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Dontaie and Keaton
The University of Kentucky Men’s basketball team began its summer satellite camp tour around the Commonwealth and one of the first stops was at Ryle High School on June 2.
Several members of the team and the entire coaching staff were on hand as a group of over 75 youngsters from around Northern Kentucky got to participate in skill drills and interact with the special guest instructors. Pendleton County star and current Wildcat sophomore Dontaie Allen was also in attendance and greatly enjoyed a bit of a homecoming.
“It’s great to be here today, I’m about 45 minutes or so away from home in Pendleton County, so it’s big time. I’ve gotten to see some people I know who are now on staff here at Ryle so it’s been cool to see some familiar faces,” Allen said.
Among those familiar faces were current Ryle head basketball coach and former Pendleton County coach, Keaton Belcher. Allen and Belcher remain close to this day and Allen spoke fondly of his former high school coach and friend.
“He’s been a big piece in my life going back to seventh grade when he pulled me up for the JV, and he’s been a big part of my life ever since, so to be able to see him and talk to him today is huge.”
As is the norm with Kentucky basketball, the look of the roster is expected to be much different than last season. Some players have decided to test the NBA draft waters while other new faces have come into the mix via the transfer portal. For Allen and the few who remain from last season’s squad, the opportunity to take the games to the next level and gel with the new incoming talent is something he’s looking forward to.
“There’s going to be a lot of nice pieces on this team. A lot of guys have already gotten better and we’ve added some guys who can really shoot the ball and do other things. I’ve worked really hard to improve some parts of my game like ball handling but the main thing is just confidence. I’m looking forward to showing my whole game next season and I’m determined to be great here.”
As last season came to an end and his playing time decreased, there was plenty of speculation among the Wildcat fanbase that Allen could look into other destinations and possibly transfer out of the program that has been his dream school since childhood, but Allen firmly stated that the thought of leaving never crossed his mind and he’s completely locked in on being a Wildcat.
“I pride myself in being a hard worker, so I looked at it like what do I have to add to my regimen to get better. I’m not a quitter by any means so in coming back for this season it’s just been about improving my game to be a big contributor on this team.”
Allen also noted that the lifting of many restrictions related to the pandemic has already paid dividends to the bonding experiences shared by he and his teammates. This time last year, none of these team-related functions were happening but now the team and its coaches can spend more time around each other.
“We’re already having a lot of fun together. We’ve been able to scrimmage a little bit and some of the guys have spent time playing video games, pool and ping pong games with each other. There’s just a whole different feel compared to the way things were last year.”
Allen and his Wildcat teammates will continue to tour the state with upcoming camps before moving into organized workouts and practices this summer.