ESPN calls Rob Dillingham a top-5 draft pick; Reed Sheppard a top-12

Rob Dillingham has been on an absolute heater. Over Kentucky’s last four games, Dilly is averaging 22.8 points, 4.8 assists, and just 1.3 turnovers per game. His shiftiness has single-handedly kept the Wildcats in games they might otherwise have been completely out of and helped put a beatdown on Vanderbilt.

ESPN’s NBA prospect gurus, Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo, have taken note. On Saturday, ESPN released their latest top 25 NBA prospects, and Rob Dillingham ranked higher than he has in any other mock draft on the Internet.

Coming in as the No. 4 overall prospect, Dillingham ranks as the second-best college player, behind only Colorado’s Cody Williams. Here is what Givony had to say about Mr. Shift himself:

While many prospects have seen their productivity falter in conference play, Dillingham has found another gear with his aggressiveness and shot-making prowess in SEC play, averaging 22.8 points (56% from 3) and 4.8 assists over the past four games. Dillingham’s open-court explosiveness, jittery handle, live-dribble passing creativity and ability to hit pull-up, stepback and sidestep jumpers from anywhere on the floor makes him one of college basketball’s most difficult covers — drawing some comparisons to the Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young. However, his defense is one of the reasons Kentucky has dropped several games the past few weeks with Dillingham giving up too many blow-by layups while being targeted relentlessly off the ball — something scouts are hoping to see improve. It will be interesting to see how his role evolves when starting point guard D.J. Wagner returns from an ankle injury.

Jonathan Givony | ESPN

It is wild to think that the Wildcats’ highest draft pick since De’Aaron Fox in 2018 might never start a game in a Kentucky uniform, but here we are. Givony also posted a pretty incredible highlight reel of Dillingham on X that is worth a minute of your time. Appreciate this last stretch of games with Rob wearing blue, folks.

A projected top-5 pick, Rob Dillingham's explosiveness, jittery handle, live-dribble passing and ability to hit pull-up, stepback and sidestep 3s makes him one of college basketball's most difficult covers — drawing some comparisons to Trae Young. pic.twitter.com/Fsn32Or6j0

— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) February 10, 2024

Reed Sheppard ranked as the No. 12 prospect

The only other Kentucky player to land in ESPN’s latest top-25 NBA prospect list is Reed Sheppard, coming in at No. 12. This is four spots up from the last time ESPN updated their big board.

Here is what Jeremy Woo had to say about Sheppard’s game:

Sheppard has continued to light it up from 3, making 53% of his shots beyond the arc on solid volume through 22 games. He’s built a case as the best shooter in the draft, and has helped facilitate quality offense with his decision-making, passing and unselfishness. The level at which he’s playing will force teams to think about him early in the draft, despite his below-average physical profile. Defensively, Sheppard has excellent disruptive instincts, but his lack of size and length will always be a limiting element in his projection. He remains a bit polarizing for teams, but his play has created optimism around his upside.

Jeremy Woo | ESPN

Similar to Rob Dillingham, if it weren’t for injuries, Reed Sheppard would also not start for Kentucky. It just goes to show how deep this year’s Wildcat squad is.

Many fans in Big Blue Nation are holding out hope that their legacy in-state darling might not follow the same one-and-done path as other top recruits from around the country, but that notion is probably nothing more than hope at this point. Soak up the final stretch of the season, everyone, and don’t let a couple of losses spoil how special this team is.