Allen will return for sophomore season at UK

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He says he will work "till the point of exhaustion" this offseason.

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  • Photos by SEC and UK Athletics
    Photos by SEC and UK Athletics
  • Photos by SEC and UK Athletics
    Photos by SEC and UK Athletics
  • Photos by SEC and UK Athletics
    Photos by SEC and UK Athletics
  • Photos by SEC and UK Athletics
    Photos by SEC and UK Athletics
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Photos by SEC and UK Athletics
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    The turbulent 2020-21 basketball season for the Kentucky Wildcats has come to an end. For the first time in SEC tournament history, the Wildcats failed to reach the quarterfinal round as they were eliminated from conference play with a 74-73 loss to Mississippi State.
    The lone bright spot in the final game that punctuated the programs 9-16 season was the play of Pendleton County product, Dontaie Allen. It was like deja vu all over again as Allen caught fire versus the Bulldogs, just as he did on back on Jan. 2, tying a career-high with 23 points (20 in the second half). Allen single-handedly rallied Kentucky back from a 14-point halftime deficit and had the opportunity to send his team to victory with a long three-point attempt with less than 10 seconds remaining in the game. Unfortunately, the shot was just a tad strong as it hit the back iron and the Bulldogs were able to advance with a one point win.
    Allen’s strong showing only helped strengthen the case made by much of the Kentucky fanbase during the last several weeks that he was deserving of more playing time and worthy of a opportunity to show what he could do to help his team win games. His minutes over the final six weeks of the season had been greatly reduced, and the fallout from that led to chatter that perhaps he should seriously consider other opportunities elsewhere. But as the Falmouth Outlook has learned in recent days, Allen won’t be going anywhere. His mother, April Allen-Thomas, confirmed that her son remains locked into continuing his playing career in Lexington.
    “He is definitely returning! His plan is to come home and work harder than ever before and return to UK for his sophomore season, and I fully support his decision,” she said.
    In his postgame interview following the game, Allen alluded to his desire to work harder than he ever has to improve as a basketball player and put himself in the best position to succeed next season.
    “I’m going to stay in the gym. I’ve been working very hard over the past month  and  I’m feeling really  confident. I’m just going to live in the gym literally all summer. I’m going to work myself into exhaustion,” Allen explained.
    This offseason for head coach John Calipari and his staff will be interesting but not for the usual reasons. Each season, the program typically sees multiple players exit with hopes of being drafted into the NBA. But this particular squad, it looks as if many could return looking to improve their draft stock with a second season. Factor that into the group of incoming high school talent and transfers, and the makeup of next seasons roster appears to have more questions than answers at this juncture. Over the weekend, it was announced that freshman Devin Askew will be returning while Cam’Ron Fletcher has opted to enter the transfer portal.
    Before looking into the future, Coach Calipari took time to reflect on the season that clearly fell short of expectations. He admitted that he and his staff must work harder and do a better job themselves of bringing in talent that is truly mentally and physically prepared to deal with the challenge that comes with playing for one of the most decorated programs of all time.
    “We were never able to get fully engaged this year. But I will say this, all that these kids have been through, they fought every night in practice and every game. We were lacking and flawed in different ways, but they fought.
 “My teams historically played like if they lost, they were going to the electric chair. This team did not. At times we did, but maybe physically we weren’t capable of it. But I will say this, they never quit on anything. They never quit one time this year,” Calipari explained.
    With a full offseason to engage with his team and implement new players along with the ones who stay, including Allen, Kentucky will put itself into a position to bounce back from a forgettable season. The confidence, experience and growing pains that Allen and his teammates gained will only benefit their playing careers moving forward.