Dontaie Allen

[Matt Dillon]

I have a feeling Allen's going to play more.

I saw, on Twitter, that Cal told the team, after the game, that "Dontaie's going to take some of your minutes, he's earned it".

[TrueblueCATfan]

So happy for this kid.....his hard work paid off

[justford]

Kyle Tucker

@KyleTucker_ATH

Calipari: "I can’t do stuff for kids that they have to do for themselves. Like, Dontaie had to do this. He had to work his way. And now he’s earned that spot.”

Why did he have to work for this and others are given the minutes from day 1??

[Los Gatos]

Kyle Tucker

@KyleTucker_ATH

Calipari: "I can’t do stuff for kids that they have to do for themselves. Like, Dontaie had to do this. He had to work his way. And now he’s earned that spot.”

Why did he have to work for this and others are given the minutes from day 1??

I'm, obviously, not Cal so I can't answer for him. However, I expect his answer would be that allotting playing time to highly ranked freshmen has worked well for the last 15 years. Yes, I understand it hasn't worked this year.

[Lighthouse]

I'm, obviously, not Cal so I can't answer for him. However, I expect his answer would be that allotting playing time to highly ranked freshmen has worked well for the last 15 years. Yes, I understand it hasn't worked this year.

Those minutes are earned in HS and AAU. It then starts in the living room.

[Joneslab]

One thing about Allen that jumps out to you is his size. He's a big guard. Sort of looks like one of these NBA guards that drifts around on the court looking for his shot.

Looks more comfortable as a set shooter than he is coming off screens, and doesn't appear to be super-fast (which makes sense given his size), but he's hard to defend because he gets the shot off high.

Having him out there made things a lot easier for the guards to drive. Our inability to hit shots has just clumped the floor all up and made it so that there are no driving lanes. Nobody even looks at Boston when he catches the ball.

[GOCAT15]

The play where he caught the ball and did a jab step to his right and the defender about fell over, and then he nailed the three was my highlight for the night.

Such a simple way to get an open shot, but these kids hardly ever do it. Instead they think they need to do a step back because they think they are Steph Curry.

[Joneslab]

If the NBA has taught anyone anything, and it should because it's the best basketball in the world, then it's the fact that you absolutely HAVE to have an elite shooter on the court.

You also really need a playmaker at the 4 who spreads out the defense and doesn't clog things up for drivers. Jackson can't make plays so you might as well put in a guy with a nose for the ball who can chase down rebounds for you, and that's what Ware was bringing after Cal got ejected.

Jackson gets in the way on offense. They don't even pass the ball to Ware on offense and he just serves as a rebounder. Might as well go with that because Jackson just messes stuff up. That pains me to say because I love the way he defends and he has some intangibles that are truly crazy.

[GOCAT15]

If the NBA has taught anyone anything, and it should because it's the best basketball in the world, then it's the fact that you absolutely HAVE to have an elite shooter on the court.

You also really need a playmaker at the 4 who spreads out the defense and doesn't clog things up for drivers. Jackson can't make plays so you might as well put in a guy with a nose for the ball who can chase down rebounds for you, and that's what Ware was bringing after Cal got ejected.

Jackson gets in the way on offense. They don't even pass the ball to Ware on offense and he just serves as a rebounder. Might as well go with that because Jackson just messes stuff up. That pains me to say because I love the way he defends and he has some intangibles that are truly crazy.

I don't know if it is because our point guards can't make that pass, or if Jackson doesn't understand how to back roll off of a screen, but there is no reason he doesn't have a few alley oops every game. I agree that he can't get a shot by himself, but if he would just focus on defense, offensive rebounds, and dunks he can give us some good minutes. Ware is a workhorse and deserves pt, but for this team to get better they have to figure out a way to get Jackson involved.

[Joneslab]

I don't know if it is because our point guards can't make that pass, or if Jackson doesn't understand how to back roll off of a screen, but there is no reason he doesn't have a few alley oops every game. I agree that he can't get a shot by himself, but if he would just focus on defense, offensive rebounds, and dunks he can give us some good minutes. Ware is a workhorse and deserves pt, but for this team to get better they have to figure out a way to get Jackson involved.

They're desperate to put him off the right block and have him face up. I assume that's a play they run in practice and it works. They run it again and again and again (and again) to try to get something for him. To my knowledge it has not worked once all year.

He can't play. I love him and think he's got ungodly upside. But he can't play offensively. He really messes us up and I put him in the same stable as Boston. I think Cal is trying to give NBA auditions to both and it's been to our detriment.

Defensively Jackson has shown that he can be a devastating player.

[Lighthouse]

The thing that made me happy but puzzled, was MSU had no answer for Allen. He continually was open and when he got a little pressure, was able to overcome it. He added a needed addition to this team. Also, I liked the team on the court during the time after Cal was ejected.

[lilproUK98]

The thing that made me happy but puzzled, was MSU had no answer for Allen. He continually was open and when he got a little pressure, was able to overcome it. He added a needed addition to this team. Also, I liked the team on the court during the time after Cal was ejected.

Been a recurring theme over the years that when Cal gets ejected, we play better lol and almost always come back to win. Makes you think

[Joneslab]

Been a recurring theme over the years that when Cal gets ejected, we play better lol and almost always come back to win. Makes you think

This is true for most teams though. Teams usually get energized when the coach gets kicked out. You see it happen on a smaller scale after technical fouls a lot.

It could be that the team runs more smoothly because some wrinkles are being put in by the new coach. But it could also be psychological, i.e. players getting pumped up because they saw their coach going to bat for them.

Hard to get to the actual reasons for that. One obvious thing though that can't be denied was that putting Boston on the bench for that long stretch really helped us.

[Catgrad7072]

Hard to get to the actual reasons for that.

I think part of it is that they get a break from Cal's antics and constant screaming; I know I'm tired of his sideline behavior. GBB

[Joneslab]

I think part of it is that they get a break from Cal's antics and constant screaming; I know I'm tired of his sideline behavior. GBB

This could be it as well. I definitely had this thought during the second half.

If I have to hear Cal scream "Go!!!!!" one more time I might have a stroke.