How Anthony Davis and Rob Dillingham brought Somto Cyril to Kentucky

Somto Cyril remembers the first time he wanted to be a Kentucky Wildcat. Still learning about the game of basketball, he turned to YouTube for help — cut-ups of some of the sport’s top standouts at the time.

He first saw one of the greatest players to ever touch a basketball. Not a bad place to start. Then he found highlights of an all-time Wildcat, someone who helped bring banner No. 8 home to Lexington.

“I grew up in Nigeria, didn’t know anything about basketball. I think like two months after I started playing — as a kid, I didn’t know much, so I was like, ‘How can I get better?'” Cyril told KSR. “So I went on YouTube and looked up basketball videos and of course the highlights pop up. The first player I saw was LeBron James, that’s how he became my favorite player. And then I saw Anthony Davis, watched his college highlights (at Kentucky).”

That’s where it clicked for Cyril. A former soccer standout back home in Enugu, Nigeria, he decided if he was going to give basketball a shot, he would push himself to play at the highest level. In college, that’s at the University of Kentucky.

Just like Anthony Davis.

“That’s when I was like, ‘Oh, OK. Maybe one day I will be there.’ The rest was history. Since then, I’ve been working on everything and I’m just really grateful to be here right now,” he said. “… I’m not going to lie, it feels surreal. All my life, wherever I’ve been, wherever I’m at, I’ve manifested everything.”

He made the transition from soccer — “fútbol” for him back home, he says — when he was 13 years old because of his height, 6-3. Then he grew another inch or two and began dunking at age 14.

“I was fast and athletic, could run and dunk, all of it,” Cyril said. “That’s when I knew it could be life-changing for me, it could be a breadwinner.”

He jokes that he’s still better at fútbol than basketball at this point, but feels his calling is on the hardwood. And at 6-10, 240 pounds, it’s easy to see why. He’s rated as the No. 45 overall prospect and No. 6 center in the 2024 On3 Rankings, one of the most physically imposing bigs in high school basketball. Cyril has a history of shattering backboards and recently recorded a 43-inch vertical at Overtime Elite’s Pro Day, which would be tied for 13th-highest in NBA Draft Combine history.

His nickname is Baby Shaq, after all.

But he’s still a work in progress as a basketball player, to be expected for someone still relatively new to the sport. Arriving in the United States just under three years ago, he started his career at Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga, TN — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s alma mater. Then he signed with Overtime Elite ahead of his junior year, hoping to use the program’s resources and staff of former high-level players and successful coaches to develop his game beyond highlight dunks and blocked shots.

He was named OTE Defensive Player of the Year after averaging a league-high 3.4 blocks per game to go with 8.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest. A strong debut season, but Cyril is looking for more as a senior ahead of his move to Lexington next summer.

“(I’m working on my game) offensively, running plays for my teammates and shooting more consistently at the free-throw line. I’d like to shoot 80 or 85%, I’ve been really working on that,” he told KSR. “I’m a big guy, so I’m going to get fouled a lot. That can either hurt you or it can help you. So I’ve been working on it. If I can make jump shots, that’d be awesome.”

That’s part of his decision to hold off on enrolling early at Kentucky. Academically, a reclassification was on the table this summer, as was a potential mid-year jump with the Wildcats in January. He walked at graduation last spring just in case he decided to take either of those paths. For now, though, he feels he’s set on developing his game and winning a championship at OTE before making the move to college.

“Yes, I think (I’m staying in 2024),” he said. “I have my new teammates here, we’ve got a good thing going and I just have some boxes I still need to check here. I want to win a championship before I leave here, things I need to take care of before I head up to Kentucky.”

John Calipari and the UK coaching staff will be ready for him, just as they were in June when he announced his commitment to Kentucky with a potential reclassification in mind. Now or later, it doesn’t matter.

They’re continuing to build a strong relationship with him until then.

“It has grown a lot, especially lately,” Cyril said. “They check in on me every two days, seeing how I’m doing and showing up to my practices, come in and say hi, stuff like that. We’ve got a really good thing going. I really appreciate that. It’s been really good so far.”

The Anthony Davis highlights put the Kentucky basketball program on his radar as a kid. But what made the connection a reality for the four-star center? A visit from Coach Cal his sophomore year at Hamilton Heights.

He arrived in the United States in January 2021 before making a name for himself playing with EAB Tennessee on the Adidas 3SSB circuit that spring and summer. Cyril then joined former Kentucky target Mookie Cook on an unofficial visit to Lexington that October, his first in-person look at the program. Calipari followed that up with a trip to Chattanooga alongside Orlando Antigua, this time for him and him only.

That’s when it felt real for the Nigerian big man.

“As a kid, I loved Kentucky basketball. I’ve loved them for a while. What really did it for me was my sophomore year, Coach Cal showed up to my practice,” Cyril told KSR. “I didn’t know he was coming and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s crazy. Everything I’ve thought about, the dream I’ve had is becoming a reality.'”

Things ramped up with Cyril when the Wildcats kept a close eye on current freshman Rob Dillingham, who committed to Kentucky last June, during his senior season at OTE. The two were teammates on the Cold Hearts, conveniently allowing the staff to watch them together in practices and games.

With Cyril mulling a potential reclassification at the time, Dillingham was in his ear about joining him in Lexington.

“My old teammate, Rob Dillingham, he committed there. He was trying to recruit me,” he said. “… He was a part of the reason I committed this early. We have a really good relationship. Whenever I have time to watch and support him, I will. He’s my guy. He is forever going to be my guy.”

Then Cyril scheduled an official visit of his own to Kentucky on June 8. That’s when everything changed. He still wasn’t certain what his path looked like and when he’d arrive, but he knew he had found his home.

One way or another, he was going to be a Wildcat.

“On that official visit, everything just felt perfect,” Cyril said. “I felt like that’s where I wanted to be when it comes to college basketball.”

Will he get the opportunity to reunite with Dillingham in Lexington? That remains up in the air. He’s shutting down the idea of a January enrollment for now and there is always the chance Dillingham’s talent takes him to the NBA after one season. The stars may not align.

But don’t underestimate his former teammate’s impact on Cyril’s decision to play for the Wildcats. Either way, he’ll be watching Dillingham closely this season and leaning on him for advice as he prepares to follow in his footsteps to Kentucky.

“It helps a lot because I get to see first-hand what it’s really like from someone I’m really close with,” he said. “How he’s feeling, every detail I need to get ready for that process. That’s really helpful. I’m excited to see how that goes with him.”

His first order of business is to close out his high school career with a bang. He hopes to repeat as OTE Defensive Player of the Year while earning Most Improved Player and potentially even MVP honors.

And a league championship, of course.

“The dream path for me? I want to win everything possible,” he said. “There are no limits to what I want to do.”

He plans to bring that same mentality with him to Lexington.

“When I touch down in Kentucky, I want them to expect a dog. I want them to know I’m going to help them win, win a championship,” Cyril told KSR. “I’m going to bring the energy, do whatever I can to help make the team better. They’re getting a dog and a winner.”