Rob Dillingham shares biggest area of adjustment to his game in college

Rob Dillingham is as flashy as a recruit gets. The 6’2 guard keeps the ball on a string with his handles and does it all, from playmaking to scoring, with a certain pizzazz and flare.

However, even he knows that he’s going to have to tone it back a tad in college, especially with John Calipari coaching him. He said as much to the media ahead of Kentucky’s trip to Toronto to play in the GLOBL JAM this week. He says he realizes that he can’t hog the ball and that he has to adjust his game in order to respect his teammates while he’s out on the floor.

“I would really say just, like, the shot taking, the dribbling. Just more of, like, a more proper game,” Dillingham said.

“Just like knowing, like, we’ve got a players. So you can’t disrespect other players by taking a lot of shots because a lot of players can shoot the ball,” said Dillingham. “It’s really just taking the right shots and playing defense, learning each other, and all respecting each other.”

Many people know Dillingham well for his highlights, whether playing in tournament’s around the country or during his time with Overtime Elite over his high school career.

Even so, his style looks and feels a lot more like street ball than the college game we know. If he wants to make an impact in Lexington, finding a way to flourish as a cog in the machine and without as many of the eye-catching stunts and tricks will be vital in his development.

Dillingham sounds all in on that too as he tries to fit himself and his game in with Kentucky, especially ahead of their first games together this upcoming week in Canada.

Dillingham shares how young Kentucky players have adapted

Rob Dillingham isn’t used to college basketball. Nonetheless, the Kentucky freshman isn’t scared to dive into uncharted waters.

“(Our team is) really just learning to play against each other and also just meshing together because we switch lineups every day. So it’s just been like great learning to get to play against each other, run up and down and play basketball,” Dillingham told the media on Friday.

Overall, Dillingham himself is enjoying the process of acclimating to the college game with his new teammates.

“I love playing with all of my teammates and I like the challenge,” Dillingham said. “Even when we have one lineup, it’s just like the next day we’re gonna have a different lineup. Next day, we’re gonna have a different lineup. We never get to learn the lineups of what Coach Calipari is going to do. We just like playing together.”