It’s June 19, 2018, and Dontaie Allen is sitting in the basketball office at Pendleton County High School after finishing a summer workout before his senior season.
The Falmouth, Kentucky guard watched his list of offers expand to include Purdue, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, and Xavier.
Keaton Belcher, Allen’s coach at Pendleton County, sent a phone call to voicemail. Purdue coach Matt Painter called to check on the 6-foot-6 sharpshooter like many other coaches around college basketball. But there was one phone call missing that Allen wanted to receive.
“It would give Kentucky kids hope,” Allen said about the possibility of earning a Kentucky offer.
A strong summer on the AAU circuit led to an offer from Louisville, but Allen, who grew up a Kentucky fan, wanted to impress one coach. After patiently waiting, the opportunity presented itself during the Under Armour Challenge in Cartersville, Georgia in July 2018. Kentucky coach John Calipari watched the in-state product drop 30 points on 11-of-15 shooting while splashing four three-point field goals.
A visit to Kentucky followed in August, with the highly anticipated offer coming the same weekend. Before leaving campus, Allen committed to Kentucky, becoming the first in-state player since Derek Willis and Dominique Hawkins in 2013.
Over two years later, Allen is sitting on a computer in the lobby of the team hotel in Starkville, Mississippi, hopeful that Calipari will give him that chance again. He was sowing the seeds of what could be a big day by preparing for his moment.
He wouldn’t have to wait long, as that opportunity finally came with 13:16 remaining in the first half of Kentucky’s SEC opener at Mississippi State. He played 32 minutes and scored a game-high 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including a scorching 7-of-11 from three-point range.
“That’s what you’re supposed to do when you get a chance,” said Calipari. “I’m so happy for him. I said before the game, to the staff, ‘I hope he goes big.’ Because we need to win, we needed a win, and he changed us offensively because he spread the court. In the first half, he passed up about four shots. We were all saying, ‘Shoot it.’
“I’ve got a shoutout to [Transylvania University head coach] Brian Lane because they really helped us. Dontaie, there, was 6 out of 10, but it got him going. He was exactly the same way in the first half. Then, he goes and starts making shots. He makes one after the other, which put him in a great frame of mind. I’ve already texted Brian and told him to tell his team ‘Thank you.’
Allen’s first field goal was a three-pointer at the top of the key with 1:34 to play in the first half, his only basket before intermission. Mississippi State would build a 50-41 lead midway through the second half, putting Kentucky in danger of losing its seventh consecutive game.
Rather than letting go of the rope, Allen would find the bottom of the net from three-point range three times over the next five minutes, including one in transition that pushed Kentucky ahead 56-55 with 5:08 to play.
The Bulldogs would regain the lead, but Allen responded with another three-pointer to tie the game in the final two minutes of regulation. And then once the game moved to overtime, the in-state standout drilled yet another three-pointer with 1:08 to play to give Kentucky a 68-65 lead. That momentum continued into the second overtime period, as Allen led a 5-0 run of his own, capped off by a dagger three-pointer to push UK’s lead to 76-70 with 2:28 to go.
Kentucky would hold on to win 78-73 to end the team’s six-game losing streak, and it wouldn’t have happened without the former Pendleton County star there to save the day.
The Big Blue Nation had been calling for Allen to play, especially considering the Wildcats’ brutal three-point struggles this season. Following Kentucky’s loss to Louisville, Calipari publicly said it was Allen’s opportunity to shine.
Despite shooting woes and fans pleading for the homegrown talent to get an opportunity, Allen didn’t feel the pressure to perform.
“I don’t think it was pressure only because I put in the work,” Allen said after the win. “I didn’t know when my opportunity was going to come. Obviously, it could have come today, next week, or next month. Nobody knows, so I was just keeping my head down and just working hard. I am thankful for the opportunity I had tonight.”
After logging just one combined minute in Kentucky’s losses to Notre Dame, North Carolina, and Louisville – two of which were DNP’s – Allen earned more minutes and a permanent spot in the rotation with his breakout performance in Starkville.
“He changes our team,” Calipari said. “The reason we couldn’t score, and you guys all know it; guys couldn’t make shots. It doesn’t matter what you run. It bleeds into free-throw shooting. “So, him being able to that, I told the team after, he’s earned more minutes. Some guys are going to end up having to play less.”
Even after turning in a legendary performance Kentucky fans will never forget, nothing will change for Allen when it comes to preparing for his next opportunity.
“I am going to keep working hard. I am going to see what happens,” Allen said. “Keep my head down and keep working. Just because this happened doesn’t mean I’m going to change. I’m still going to be that kid that keeps working hard.
“… It feels crazy. If there are kids listening, it comes down to work. If you put in the work, you can do some great things. Just put in the work, put your mind, body, and soul into it.”
Two years ago, Dontaie Allen was hopeful Kentucky would offer him a scholarship so he could give Kentucky kids hope of doing the same one day. In return, Allen may have just turned Kentucky’s season from hopeless to hopeful in Starkville.