with about 90 seconds to go in the first half pulled UK within one. He made his second when the Cats had fallen behind by seven at the midway point of the second half. His third swished not long after Calipari was tossed from the game and trailing by nine with 9:04 remaining. His fourth 3-pointer put Kentucky ahead four minutes later and his fifth trey tied the game with 94 seconds to play. He added a sixth 3-pointer in the first OT and the seventh in the second OT, along with a banked jumper from the top of the key that went for two points.

They needed every one of his 3-pointers not only to win the game, but for Kentucky fans to start falling back in love with their team.

This has been a hard team to watch and COVID is at least partly to blame. These television angles are awful and the announcers are calling the game from their basements. There are very few fans in the stands making for a very artificial atmosphere. It’s just weird. Add to that the No. 1 recruiting class in America isn’t playing like it. Five Stars aren’t exactly shooting stars and the assist-to-turnover ratio for this team has been maddening.

And then along comes Dontaie Allen who in one magical night put the Kentucky back in this Kentucky team.

MARK MAYNARD is managing editor of Kentucky Today. Reach him at mark.maynard@kentuckytoday.com