Rob Dillingham is 'ridiculous,' 'can't stay in front of him' -- when he's not fouling

There is no one more electric in college basketball than Rob Dillingham. His best is better than anyone else’s best, must-see entertainment with the ball in his hands. Instant magic without warning.

But that all comes with a major asterisk, the dynamic freshman’s kryptonite: foul trouble.

Can’t be on the floor if foul trouble keeps him off of it. That was the case for Dillingham once again in Starkville, racking up two quick fouls in six first-half minutes. It plays right into John Calipari’s two-and-through rule he’s been mostly firm on since he arrived in Lexington. Foul twice and you get to join him on the bench for the rest of the half, try again after the break.

And for a quick-trigger fouler like Dillingham, he just can’t make exceptions there.

“Defensively, keeps fouling. You foul twice in the first half, you gotta sit down,” Calipari said Wednesday evening. “So stop fouling! ‘Well, I didn’t foul.’ Yes, you did! I’m standing there watching it! Why are you reaching your arms in?

“If you foul twice in the first half, I’m not gonna play you, especially Robert. Because will he foul again? Oh yeah. If that ball is near and he can reach around, he’s gonna foul again. Just don’t. Don’t reach in.”

It’s frustrating for Calipari because he knows what Dillingham’s defensive upside looks like. He’s got the quickness and awareness to be a lockdown threat on that end of the floor, but unfortunately not the discipline.

“Play great defense, you’re quick enough to stay in front, contest, you don’t have to steal the ball, you don’t have to tip it away,” he said. “I absolutely don’t want you to block it. If they try to beat you, we’ve got shot blockers. You don’t need to be that guy.”

And then there’s the offense, what he does better than just about anybody. Even in a game where he went 2-7 shooting overall and 1-4 from three with three turnovers, Dillingham still managed to shine through in key moments to help contribute to the win.

“Offensively, he makes the three in the corner. How about the pass to Aaron? How about the layup he made? Then he’s making all those free throws,” Calipari said. “I like him off the ball versus bringing it up and the reason is, off the ball — when you bring it up you’ve got 10 eyes on you. The guy guarding you and all the other people watching you. When you’re off the ball it’s your guy and you. And he’s ridiculous in those situations. You can’t stay in front of him.”

Remember his key miss down the stretch against Florida, one free throw away from a win for Kentucky? Instead, the Gators were able to hit the three to send it to overtime where they ultimately pulled out the 94-91 victory.

Dillingham’s response from there stands out to Calipari, the freshman guard coming up with clutch makes ever since.

“You remember the foul shot he missed where we could have won the game — he’s still upset about that. He makes that free throw we win that game,” he said. “I don’t think he’s missed a free throw since then and in this game, he made every free throw down the stretch.”

Just gotta get that fouling discipline where it needs to be.