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Kentucky Wildcats signee and Kentucky Mr. Basketball Dontaie Allen only played 13 games in his high school season before tearing his ACL and missing the rest of his senior season.
That’s led to speculation Allen could redshirt during his first year in college. That would ensure he doesn’t waste his entire freshman season while rehabbing and barely playing.
But according to Josh Moore of Kentucky.com, Allen told reporters that he has no intentions to redshirt his freshman season at Kentucky next year.
“I have no intention to redshirt,” said Allen, who signed with UK in November. “I think I’ll be good by then but I’m just gonna play it by ear.”
Allen is not your typical run-of-the-mill in-state recruit from Kentucky. Allen is a legitimate player who will contribute more in his freshman year than previous in-state recruits such as Darius Miller, Derek Willis, and Dominique Hawkins. Allen was even getting some Mcdonald’s All-American hype before his injury, after his fantastic start to his senior season.
Dontaie Allen’s coach Keaton Belcher even thinks Allen will be playing next season, stating “I think he’s’ on pace to be in uniform next year at UK.”
Allen was averaging 43 points per game for Pendleton County this season before his season-ending injury and would have almost certainly had Pendleton County playing for a spot to go the Sweet 16 that started this week.