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The Kentucky Wildcats’ lone in-state signee, Dontaie Allen, will miss the remainder of his senior season, as his Pendleton County High School career is over.
According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, Allen has suffered a torn ACL, which will end his season, and it will probably hinder his ability to make an impact at UK in his freshman season. Because this injury takes around 6-8 months to recover from, it’s possible Allen will redshirt his first year at UK to ensure he’s back to full strength whenever he returns to the court.
Allen confirmed the news on Twitter.
Dear Senior Tour, you’re being cut short. You brought many blessings and hardships to me that I wouldn’t trade for the World. God blessed me with talent and work ethic, but he’s not going to let me stop now.. thank you all!! I will be back & better than ever!!
— Dontaie A11en (@dontaieallen11) January 2, 2019
Allen’s senior campaign got off to a hot start as he dropped at least 50 points in six of his first 12 games but a knee injury suffered a week ago led to him missing the last three games. The injury wasn’t thought to involve torn ligaments, but sadly, it turned out to be more serious than everyone thought it was.
The four-star recruit is one of the significant pieces of Kentucky’s 2019 recruiting class which is still a work in progress. He’s also the first in-state signee since Dominique Hawkins and Derek Willis in the Class of 2013.
#BBN, let’s lift @dontaieallen11 up and let him know we’re thinking about him. We know this is only a minor setback. Can’t wait for him to get back on the court. https://t.co/1GIazyNfs6
— Kentucky Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) January 2, 2019
If Allen doesn’t play in his freshman season, that means Kentucky is effectively down to just two commitments that will play in the 2019-20 season in Tyrese Maxey and Kahlil Whitney. That could lead to John Calipari looking to add another shooting guard/small forward-type player to its 2019 class.
Here’s to hoping for a speedy recovery for Allen.