Tag: Rob Dillingham

Projected lottery pick Rob Dillingham announces NBA draft decision on ESPN

Dillingham was named the SEC Sixth Man of the Year after averaging 15.2 points, 3.9 assists, 2.9 rebounds and one steal.

Kentucky freshman Rob Dillingham announced Tuesday on ESPN’s “NBA Today” that he has signed a representation agreement with the Klutch Sports Group and will enter the 2024 NBA draft.

Dillingham was named the SEC Sixth Man of the Year after averaging 15.2 points, 3.9 assists, 2.9 rebounds and one steal on 44.4% shooting from 3-point range in 32 games. He registered eight 20-point games, including a season-high 35 points on Feb. 3.

He was also named to the All-SEC second team.

Dillingham ranked second in the conference in assist percentage (29.7), seventh in field-goal percentage (47.5) and ninth in assists and 3-point percentage. He hit at least three 3-pointers in 11 games.

Dillingham is considered one of the top guards in the draft and a potential top-five pick. He flourished playing with or without the ball and was exciting to watch in transition, with his lightning-quick speed and ability to change directions seemingly at the drop of a dime.

The 19-year-old can get into the paint and finish or pull up from the mid-range and hit shots. He emerged as a key player for the Wildcats off the bench and projects to be highly coveted among teams at the top of the draft board.

The 2024 NBA draft will take place June 26-27 in New York City.

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Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham will hire an agent and enter the NBA Draft

Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham has declared for the NBA Draft

After an electrifying season where he became a nationally known star, Kentucky Wildcats guard Rob Dillingham will enter the NBA Draft. This was an expected move from nearly everyone.

There were questions before the season about his ability to fit into the Kentucky offense with the other guards they were going to have. Dillingham, however, answered every one of them, and exceeded every expectation.

When the Wildcats needed a spark, it was Dillingham who often provided it. He knocked down huge shot after huge shot, and his tendency to make difficult shots look easy made him a household name. He scored in bursts like few other players in the country were capable of.

For the year, the Kentucky Freshman scored 15.2 points per game. He also put up nearly four assist per contest, showing off a terrific ability to drive and find the open man. From deep, he made 44% of his shots, many of them when it mattered the most.

It’s expected that Dillingham will be a lottery pick in the NBA Draft, and potentially a top five selection. He is a work in progress on defense, but his offensive game in NBA-ready.

He will only have played one season in Lexington, but the memories of what Rob Dillingham did while he was there will last a long time.

Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard are top five picks in CBS NBA mock draft

A new CBS NBA mock draft has two Kentucky players in the top five

Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard are going to be lottery picks in the NBA Draft. That is, if the analysts who do NBA mock drafts know what they’re talking about.

Nearly every mock draft that comes out has both Dillingham and Sheppard as top ten picks. A new CBS mock draft from Kyle Boone, however, took it a step further, and have both being selected inside the top five.

First up is Dillingham, the lightning quick guard who seemed to be able to take over games at will. Boone has him going second overall to the Washington Wizards and had this to say:

Despite coming off the bench the majority of the season for Kentucky, Dillingham flashed shades of Kyrie Irving with his twitchy ability and brilliant ball-handling skills. He can take over games when he’s hot and has the athletic pop to grow into a potent two-way player.

Just two picks later, Reed Sheppard goes to the Charlotte Hornets with the fourth overall selection. Another Kentucky guard, Sheppard was deadly from three-point range, and proved to be a terrific passer. This was Boone’s thought:

However good you think Sheppard is, just know you’re probably wrong and underrating him. He had an historically great freshman season at Kentucky as arguably the best shooter in college basketball, and he proved to be a legitimate playmaker on offense with the ball in his hands and on defense as a savvy, smart team defender. Has a game that projects perfectly to the NBA level.

Boone didn’t have any other Wildcats going in round one, despite forward Justin Edwards declaring for the NBA Draft this week. He didn’t address round two, where multiple Kentucky players could go.

Gallery: The best images from the Kentucky Wildcats 2023-24 regular season wins

The best image from every Kentucky win this season

The Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball team starts their NCAA Tournament journey on Thursday against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies. Through the regular season, they earned a number three seed in the South Region, having gone 23 – 9, with several wins over ranked teams.

The Cats performed very well in the non-conference portion of their schedule, with wins over North Carolina and Miami, and a near-win over Kansas.

The SEC part of the season was a bit of a struggle. At one point the lost three consecutive home games, but went on a run of wins to end the season.

This year’s Kentucky team was one of the most fun in recent memory. The defense wasn’t always as good as it needed to be, but the offense was one of the country’s most explosive all season long.

Every game the Wildcats played in had multiple great images that told the story of their season. Here is one image from each game that Kentucky won during the regular season.

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Multiple Wildcats honored by SEC coaches as All-SEC

Four Kentucky players were recognized with awards by SEC coaches

The 2023-24 regular season was another great one for the Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball team. On Monday, several members of the team were honored by the Southeastern Conference coaches, and were recognized for their play.

Senior guard Antonio Reeves didn’t win Player of the Year, but he was voted as first team All-SEC. Reeves is currently on track to have the highest per game scoring average at Kentucky since John Calipari became the coach.

Rob Dillingham has been one of the most exciting players in Kentucky basketball history. His ability to take over games earned him the SEC’s Sixth Man of the Year award. He was also second team All-SEC and a part of their All-Freshman Team.

Like his father Jeff, Reed Sheppard has become one of the most popular Wildcats ever. His clutch shooting and high basketball IQ propelled him to the SEC’s Freshman of the Year award. Like Dillingham, he was also second team All-SEC.

D.J. Wagner has struggled with injuries this season, but has proven to be an excellent defender. He also flashes an innate ability to get into the lane. He joined Dillingham and Sheppard on the SEC All-Freshman team.

The recipients, and their teammates have games still to play, beginning with the SEC Tournament, which starts later this week. Kentucky will play their first game on Friday.

Two Kentucky players go top 10 in latest Bleacher Report mock draft

Bleacher Report’s latest NBA mock draft has two Wildcats in the top ten picks

Bleacher Report released their latest NBA mock draft this week and two Kentucky stars land squarely in the top 10 picks. It should be no surprise to anyone who has watched Kentucky basketball this year which two it is, but for anyone who hasn’t been paying attention, it’s guard Reed Shephard and guard Rob Dillingham.

Shephard was taken with the sixth pick in the mock by the Memphis Grizzlies. They note his ability to fit into any situation with his three point shooting and ball movement skills. His game against Mississippi State seems to have open some scouts eyes that Reed could be more than what some originally thought he could be.

Dillingham was taken a pick later, with the seventh pick by the San Antonio Spurs. They compare Dillingham to Lou Williams and it seems to be a great comparison. The Freshman may never be a lead guard or scorer for a team, but every team could use a guy who can put up points in a hurry or could excel as a sixth man. His ball-handling is something that every team could also use.

The mock also has Justin Edwards going number 46 to the Boston Celtics and Antonio Reeves going number 55 to the Indiana Pacers.

Three Wildcats in first round of latest CBS NBA mock draft

Three Kentucky Wildcats are selected in the first round of the latest CBS NBA mock draft.

NBA mock drafts are a fun exercise, and there will be many of them written over the upcoming months. Fans love them and it’s always interesting to see where players are projected to be selected. CBS released a new one on Thursday, and they have predicted three Kentucky Wildcats to be picked in round one.

Reed Sheppard is first off the board, going to the Portland Trail Blazers fifth overall. He has quickly risen up draft boards due to his intelligent play and his ability to shoot from deep. He plays hard, and he does all the little things as well as anyone.

With the sixth pick, the Toronto Raptors are given Rob Dillingham. The shifty guard is one of the great playmakers in the country. He is a terrific shooter, but passes the ball well too. His ability to blow by defenders is unmatched in college basketball.

The final Wildcat selected in the CBS mock draft is also a guard. D.J. Wagner goes 27th to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who also picked his father Dajuan Wagner in the first round 22 years ago. The younger Wagner needs to become a better shooter, but has great quickness and is a good defender.

EvanMiya analytics releases 2023-24 freshman rankings, and Jared McCain is outside the top 15

Prominent college basketball analytics site ranked the 2023-24 freshman class by its Bayesian Performance Rating. Where did Jared McCain fall after his 35-point game against FSU?

Noted college basketball analytics site EvanMiya, run by Evan Miyakawa, released its 2023-24 freshman rankings on Tuesday.

The rankings sorted the freshman class by their Bayesian Performance Rating, and Duke star Jared McCain finished 18th.

The first-year Blue Devils guard is averaging 13.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. He currently sports a performance rating of 4.20, finishing just above Kansas’s Johnny Furphy.

The ranking also listed each freshman’s preseason ranking, and McCain was eighth before the season began.

The Kentucky Wildcats cleaned up in the rankings, with two players in the top three and two more within the top 25. Reed Sheppard, who was ranked 26th before the season began, led the rankings with a performance rating of 8.45. Teammate Rob Dillingham, a likely lottery pick, came in third with a 5.96.

Sheppard is averaging 12.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 2.6 steals per game for the Wildcats, and he’s shooting above 50% from the floor and from beyond the arc. Dillingham is producing 14.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game himself.

McCain is the second-highest freshman in the rankings behind UNC’s Elliot Cadeau in seventh.

Predictions: Which Kentucky men’s basketball players will return next year

The Kentucky Wildcats have several talented Freshman players who could be drafted. Here’s a prediction of who could leave.

The Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball team is a very young one. There are six Freshmen in the rotation regularly, and another two Sophomores playing nightly. They’re young, but very talented as well.

When this type of convergence happens, the talk inevitably turns to their NBA prospects and fans begin to wander who will leave early, and who might stick around. With the season’s end approaching, many Cats fans are looking ahead to next year, and guessing at who may be back.

There’s no way to be sure what players are being told by people about their NBA prospects, but here are predictions on what might happen, and what should happen with Kentucky’s Freshman group.

Rob Dillingham has gotten the attention of social media

Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham has gotten a lot of social media buzz of late

The Kentucky Wildcats are a team loaded with young, talented players who could be stars at any school in the country. They could have as many as seven players drafted in the 2024 NBA Draft. However, in recent weeks, guard Rob Dillingham has begun to hit another level of play, and people have noticed.

Dillingham came to Kentucky as a top 25 recruit, but not as the Wildcats top incoming player. Early on, he played a smaller role, coming off the bench to provide a spark, which he did. Using his speed and shot-making prowess, he brought an excitement to the floor each time he checked in.

More recently, with injuries piling up, Dillingham has had to take on a larger role, and he has excelled. Over his past four games, he has averaged more than 22 points, and against the Tennessee Volunteers, he poured in 35. For the season, he’s at 15 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds and a steal per game.

A lot of people have begun to take notice of Dillingham’s ability. Social media has raved about him, and his draft stock has risen dramatically. Here are some of the things being said about the Wildcat Freshman on X.