Photo by Chet White | Athletics in the UK
Photo by Chet White | Athletics in the UK
On Monday, John Calipari promised to play Dontaie Allen at the right time, but as the minutes went on and the Kentucky offensive continued to fight Louisville, the former Pendleton County star and Mr. Basketball remained on the bench. . Why?
“Here is what I will tell you,” Calipari said afterwards. “I told Dontaie today: “Be prepared for your chance. Terrence [Clarke]If you don’t think it can work, then I will go with you and it will be your opportunity. “
Clarke sucked an ankle from the North Carolina game, wearing a walking boot most of the week. He didn’t start, but he played 16 minutes, 12 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.
“Twice I thought of introducing it, once in the first half, which I would like to have, because I could have played it in the second half. If I don’t play a guy in the first half and keep going, 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 recorded a cold of 29.4% out of three today, connecting to only five of the 17 attempts. For eight minutes in the second half, Kentucky did not score a goal. As a senior in Pendleton County, Allen averaged 42.9 points and 14.2 rebounds per game. He shot nearly 40% of the three during his high school career. The cats entered this game 1-5 and desperately needed a victory to gain some momentum in the conference game. Basically nothing works now, but isn’t it the right time to give Allen a chance?
Let’s take a look at those quotes from Monday’s Call-in show again.
“What I’m saying to Dontaie, ‘Be prepared for your occasion. He had an incredible attitude. I want to see him go into the game, know the defensive game plan, know what he’s doing and then let a few balls fly. “
“It simply can’t be broken down into two or three other areas, let the balls fly when you get there and you have the chance. And he will. I don’t know when it is, it may be this game, maybe not. He will have a chance. “
“Let me tell everyone there, I’m rooting for Dontaie when she has the chance. I want him to do so well. The Kentucky kids I recruited here did so well. It took longer for them, Dominique (Hawkins), Derek (Willis), think about it, play professionally. It took them longer, but what?
“I am rooting for this child to come in and you all just want to shoot. To stay on the floor, the defensive game plan, block. Make games very easy and when you get a shot, launch that one. If you don’t shoot an open shot, I’ll take you out. Now, it’s hard, because it’s on you now, because you have to take responsibility for those photos. I root for him. “
The wait continues.