John Calipari: Rob Dillingham creates 'as good as anybody I've coached'

Entertainment value was never in question when Rob Dillingham took the floor in high school and on the Nike EYBL circuit. The flashy highlights were inevitable, the five-star guard using fancy dribble moves to set up tough shots with varying levels of efficiency. Fun always, but could that style translate to winning basketball at the next level — especially standing 6-2, 160 pounds? That was always the question.

Some schools promised a similar green light, no questions asked. Whatever it took to land the five-star guard during the recruiting process. John Calipari was the only coach to push back, challenging Dillingham to become the best version of himself, even if it meant breaking bad habits to do so.

He didn’t want to change the Hickory, N.C. native’s basketball identity and what made him special, but rather turn it into more of a controlled chaos. That meant potentially fewer shots and touches, maybe even off the bench.

“Coach Cal came to my hometown, he talked to my mom in the gym I played in and grew up in, the recreation center,” Dillingham told KSR. “I remember the day he told my mom, ‘If he comes here, it’s not going to be easy for him. He has a chance to start, but he’s going to have to wait for it.’ Every other school told her I was going to get everything.”

In a sea of comfortable promises, Kentucky‘s pitch stood out.

“My mom, we’ve always had to grind for everything. We loved Coach Cal and she wanted me to overcome adversity.”

Calipari put his money where his mouth was upon Dillingham’s arrival. The dynamic guard averaged just 17.1 minutes per contest at the GLOBL JAM, fewest on the team among rotation players. He said he was going to give him the “ultimate green light to go play with the ball and shoot,” but as he promised during the recruiting process, there would be no promises. Dillingham had to figure out how to be himself, but avoid making bad decisions, a tough middle ground. And it showed early.

Then he came back from Toronto and put it upon himself to add 24 pounds, helping him create contact and play through bumps. He transformed his body and his game grew with it, NBA scouts calling him “one of the biggest surprises” following UK Pro Day. That led to a 40-point explosion in Kentucky’s Blue-White Game, knocking down 14 of his 23 attempts. Then 16 points on 7-11 shooting and eight points on 4-11 shooting with six assists and zero turnovers in exhibition matchups vs. Georgetown College and Kentucky State, respectively.

His first official test came Monday in Kentucky’s season opener vs. New Mexico State, one he passed with flying colors. Dillingham dropped a team-high 17 points on 6-11 shooting and 2-6 from three while adding five rebounds, three assists and two steals with zero turnovers in the 86-46 victory.

It may not have been a perfect debut, but it was pretty darn close.

“It’s a blessing, man. I just thank God every day,” Dillingham said of his first regulation game as a Wildcat. “I know I’ve got to get better every day, but I have a chance. If I have a chance, I’m going to keep working and keep grinding every day to be the best person I can be.”

Now 6-3, 176 pounds, the freshman guard isn’t the same player he was this summer, let alone high school. He’s still got the must-see-TV traits, but now he’s harnessing the mayhem.

Well, most of it, anyway.

“Robert has two or three, like, ‘What in the world?’ (plays),” Calipari said Monday. “But as long as it’s not five or six — if it’s five or six, I’m going to have to take him out. I told him I’m fine with one or two, but he can’t help himself.”

Dillingham knows he can get carried away at times, ‘extra’ as he describes it. He believes he’s got it all under control even when things look a bit wild, but understands were Calipari is coming from and trusts his judgment.

At the end of the day, it comes down to wasted movements. Play free and fast, but don’t dance for the sake of doing so.

“He doesn’t really keep track of them, but I know when I do a little bit… extra [laughs],” Dillingham said. “Sometimes I don’t think it’s extra, but Coach Cal, he wants me to make that regular pass. I’ve just been working on that, making the best reads. He lets me play freely. It’s easy playing for Coach Cal.”

Calipari simply wants Dillingham to use that energy to do what he does best: make plays. It’s because he does it at a level you don’t see very often.

“I will tell you that he creates space for himself and his teammates as good as anybody I’ve coached,” he said.

Just ask his teammates what it’s like going against him in practice and playing with him in games.

“I have to guard DJ (Wagner) and Rob. That’s not fun at all,” Reed Sheppard said of Kentucky’s all-out wars inside the Joe Craft Center. “You have to improve, you have to get better. Every day in practice, you’ve got to battle and compete.”

“You never know what he’s going to do. He’s always going to do something crazy, but good. Scoring, passing, he’s just a great player,” Wagner added. “You’ve got to stay on your heels. Even playing in the game with him, you don’t know when the ball is going to come to you, but he’s going to find you. He’s a great player, he’s been playing great.”

Dillingham is comfortable in his own skin as a player, endlessly confident in his abilities. That’s how we got here, after all.

But you kind of have to be to succeed and prove you belong at this level. He’s doing just that to open his career, and his coaches are letting him. There’s necessary mutual trust there.

“Playing without confidence, it’s hard playing out there. You’re nervous, you don’t feel you belong out there,” he said. “Knowing your coach has confidence for you to go out there and play the way you play, it’s just way easier. … Coach Cal didn’t recruit us here to not play this way. He obviously wants us to play in his system and learn how to play within each other, but he lets us all be ourselves while we do it.”

The pairing was deemed fascinating, for lack of a better term, when Dillingham originally committed to play for Calipari at Kentucky. How much give and take would they be willing to balance? Could the five-star guard play within a system? And would Cal let him rock out a bit in that system?

The two have shut down any naysayers rather quickly.

Dillingham is grateful for the opportunity to do so, especially here.

“I just love playing basketball, especially with the dudes I’m playing with, in front of the biggest scenery. I love it. … Love playing here and playing against each other every day,” Dillingham said. “… It’s just fun for me being in that environment, it’s a blessing to be out there. A lot of people don’t get the chance to play in Rupp Arena with all of those fans. I’m just blessed to even be here.”

Fans certainly feel the same way.