Robert Dillingham, prime level guard, commits to Kentucky basketball
Kentucky males’s basketball coach John Calipari has scored one other dedication from a top-rated level guard prospect.
Robert Dillingham, the No. 1 level guard within the Class of 2023, dedicated to Calipari and the Wildcats on Friday evening in an interview with ESPN.
The five-star native of Simi Valley, California, joins North Laurel’s Reed Sheppard because the second rising senior within the Class of 2023 to pledge to UK.
“Should you put within the work at Kentucky and Coach Cal thinks you might be adequate to make it, then it’s going to occur for you,” Dillingham informed ESPN. “Once I visited Kentucky, it was unimaginable. They defined the whole lot. The basketball, lecturers, energy and conditioning, NIL.”
Louisville, Auburn and the College of Southern California have been additionally within the working for Dillingham, a 6-foot-2, 165-pound product of Kanye West’s Donda Academy.
Calipari’s quest to land Dillingham hasn’t been simple. The purpose guard originally committed to NC State in December over Kentucky, Kansas, LSU and Memphis however reopened his recruitment simply days after Louisville introduced Kenny Payne would take over as its subsequent males’s basketball coach in March.
The Wildcats separated themselves from their competitors in pursuit of Dillingham over the previous three months within the eyes of nationwide recruiting pundits.
247Sports basketball analyst Travis Branham predicted Dillingham to Kentucky on Could 25. Recruiting database On3 as of Tuesday gave the Wildcats an 80{cf07cd047201b183b19c0b335dbd7d35a498f84568531c8abe8643bd3ccfd494} likelihood of touchdown the five-star prospect.
Of Dillingham’s ultimate 4 colleges, recruiting databases present he solely visited Kentucky. In reality, 247Sports, On3 and Rivals don’t listing Louisville or USC among the many myriad of Energy 5 applications that prolonged the purpose guard a scholarship provide.
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What Robert Dillingham can add to Kentucky in 2023
Dillingham can provide Kentucky a number of essential abilities when he takes the courtroom.
What stands out probably the most on movie are a fearless and inventive method to driving on the basket — a trait shared by lots of UK’s most profitable guards underneath Calipari — and a 3-point shot that ought to solely enhance with extra reps. He is additionally a stable facilitator who ought to pair properly with Sheppard and the remainder of Kentucky’s 2023 class.
“I’ve recognized him since we have been youthful,” Dillingham informed ESPN. “He is obtained sneaky bounce and is a knock down shooter.”
Dillingham has completed a lot to bolster his nationwide rankings heading into his ultimate 12 months at the highschool stage. In 2021, he was named the Most Precious Participant of the FIBA U16 Americas match in Xalapa, Mexico, after scoring 31 factors within the championship sport towards Argentina.
Dillingham has additionally shined towards a number of the nation’s prime 2023 prospects whereas taking part in for Chris Paul’s Group CP3 in Nike-sponsored EYBL periods. By means of three periods in 2022, the purpose guard ranks fourth in scoring with a mean of 19.9 factors per sport.
Dillingham helped his trigger on the EYBL leaderboard with a robust exhibiting at a session held over Memorial Day weekend in Louisville. Throughout 5 video games, he averaged 22.4 factors per contest, together with a 28-point efficiency, shot 56{cf07cd047201b183b19c0b335dbd7d35a498f84568531c8abe8643bd3ccfd494} from the sector and made 44{cf07cd047201b183b19c0b335dbd7d35a498f84568531c8abe8643bd3ccfd494} of his 3-pointers. He additionally dished out 13 assists, got here up with 5 steals and turned the ball over eight instances whereas averaging 26.2 minutes per sport.
Dillingham is at the very least the eleventh true level guard prospect ranked among the many prime 5 of 247Sports’ composite rankings to decide to UK since Calipari accepted the top teaching job in April 2009.
