Jai Lucas praises freshman guard Dante Allen's "connector" role, highlighting his impactful plays beyond scoring for the Miami Hurricanes.
The Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team is coming off an encouraging bounce-back victory over the Syracuse Orange in New York, with a final score of 85-76. They shot 53.8 percent from three-point range. However, an interesting aspect about that matchup was freshman guard Dante Allen starting over senior Tre Donaldson.
Despite finishing scoreless, he recorded two rebounds, three assists, and a steal, with a plus-minus of +8 in 17 minutes. Despite up-and-down production, the Miami native finds a way to leave an impact when called upon. Jai Lucas credits him as a "connector."
"Dante's impact, sometimes he'll score," the first-year head coach said. "His impact is always felt because he cares about winning. He is always looking to find and make the right plays. When he's out there, he always gets the ball where it needs to [be]. On the defensive end, he competes with everybody."
In Allen's start against the Oranges, the Hurricanes sparked a 9-0 start to begin the game right away. He was the initiator on offense, while showing great effort defensively.
The freshman was a four-star recruit coming out of Montverde Academy, averaging 16.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 2.4 steals in 116 total games. He received interest and offers from the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Michigan Wolverines.
Allen first committed to the Villanova Wildcats and signed a letter of intent before decommitting and officially joining the Hurricanes.
Also, he's the son of former NBA player and current Miami Heat assistant coach Malik Allen. Lucas shares a similar background, having been raised on basketball since youth. John Lucas II, his father, was an NBA player from 1976 to 1990. He served as a head coach with the Philadelphia 76ers, San Antonio Spurs, and Cleveland Cavaliers, an assistant coach with the Houston Rockets from 2016 to 2023, currently in a front office role with the Texas franchise.
Lucas connects Allen's upbringing to understanding the game of basketball differently from others.
"You can tell he's been taught the right way [of just how to play the game]," he added. "Being the son of a coach, [there is] some mental stuff that comes with it too. Being able to talk to him and know, even without him saying anything, I know what he's going through. Having that ability to relate to him and draw on that relationship just tightens our bond."
The Hurricanes will prepare to host the Stanford Cardinal tonight, 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Ebuka Okorie has been the head of the snake to start the season as the team currently sits with a 14-6 record, averaging 21.7 points, which is second-highest in the ACC, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists.
Lucas won't shy away from starting Allen again and having Donaldson coming off the bench, but it's situational. The Hurricanes are looking to remain competitive within the ACC, especially with March Madness around the corner.
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