Dontaie Allen is turning heads at the Under Armour Challenge this week being described as the breakout star of the summer.
Allen is a 6’6, 200-pound wing out of Pendleton County (KY) in the 2019 class. He is ranked as a three-star SG by Rivals, but with the week he’s having, he’s going to rise up the national rankings very soon.
Allen has size, versatility, and can shoot (39.6% from three as a junior). Oh, and he’s leading the Under Armour Challenge in scoring this week with an average of 26.4 points per game. Allen even ranks four in rebounds and fifth in assists.
He also just hit a game-winner for his team Friday, a cherry on top of what’s been as good of a week as a recruit could have:
Dontaie Allen caps week at Under Armour Challenge with game winner with a couple seconds left. He had a pretty good week. pic.twitter.com/F9miZKD1hN
— Jon Hale (@JonHale_CJ) July 14, 2018
He’ll continue to climb the recruiting rankings as major conference schools continue to offer and he continues to light it up.
Currently, Kentucky hasn’t extended an offer, but I think it's only a matter of time. Allen has already received offers from the likes of Xavier, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Vanderbilt, Iowa State, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma, and Florida.
Although Kentucky hasn’t offered, Allen certainly got Coach Calipari’s attention. While all the focus this week has been on the Nike Peach Jam finals, Allen went to work and word spread quickly.
UK assistant coach Tony Barbee watched as Allen poured in 21 points on Wednesday and then 33 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists on Thursday morning in front of several top college coaches.
Well, by Thursday afternoon, Coach Calipari had left the marquee recruiting event of the summer, which features several highly-touted Kentucky targets, just to get a front-row look at Dontaie Allen.
Allen’s AAU team isn’t affiliated with any of the Nike, Adidas, or Under Armour Circuits, so recruiting analysts and coaches have had a hard time seeing him in action. That explains his three-star ranking and why he wasn’t included in Rivals Top 150.
According to Rivals recruiting expert Corey Evans, Allen is most likely going to shoot up the rankings saying, “Allen is everything one looks for in a multi-positional wing.” He also said to expect for a lot more scholarship offers to come rolling in the next several days.
Kentucky hasn’t signed an in-state player since 2013, but as Evans said, “things could change quickly if Kentucky decides to offer.”
In an interview with the Herald-Leader, Evans went as far as to say, “The way that he (Allen) is playing right now, it’s either now or never. I don’t know what else he (Calipari) would want from him.”
I’m not sure what else Coach Cal needs to see, but I’m confident an offer is coming soon from the Cats.