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Freshman guard Rob Dillingham certainly showed he can be an explosive scorer with his 40-point outburst in Kentucky’s Blue-White Game Saturday night at Northern Kentucky University.
It was a far different Dillingham than Kentucky fans saw during UK’s four-game exhibition trip to Canada but also remember it was an exhibition game with no healthy 7-footers clogging the lane and with the 4-on-4 format he had plenty of room to operate.
But don’t overlook that he also had seven assists and four steals, both team highs, along with five rebounds.
“Before I got here, I tried to make a play every time I (got) the ball,” Dillingham said after the game. “Now I just realized, we’re playing with so many guys every day, I don’t (have to) make a play every play. I can look for other people. I can throw the ball just to give it up sometimes. Just learning how to play with everybody and learning how to gel together.”
Kentucky coach John Calipari had a simple message for Dillingham when he made a bad decision.
“When he did force it I told him, ‘Why would you do that?’” Calipari said. “You’re getting every shot you want, so don’t do that to your team, that’s disrespectful to the other guys.
“But he wants to be so good. He’s in the gym all the time.”
The Kentucky coach liked how “efficient” Dillingham, who has added 22 pounds since UK played in Canada in July, was during the game.
“I grabbed him a couple of times. He had a wide-open shot but he’s gonna try something crazy. Just don’t play that way, you’re too good a player,” Calipari said. “How about the steals? Didn’t just do it on offense, he did it defensively.”
Dillingham’s added weight/muscle enabled him to play through contact and score in the Blue-White Game, something he could not do in Canada.
“I would get bumped (in Canada) and since I wasn’t comfortable, I would stop and throw the ball,” Dillingham said. “Now it’s more like play through the bump. That’s why (Calipari) tells me every day. Just continue to play through the bump.
“I’ve gained way more weight so it does feel way easier because I can play through the bump instead of getting knocked off my dribble.”
Kentucky hosts Georgetown College in an exhibition game Friday at 7 p.m.
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Brady Welch, UK’s strength coach, noted at the Women’s Clinic that Rob came into his office as soon as they got back from Canada and asked him to help him get stronger. The added muscle weight is noticeable and it doesn’t appear that it slowed him down any.
That’s good news for Dillingham, but that only means he is going to earn more PT; who will that come from? Thiero has toughened up and worked on his shot. He is playing with more confidence and will be the guy who gets a basket when nobody else can…again this will warrant more PT, but who will it come from. I was encouraged with Burkes play in the Blue/White game. If Z is going to be limited in PT due to conditioning with Onyenso and Bradshaw out with injuries, we will need Burkes to step up and give Mitchell and Z backup. Dillingham, Thiero, and Burkes are elevating their PT stock. Z needs to get in better shape and the rest of the "starters" hopefully are improving their game as well.
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