LEXINGTON, Ky. — The second time was the charm for Kentucky and Robert Dillingham, who announced his commitment to the Wildcats on Friday night, presumably ending a recruitment that has already taken a few twists and turns.
Back in the fall, UK hosted Dillingham — a 6-foot-2 guard from Hickory, N.C. — for an official visit, extended a scholarship offer, and looked primed to land his commitment in relatively short order. Then, North Carolina State swooped in with a last-minute flurry and got him instead.
That pledge lasted only a few months, however, with Dillingham reopening the process in mid-March and Kentucky quickly emerging as a possible favorite once again.
On Friday night, the 17-year-old finally committed to the Wildcats.
“It’s another big addition,” 247Sports analyst Travis Branham told the Herald-Leader. “You’re talking about a top-10 type of player. He’s an extremely dynamic scoring guard. He is as good of a shotmaker as anyone in the country. If he can continue to improve his playmaking and show an improved ability on the defensive end, you’re talking about a top-10 type of player who is going to be an instant-impact guy on the offensive end of the floor.”
As of now, Dillingham is the No. 13 overall player in 247Sports’ own rankings for 2023 but slots into the No. 7 spot in the composite rankings. (Rivals.com ranks him No. 6 nationally).
On Friday night, Dillingham picked Kentucky over a list of finalists that also included Auburn, Louisville and Southern Cal, but it was a wild and winding road to get to that point in his recruitment.
Dillingham was the subject of national recognition early in his high school career at Combine Academy (N.C.), a school coached by former North Carolina point guard Jeff McInnis. That connection — along with a scholarship offer from UNC when he was only a sophomore — led to speculation that Dillingham might be an early lean to the home-state Tar Heels.
That narrative fizzled out, and it went away completely with the star recruit’s decision last fall to leave his home state — after earning North Carolina player of the year honors — and transfer to Kanye West’s upstart Donda Academy (Calif.), a brand new prep school program that planned to play a national schedule.
Dillingham’s pledge to N.C. State came a few weeks later, but he was back in the ranks of the uncommitted by the end of his junior season. Kentucky emerged as the favorite over the next few weeks, Dillingham took no additional campus visits during the spring, and by the time he announced his commitment to the Cats on Friday night, it was a decision that was fully expected in recruiting circles.
The next Iverson?
“I see Robert being a new age Allen Iverson.”
That’s coming from Jon Adams, the head coach of Team CP3, one of the top programs on the Nike grassroots circuit. Take a second to let that sink in.
“Yeah. That’s a lot to be said,” Adams continued, acknowledging the lofty comparison. “But there are a lot of similarities in their games.”
Iverson, of course, is a former NBA MVP, an 11-time All-Star, a four-time league scoring champion, and one of the most dynamic players to ever step onto a basketball court.
Dillingham, obviously, is a teenager who’s yet to play a single game beyond the high school level. He’s a long ways away from a Hall of Fame career. But he oozes potential.
“I’m not saying he’s as good as Allen Iverson,” CP3 co-director Steve Shelton said. “But that’s who he reminds me of. He is a scorer.”
Both of the officials with Team CP3 — a program backed by star NBA guard Chris Paul — made those comments to the Herald-Leader during the high school season, and Dillingham has continued to showcase his offensive bonafides in the time since.
This spring on the Nike circuit, Dillingham has reached double figures scoring in all 13 games he has played, quite a feat on the best grassroots circuit in the country and one where — with several games over the course of a weekend — off nights are normal. He has scored no fewer than 14 points in any of those games — despite constant attention from opposing defenses — and ranks among the league leaders with 19.9 points per game.
And he makes more than he misses, shooting 52.9% from the floor and 79.0% on free throws. In a five-game stint over three days on the Louisville stop of the Nike EYBL late last month, Dillingham averaged 22.4 points.
And it’s the way Dillingham scores that draws those Iverson flashbacks.
“The fact that he can take and make extremely difficult shots — that’s exactly where the comparison comes from,” Adams said. “You can’t stop him. You can only hope that he misses his shots. He’s extremely shifty, bouncy. He’s even bouncy with his dribble, so you never know where he’s going, and he can just pop up and shoot it at any point. He can finish well around the basket. And he’s deceptively long.”
Adams added that Dillingham relishes in taking the “big shot” that can decide games. “He’s not afraid to take any shot. Whether big, little or medium,” he added with a laugh.
Branham also talked up his dynamic approach on the offensive end.
“He’ll hit you with crossovers, in between the legs, stepbacks,” said the analyst. “He breaks guys down off the bounce to create space and create his own shot. And while they are very difficult shots, he is one of the best shotmakers — if not the best shotmaker — in the country, so he is able to knock down those tough, stepback jumpers. He has an array of floaters and finishes at the rim. He may be small and he may look younger than he actually is, but he’s tough, too. And he has a competitive edge to him if he gets fired up.”
Baby-faced with a bulldog mentality — “He likes to talk a little trash,” Adams said — Dillingham also brings an ability to hit shots from range, a trait always welcomed by Kentucky fans.
So far this spring, he’s hitting threes at a rate 38.4% on the Nike EYBL circuit, which uses the college 3-point-line distance.
“You cannot leave Robert Dillingham open,” Branham said. “If you leave him open, he is going to punish you. And it only opens up the opportunity for him to get his confidence going, and then he can start rattling them off, one after another. That’s what he does.
“So, yeah, if you leave him open, he’s going to make you feel it.”
Dillingham at Kentucky
Asked if Dillingham might be the most “electric” scoring guard that John Calipari has had since Malik Monk’s freshman season, Branham didn’t back away from the comparison.
Monk, the analyst said, is a superior athlete, but Dillingham holds his own as a scorer. And that’s saying something, since Monk holds the UK freshman record for most points in a season (754).
“When it comes to shotmaking, they’re similar,” Branham said. “And if you leave either of those guys open, they’re going to fill it up. And that’s what they both do best — put the basketball in the hole.”
Dillingham joins in-state star Reed Sheppard as the second commitment for Kentucky’s 2023 class, which is expected to grow by a few five-star prospects as this recruiting cycle progresses.
For now, it’s a great start for Calipari’s backcourt of the future, putting arguably the best perimeter scorer in the 2023 class alongside one of the most versatile guards in the country.
“Reed is an ‘easy fit’ guy,” Branham said. “He can play both on and off the ball. He plays the game the right way. He’s unselfish. He’s a willing passer. So, alongside Dillingham, they’re a good 1-2 punch. They definitely can play on the court at the same time.”
And Calipari is still looking for at least one more dynamic perimeter prospect. At the top of that list is DJ Wagner, who has family ties to the Kentucky coach and has long been ranked as the No. 1 player in the 2023 class. His recruitment is expected to come down to UK and Louisville, and Friday night’s news should do nothing to lessen the Wildcats’ chances.
“Them adding Rob Dillingham absolutely does not scratch DJ Wagner off the board,” Branham said. “And they will fully continue to try and add him.”
Judging by both his words and his actions, Dillingham would welcome a Wagner addition.
The newest UK commitment has explicitly said he’d like to team up with Wagner in college, and — despite his reputation as an elite scorer — Dillingham has shown a certain unselfishness with the ball.
His coaches at CP3 told the Herald-Leader that Dillingham has actually asked to play the “2” spot in the past — practically unheard of in a recruiting landscape where pretty much every star guard wants to be a point. Those coaches have also pointed out that Dillingham has spent the past two EYBL seasons teaming up with star point guard Aden Holloway, a top-50 national recruit who is averaging 5.5 assists per game and has actually taken 19 more shots than Dillingham so far this spring.
“They absolutely loved playing together,” Adams said. “He loves to have another guard, too, because — in his heart of hearts — he wants to score the ball. So if you have another guard out there with him that can distribute the ball a little bit more, that takes the pressure off of him.”
