Rob Dillingham opens up on adjustment to his diet in college

Rob Dillingham is hoping to beef up. However, the Kentucky guard isn’t simply eating Big Macs.

“[I’m] really just getting in three meals a day, for sure. Getting snacks between, drinking more water instead of drinking anything bad, so it’s like, we don’t have to go eat candy and stuff because we’re not out by ourselves. Usually, we just got it all in-house with food. People cook for us. So, it’s very easy,” Dillingham said on Friday.

The easier, the better for Dillingham. The North Carolina native is the smallest recruit in Kentucky’s Class of 2023. Standing at 6-foot-2, 165 pounds, Dillingham doesn’t have an NBA-ready body. Nonetheless, his skills are at a professional level.

Dillingham was a four-star prospect and the No. 15 player in the Class of 2023, according to On3 Industry Rankings. The shifty guard averaged 14.7 points and 4.9 assists per game at Overtime Elite during his final year of high school.

Testing his strength

Dillingham’s physique will be tested this week. From July 12-16, Kentucky will compete in four games at GLOBL JAM, a global basketball event based in Toronto. The Cats will face teams from Germany, Canada and Africa, with players allowed to be as old as 23.

Dillingham knows the test will be good for him.

“I feel like, honestly, ‘cause we’re playing older dudes, it’s gonna help me gel with the team way more,” Dillingham said. “And honestly, even if we win or lose, it’s just like we’re playing older dudes, so it really just gives us a standing of where we’re at.

“We’ve been working for this whole month; we’ve just been grinding every day. So I feel like we’ll honestly do alright. But even if we don’t, it’s just the combination of the team because we’re playing grown men. So, I feel like we’ll definitely learn each other even more.”

Dillingham will be challenged

The learning process might not be fun. Last year, Baylor men’s basketball represented the USA at GLOBL JAM. The team went 1-4 at the event. UK can only hope to do better. Head coach John Calipari isn’t sugarcoating the challenge.

“We are heading to play in an event that will require us to be even more physical and compete even harder against these older players. There will be grabbing and physicality. That’s FIBA basketball. Will we be physical enough and have enough fight to compete?

“Baylor went 1-4 in this event last year so we know the challenge. There’s going to be a lot of randomness to how we play but we are a really unselfish group and can score in a variety of ways. I’m so excited to learn more about our team!” Calipari wrote on Twitter.

Watch Kentucky begin its run at GLOBL JAM on July 12, when the team takes on Team Germany at 1:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on the CBS Sports Network.