Rob Dillingham practicing the right shots, cutting down on dribbles: "It's way more structured now"

It’s fair to say that, no matter what stage you play on, high school basketball isn’t nearly as demanding as it is at the college level.

Especially at a place like Kentucky, where everyone on the roster was at one point the best player on their high school squads. Not everyone can take 15 shots per game, which can be a difficult transition for a five-star prospect who was used to taking even more than that just one year before. That’s part of what makes the college game so much more demanding — it requires real sacrifice, but with even more hard work baked in through tougher practices and grinding behind the scenes.

For some (this writer included), that’s long been the worry regarding incoming freshman guard Robert Dillingham. How will he adjust to playing at Kentucky?

There wasn’t a player more electric or “shifty” in all of high school basketball than Rob, particularly when he took his talents to Overtime Elite for his senior season. He’s a pure scorer in every sense of the word, and his highlight mixtapes rival some of the best in the YouTube era. Dillingham took 14.5 shots per game for the Cold Hearts last season. The most any Kentucky player took in 2022-23 was 11.9 per game, courtesy of the sharpshooting Antonio Reeves.

The biggest cloud surrounding Dillingham’s transition from OTE to UK has always been his ability (or inability) to play more team-oriented basketball. That’s not to say he’s not a team-first player or doesn’t know how to make plays though — he did average 4.9 assists per game at Overtime last season. But it has raised the question of how he’ll be able to deal with not taking nearly as many shots when that’s what his reputation has been built on.

Although he’s only been on campus for a little over a month now, Dillingham, by his own account, is tackling that challenge head-on with a humble approach.

“I would say just the shot-taking, the dribbling, more of like a proper game,” Dillingham told reporters on Friday about what the biggest adjustment has been so far in practice. “Knowing that we got a lot of players so you can’t disrespect other players by taking a lot of shots, because a lot of players can shoot the ball. It’s really just taking the right shots and playing defense and learning each other and all respecting each other.”

Being self-aware of what playing at Kentucky will be like is an important step for a player like Dillingham. Sure, he’ll still have outings where he gets rolling and fires up 12-15 shots on a given night. But more often than not, he’ll need to be more cognizant of the fact that it’s not all on his shoulders score points. There are plenty of dudes around him who can score at a high rate. Through the first few weeks of practice, that’s been at the forefront of his mind.

“Eliminating dribbles, taking better shots not contested shots,” Dillingham said of what he’s focusing on so far. “Like I said, you can’t really disrespect our players by taking a lot of crazy shots because we got a lot of players that can all shoot the ball. Really just taking great shots for real and eliminating dribbles.”

It helps Dillingham’s case that he has a head coach like John Calipari directing him. This isn’t the first time (and likely won’t be the last) that Calipari has dealt with having multiple incredibly talented guards on one roster. Reeves and five-star freshman DJ Wagner are gifted players in their own right who will need the ball. Calipari has already been getting through to Dillingham on what is going to be expected of him.

“Already (Calipari has) heightened my abilities because in high school, since I was on a team by myself — not by myself but more of a spotlight on me, I did more moves, I shot more shots,” Dillingham said. “And now, I take better shots. I feel like I pass better, I read the floor better, because I got players to play with and I know everyone can play just like me.”

Calipari won’t want to go too far with how much he reels in Dillingham’s game. You still want Rob to be Rob — dazzling with dribble moves and flashing to his spots — but there needs to be a structure built in to keep everyone in check. In high school and at Overtime Elite, that just wasn’t the case, at least not to the level it is at a place like Kentucky.

“Coach Cal actually coaches us,” Dillingham said. “He tells us from past players because he’s coached so many players. He’s coaching us different than any other coach I’ve ever really had… It’s way more structured now.”

So far, Dillingham is saying all the right things. He’s prioritizing winning over individual accomplishments. If that trend continues throughout the season, his personal success will come right along with it.

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