Allen's emergence gives WKU some hope

Feb. 9—It's been a wild, tumultuous ride for the Western Kentucky men's college basketball team this season.

After an encouraging 8-1 start, the Hilltoppers lost five straight games, then won three straight, then lost five straight, and hope to win a third straight Thursday night when 'Hundred Miles of Hate' rival Middle Tennessee invades E. A. Diddle Arena.

For the first time in a long time, however, WKU (13-11, 5-8 Conference USA) seems to have some legitimate hope of finally playing to its potential, thanks to Kentucky transfer Dontaie Allen, a 6-foot-6 junior shooting guard who has flat lit it up the past two games.

Provided significantly more playing time following the season-ending injury to 3-point sharpshooter Luke Frampton, the former Kentucky Mr. Basketball out of Pendleton County has responded with some exceptional performances.

Cases in point — the past two games; Western victories over UTSA and UTEP.

Against UTSA last Thursday, Allen logged 38 minutes, finishing 4-of-10 from 3-point range, hauling down seven rebounds and playing surprisingly good defense. His game-high 22 points lifted the Hilltoppers over the Roadrunners, 81-74.

On Saturday, Allen produced almost a carbon-copy performance in Western's 74-69 conquest of the Miners — making 6-of-10 shots from distance, again registering seven rebounds, again playing solid at the defensive end and this time adding three assists. He finished with a game-best and career-high 25 points.

His stellar performances deservedly earned him C-USA Player of the Week honors, which caught the rapt attention of every opposing coach in C-USA — guaranteed.

It's important to note that Allen was forced to sit out seven early games for WKU, after the NCAA determined that he was academically ineligible for seven games he played at UK during the 2021-22 season — thus, he got a late jump on the current season.

"Remember, Dontaie just hasn't played much (at the collegiate level)," Hilltopper head coach Rick Stansbury said. "He's in his fourth college season, including a red-short season at his former school, but he hasn't played a lot of college basketball.

"He's gotten an opportunity to play more here as of late, and he's certainly made the most of the opportunity. He's stepped up and helped us in a lot of ways.

"Everyone knows about his ability to shoot, but we've challenged him to go to the boards and to play tough defense, and he's responded to that challenge the right way — right now, Dontaie is playing with a lot of confidence."

And poise. Allen is the 21st century embodiment of what legendary UCLA coach John Wooden meant when he said, "Be quick but don't hurry."

Allen is no trash talker, preferring to let his game do the talking. At the same time, he is gritty, tough-minded and a silent assassin, if you will, from long range. Given the chance to prove his worth with extended minutes, Allen has been nothing short of superb the past two games.

"Really, I just want to help this team be the best we can be, and I'll do whatever it takes to make that happen," the soft-spoken Allen said. "It's been fun for me to go out and play a full game and contribute to us winning basketball games, and that's what I came here to do. I love being here, and I felt at home in Bowling Green right from the start.

"We have a good basketball team here, but we've had to fight through some adversity. What that's done, though, is make us stronger, make us better, and through it all we've stayed together, held strong and become closer as a team. I see this team playing very well the rest of the way."

But is it too late? Perhaps. C-USA is stronger than usual at the top, and Western is still three games under .500 in league play. It's a long, hard climb for WKU to become a legitimate contender to win the conference tournament in March at Frisco, Texas.

Know this, though: With Allen in the starting lineup, the Hilltoppers are a far more formidable foe for the rest of the league to contend with. This guy has scored 47 points the past two games, and he's talented and dynamic enough to pour in 30 on any given night.

In essence, Allen's emergence has provided a palpable ray of hope for a hard-to-figure WKU team whose season, to this point, has been underwhelming and largely forgettable.

Don't count out this bunch quite yet.