Rob Dillingham explains why John Calipari calls him "Robert"

If you’ve followed the Kentucky men’s basketball team closely this season, you’ve probably heard head coach John Calipari refer to freshman point guard Rob Dillingham as “Robert” on a regular basis. You also probably know that Calipari is the only person in the world who calls Dillingham by his full first name.

Or, one of two people in the world, actually.

Why? Well, it goes back to something most of us can likely relate to.

“I think it’s because that’s what my momma calls me,” Dillingham said. “When my momma gets mad at me she calls me Robert. I guess that’s where coach gets it from. He always calls me Robert.”

Rob Dillingham: “Only Coach Cal and my mom—when she’s mad— call me ‘Robert’” pic.twitter.com/vkY0awNMph

— John Huang (@KYHuangs) December 30, 2023

Who among us hasn’t been called by our full name when we got in trouble as a child? (Or even as adults…) It’s part of growing up, honestly. But Calipari, for whatever reason, likes to drop a “Robert” whenever he gets the chance to talk about Dillingham — which is usually pretty often. Dillingham is second on the team in scoring so far this season with 14.3 points per game on 47 percent overall shooting and a 44.7 percent mark from long range.

As for what Dillingham personally prefers? He’s indifferent. If Calipari wants to call him Robert, he’s going to let him — although he would probably hope not to hear it from his mom.

“It don’t really matter to me,” Dillingham said. “Once I started playing basketball I got more Rob. But my name is Robert… It don’t really matter.”

There you have it, folks. Mystery officially solved.