Rock Hill, S.C. – Freddie Dilione isn’t awake late at night pacing and anxiously worried about which school is going to hit his line with the next offer. Those concerns tend to quell when sitting at 33 Division I offers and counting, the latest of which came courtesy of Pittsburgh and Oklahoma.
“I’ve got a long list with a lot of great options,” Dilione says.
But ask the 6'4'' point guard if he wants to add to the massive total and he’ll readily admit that he’s hoping a certain blue blood program ups its interest in the 11th hour.
“I want Kentucky to offer,” Dilione says. “They’ve reached out before, but I haven’t heard from them in a while. I’ve just always loved their style of play, and I would love to take a visit there. Not to say I’d definitely go there, but I want to see what it’s all about.”
Dilione is well aware that the Wildcats are all in for DJ Wagner, widely regarded as the top floor general and prospect in the class.
“That doesn’t matter to me,” Dilione says. “I get the business part of it, so that wouldn’t hold as much weight for me. I really like how Coach [John] Calipari lets his guards go. We’ll see what happens. Either way, I’m in a great position.”
Dilione has already taken official visits to Virginia, Tennessee and VCU. He also took an unofficial visit to N.C. State. He plans to take officials to Wake Forest and Alabama post-live period later this month.
“I plan to cut my list down after the live period,” Dillione says. “I’m not sure if it’ll be five or more than that, but I’ve got to get it down.”
Courtesy of HoopState Network
Two schools that can bank on making the custom social media graphic announcing his finalists are Tennessee and VCU.
“I’m still gonna weigh it out with the other schools, but those two are definitely in,” Dilione says. “They’ve built a strong relationship with me, and they’ve become like family. They’ve shown me that I’m a priority.”
It’s understandable. Dilione has put on a show on the hardwood over the last nine months that has made him worthy of a hyper-focused pursuit.
His coming-out party came last November, a triple-double performance with 25 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists in a 96–92 win over Overtime Elite and its stable full of top high school prospects turned pros.
Last week at the Adidas Championships, Dilione averaged 19 points, four assists and five rebounds for Team Loaded (N.C.). He was equally dominant during the high school season, pumping in 24 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists a game for Word of God Christian Academy (Raleigh, N.C.).
“I want to be in a system that gets up and down and trusts its guards to give them freedom in the offense,” Dilione says. “I’m open at this point. I know how important this decision is, so I want to have all of the options that I can in order to make the best decision.”
