Dante Allen Embracing the “Connector” Role as Hurricanes Eye ACC Momentum
The Miami Hurricanes are coming off a statement win at Syracuse, knocking down threes at a scorching 53.8% clip and walking out of the Carrier Dome with an 85-76 victory. But while the box score tells one story, the real intrigue came from the starting lineup - specifically, the decision to start freshman Dante Allen over senior Tre Donaldson.
Allen didn’t light up the stat sheet. In fact, he didn’t score a single point in his 17 minutes on the floor.
But that didn’t stop him from making his presence felt. Two rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a +8 plus-minus - those are the kinds of numbers that don’t scream “headline,” but they do shout “impact.”
And that’s exactly what head coach Jai Lucas is seeing from the Miami native.
“Dante’s impact, sometimes he’ll score,” Lucas said. “But his impact is always felt because he cares about winning. He’s always looking to find and make the right plays.”
That’s the essence of what Lucas calls a “connector” - a player who glues the offense together, keeps the ball moving, defends with energy, and makes the kind of decisions that don’t always show up in the highlights but win you games. Against Syracuse, Allen helped spark a 9-0 run to open the game, setting the tone on both ends of the floor. He was the offensive initiator early, and defensively, he competed with the kind of edge that Lucas clearly values.
Allen’s role may not be defined by points, but his basketball IQ and feel for the game are hard to miss - and that’s no accident. The freshman played his high school ball at Montverde Academy, where he put up strong numbers: 16.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 2.4 steals across 116 games.
He was a four-star recruit for a reason, drawing interest from programs like Notre Dame and Michigan before initially committing to Villanova. He eventually decommitted and found his way back home to the Hurricanes.
And home is the right word. Allen is the son of former NBA player and current Miami Heat assistant coach Malik Allen. That kind of basketball lineage tends to show up in the way a player sees the floor - and Lucas sees it clearly.
“You can tell he’s been taught the right way,” Lucas said. “Being the son of a coach, there’s some mental stuff that comes with it too. I can talk to him and know, even without him saying anything, what he’s going through.”
That connection is more than just coach-speak. Lucas himself comes from a basketball family - his father, John Lucas II, played in the NBA from 1976 to 1990 and later coached multiple NBA teams.
Now in a front office role, the elder Lucas has long been a fixture in the game. That shared background allows Jai Lucas to relate to Allen in a way that goes beyond X’s and O’s.
It’s that trust and understanding that could lead to more starts for Allen down the stretch, even if it means bringing a veteran like Donaldson off the bench. Lucas made it clear that lineup decisions will be situational, but Allen has earned his coach’s confidence.
As the Hurricanes prepare to host Stanford tonight at 9:00 p.m. ET, they sit at 14-6 - a solid mark with March creeping ever closer.
Ebuka Okorie has been the offensive engine, averaging 21.7 points (second in the ACC), 3.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists. But it’s players like Allen, the ones who do the little things right, who can make the difference in tight games and tournament runs.
Allen may not be the headline act - at least not yet - but make no mistake: he’s becoming an essential piece of the Hurricanes’ puzzle. And as Miami looks to stay in the thick of the ACC race, that “connector” role could be exactly what keeps them clicking.