Rob Dillingham's mom thanks John Calipari for taking care of her baby at Kentucky

Nothing has changed in 32 years for John Calipari. It may rub people the wrong way, but he’s holding firm on his players-first belief through the finish line — whenever that may be.

“Be about those kids,” he says.

That mindset pays off for most, and it typically goes hand-in-hand with winning at the highest level. He’s now the all-time winningest coach among active coaches with 798 victories — 840 including vacated wins at UMass and Memphis. Six Final Fours, one national championship as a three-time Naismith College Coach of the Year. But even if a team struggles or fails to make a run by year’s end, his individual support remains the same, win or lose. And it’s noticed by the players and their respective families — who Calipari says this is all for.

Take Rob Dillingham for example. He came in with erratic tendencies with questionable decision-making and efficiency concerns. How could a kid who, seemingly on the surface, struggled to embrace structured basketball? Could he impact winning at a place like this? Would Calipari not want to rip his hair out coaching him?

“He does (make me want to rip my hair out),” Coach Cal said following Kentucky’s 87-83 win over North Carolina on Saturday.

But Calipari saw the vision. No, it wouldn’t be an easy path to get there, but if Dillingham wanted to be a pro, he could help. There was a partnership there, no matter how unlikely it seemed on the surface.

The former five-star guard remembers the conversation vividly.

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

In a sea of comfortable promises, Kentucky was the outlier. And Dillingham knew if he was going to make it, he was going to have to challenge himself. He couldn’t have a coach letting him launch bad threes and recklessly turn the ball over simply because they’re grateful for his presence. Accountability was necessary.

That’s how he landed in Lexington.

Fast forward to mid-December, and Dillingham is the team’s second-leading scorer at 14.4 points per contest while shooting 46% from the field, 47% from three and 72% at the line. He also leads the team in assists at 4.5 per game while adding 4.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals — and he’s doing it all off the bench, seventh in minutes played per contest (23). To say the two sides involved have gotten the most out of each other would be an understatement.

“You’re coaching a kid that can create space and get a basket when he wants to. Do you clip his wings? You can’t. You’ve got to let him go,” Calipari said, adding he gives Dillingham two mess-ups per half before sitting him down to hit reset. “I gotta let some of that stuff go.”

The flashy, must-see-TV guard led the Cats in scoring in the team’s biggest win of the season, a 17-point effort in 25 minutes of action. He was particularly strong in the second half, converting on 5-9 attempts and 1-3 from three while adding three boards, one assist and one steal overall. A player many questioned as a ‘winning’ contributor was arguably the biggest difference-maker down the stretch against a top-10 foe on college basketball’s biggest stage.

Rob Dillingham was still Rob Dillingham, but a new-and-improved version.

“He has confidence in me, still lets me rock, but at the same time, he wants me to be more pro-like and make smarter decisions,” he said. “Really, I’m just thankful for having him. He helps me while letting me be me.”

Then came a text message from the freshman guard’s mother on Monday. It was a ‘remember when?’ note, going back to that meeting during her son’s recruitment. Back then, the Dillingham family chose to trust Calipari’s vision, hoping the sink-or-swim decision of playing at a place like Kentucky would pay off in the long run.

Dillingham’s mother reached out to Coach Cal and thanked him for keeping his word.

“I got an unbelievable text from Robert Dillingham’s mom. She was the one when I went into their home and said, ‘I want you to play for this man right here.’ After I told him, ‘This is the hardest thing. It’s not for everybody, Robert. This is tough stuff here. I’m telling you, I’m going to hold you accountable. I’m gonna help you, do whatever I can, but I can’t do it for you,'” Calipari said. “She said, ‘That’s all I wanted to hear.’ She reminded me today.

“I said to her, ‘Thank you for entrusting me with your baby.’ Think about that. That’s her baby. All of these kids, that’s someone’s child. And that’s why I don’t take it lightly.”

Dillingham’s story is why Calipari does this, and why his messaging will never change. Until his time in Lexington comes to an end, Kentucky will continue to be a players-first program.

“I’m here to win, win at the highest level. Compete and win championships. That’s why I’m here and what I do, but not at the expense of kids,” Coach Cal said. “When you’re coaching, you just can’t get caught up in the wave of up and down. Other people want to ride the wave, that ain’t me. This is what I do. I’ve been pretty consistent in how I do things here.”