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John Calipari Says he Met with Freshman Dontaie Allen

LEXINGTON, Ky – Kentucky coach John Calipari met with the media following the Wildcats 80-72 win vs. Mississippi State Tuesday night at Rupp Arena.

Near the end of Calipari’s presser, he said he met with freshman forward Dontaie Allen, who hasn’t stepped on the floor as a Wildcat to this point.

Allen suffered a torn ACL in December 2018 of his senior year of high school and hasn’t returned to game action yet. He did, however, begin practicing with the team in late December and it sounds like the Falmouth native is close to being back.

 

“Dontaie met with me,” Calipari said. “We’re going to give him a little time to condition, I may start playing Dontaie. He went through a workout with our team, doing individuals and I’d never seen him go that hard, like ever.”

Calipari wants to be sure he will use him and not burn a full year of eligibility because Allen can return in the fall as a redshirt freshman.

“What I don’t want to do is use his year if I don’t intend to play him. I’m not going to play him thirty seconds or a minute, then use a year. I won’t do that to a kid.”

Kentucky is currently playing eight scholarship players with Nate Sestina, Keion Brooks and Johnny Juzang coming off the bench. They could use an extra body but only if it’s the best thing for Allen.

Whether or not he plays this season, it’s encouraging to hear he is close and performing well in workouts.

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