Purdue among those targeting Dontaie Allen; Wednesday recruiting notebook
EMERSON, Ga. — Dontaie Allen enters July in a different spot than he did the spring.
Now that the 6-foot-6 shooting guard/wing made a name for himself and is playing on a visible platform at Under Armour's The Challenge this week, more coaches will be watching.
“It feels good my name’s gotten out there and things like that," Allen said Wednesday night, after scoring 19 in a loss to TMP, "but I have to stay level-headed and keep working hard.”
Purdue's among those that saw all it needed to of the Pendleton County High School star in the spring.
It offered him during an unofficial visit following the April live period.
“I really like Purdue," Allen said. "Their pitch to me was that I’m a tall guard who can pass, shoot and dribble and that they’d utilize my game.”
A robust game, it is. Allen is all of 6-6, with the body of a college forward nowadays, but he handles the ball and plays like a lead guard, uses his size and strength to his advantage and is well-equipped to create shots for himself off the dribble.
Purdue saw it in the spring, as did several others.
West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Xavier and Western Kentucky have also offered, while Ohio State and Clemson, he said, are watching him closely, too.
Bob Huggins, Brad Brownell and Rick Stansbury were head coaches present start to finish for his game Wednesday night, while assistants from Purdue and Xavier were present, too.
But with blue-chip point guard Josiah James drawing Mike Krzyzewski, Tom Izzo, Bill Self and Chris Mack, among others, to the stands, too, it was quite a crowd Allen played in front of otherwise.
Allen said he will likely narrow his list this month, then take official visits starting in August.
Purdue may get one of those visits.
Allen said he was impressed by his first, during which Purdue's coaches compared him to Vincent Edwards from a style-of-play perspective.
“It was a great visit," Allen said. "We toured campus and they talked to me about what they’d expect of me academically and on the court. I really liked it overall.”
Purdue offers 2021 guard: Max Christie called his unofficial visit to Purdue at the end of June, at which he was offered by Boilermaker coaches, "amazing."
"I loved it," said Christie, a towering 6-6 guard from Rolling Meadows in Chicagoland. "Coach (Matt) Painter’s a great guy. I loved him, and all the staff, all the assistant coaches. The facilities were amazing. I loved it there.”
“They’re a great basketball program with great coaches and great players and academically they’re very sound, too. It’s a great school and great program and they win a lot of games, get a lot of great players. ... (The coaches) were fun to be around. I feel like I'd fit in there."
Such decisions are a long way off, though, for Christie, a player with all the makings of a national-caliber recruit, to the point that Illinois, Wisconsin, Florida, Loyola and Northwestern have already offered him, too, and he's built a reputation to the point he's playing like he knows he has a "target on my back," as he put it..
Purdue's Whereabouts: To open the live period, Matt Painter was at the Peach Jam in North Augusta, S.C., where most of his program's top 2019 targets are playing. Brandon Brantley is also at the Peach Jam.
Greg Gary's in Emerson for Under Armour and Steve Lutz in Milwaukee for the NY2LA event up there.
GoldandBlack.com will have coverage and interviews starting Thursday from the Peach Jam.
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