Rob Dillingham ignored outside voices during Post-Toronto transformation

MrsTylerKSR

rob-dillingham-john-calipari-blue-white-game-transformation — Photo by Aaron Perkins | Kentucky Sports Radio

The buzz from Rob Dillingham‘s Blue-White Game performance carried over to Kentucky Basketball Media Day. The freshman’s transformation since the Toronto trip culminated in a 40-point outing in Northern Kentucky, and yesterday, we learned a little more about the impetus behind it.

We knew that Dillingham being pushed around by older, stronger competition in the GLOBL Jam inspired him to get into the gym and add over 20 lbs. of muscle; however, John Calipari also suggested that some outside voices — potentially other teams — were in Dillingham’s ear in the days after he got back trying to lure him from Lexington.

“Let me just say what happened. This is the greatest piece of this. He goes to Toronto. Anybody up there or you watched it, he struggled. And he struggled because it was physically — they were men. They were 23, and every time he got bumped, he was off balance, he missed layups. Then he missed open shots, then he went back to — and throw it away. It’s like, what in the world?”

Calipari provided a visual for those last few lines:

“So here’s the choice,” Cal continued. “You think he got phone calls when we came back? Do you think he got phone calls? ‘Why don’t you come with us?’ You don’t think that happened? So now he goes into the weight room and gains 24 pounds because he knew. And now all of a sudden, you are watching him create the contact and playing through bumps. And that’s what this is about here — it isn’t easy. This stuff is hard.”

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Same lessons Calipari gave John Wall

We’ve been hearing about Dillingham’s progress throughout the preseason and last weekend, we finally got to see it. His 40 points were a game-high and came off an efficient 14-23 from the field (3-7 from three) and 9-12 from the free-throw line. He also had seven assists, five rebounds, four steals, and only three turnovers as the primary point guard for the Blue Team.

It’s clear Dillingham’s got the moves — as the kids and Meemaw would say, “He’s shifty” — but he’s still learning to only use them when appropriate. John Calipari likened the learning curve to one another Wildcat had to go through at the start of his tenure in Lexington.

“He’s playing in a different way and I’m playing proud of him. If you remember when I had John Wall, we were saying, ‘You don’t have to make the ESPN Top 10 play 15 times in a game. You just do it once and it will be on ESPN.'”

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“Now all of a sudden, he goes up there –- there were three or four plays in the whole game that I would say, ‘Come on man. You don’t need to do that.’ One was the back when he had a big guy on the corner and he just couldn’t help himself. It was turnover, but that he is — he is so much better.”

Saturday’s performance in Northern Kentucky was a big step forward for Dillingham, but Cal knows it’s a work in progress.

“I’m proud of him. He’s done good stuff and he’s now, as we go forward, it’s just I’ve got to probably have a couple of times where I look away. It’s just, ‘Okay, it’s just one of those.’ Because he’s trying so hard, and he’s a gym rat. He’s in the gym too much. There’ll be times when I peek my head out — go, get out. You’ve been in there enough.”

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KSR’s Kentucky Basketball Media Day Coverage

KSR crew had several boots on the ground to cover all the action at Kentucky Basketball Media Day — that is, until the fire alarm went off. Catch up on all of our coverage below.