By LARRY VAUGHT
Rob Dillingham came to Kentucky as a highly-rated five-star recruit but some had doubts about his ability to fit smoothly into coach John Calipari’s system.
He was not an instant hit during UK’s four exhibition games in Toronto but truly looked like a different player in UK’s Blue-White Game. He not only exploded for 40 points, seven assists and four steals — all game highs — but showed he had added over 20 pounds of muscle/weight in the last three months.
“Let me just say what happened. This is the greatest piece of this. He goes to Toronto. Anybody up there, he struggled and he struggled because it was physically — they were men. They were 23, and every time he got bumped, he was off balance, he missed layups,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “Then he missed open shots, then he went back to — and threw it away. It’s like, what in the world?”
Calipari was certain Dillingham got calls after UK’s Canadian trips encouraging him to leave Kentucky and join another team after he averaged just 5.5 points per game and shot only 31 percent from the field.
“You don’t think that happened? So now he goes into the weight room and gains 24 pounds because he knew. And now all of a sudden, you are watching him create the contact and playing through bumps. And that’s what this is about here — it isn’t easy. This stuff is hard,” Calipari said.
Dillingham admitted he would stop and pass the ball in Toronto because he was not comfortable with the physical contact against bigger, older players.
“But now it’s more like, ‘Play through the bump.’ That’s what he (Calipari) tells me every day. Just continue to play through the bump. And now I gained more weight, and it does feel way easier,” the freshman guard said.
Dillingham admitted before he got to Kentucky he tried to make a play every time he had the ball. Calipari remembered when former UK great John Wall was trying to make the “ESPN top 10 play 15 times in a game” and he had to tell him he didn’t have to make a highlight play every time.
Calipari said Dillingham played a “different way” at the Blue-White Game and other than one or two miscues stayed under control.
“I just realized playing with some of the guys every day that 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,” Dillingham said. “I’m still just learning how to play with everybody.”
Calipari doesn’t expect miracles and knows there will be times Dillingham might regress.
“I’m proud of him. As we go forward, it’s just I’ve got to probably have a couple of times where I look away. It’s just, ‘Okay, it’s just one of those.’ Because he’s trying so hard, and he’s a gym rat,” Calipari said. “He’s in the gym too much. There’ll be times when I peek my head out — go, get out. You’ve been in there enough.”
Dillingham isn’t likely to miss opportunities to get in the gym.
“We have a chance to be a really good team as long as we learn to play with each other and play defense and understand defense is what will win us games,” Dillingham said. “Once we understand that, I think we can be a really good team.”
Kentucky has now lost three straight games and the defense has allowed 122 points in those losses to Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina.
Junior linebacker Trevin Wallace said “part of life is going through adversity” after last week’s 33-27 loss to Tennessee.
“Playing basketball, football everybody goes through that (adversity). Everybody had their head down but there are leaders in there telling us to keep our heads up. It is a part of football,” Wallace said after the loss.
“We’re in the SEC, it could go either way, teams are good no matter what. They recruit as well. Everybody was in there saying that we could keep going and could keep striving.”
Kentucky plays at Mississippi State Saturday night, a place Kentucky coach Mark Stoops has never won.
Kentucky linebacker D’Eryk Jackson said missed tackles against Tennessee were “frustrating” and there was no excuse for that happening as often as it did.
“As we said in the locker room, we have to keep building. In this league, people are losing and winning, and you never know who is going to win,” Jackson said. “The league is crazy, and we just have to keep building and be grown men who keep going.”
Stoops knows fans are disappointed in the team but said no one needed to feel sorry for him.
“I don’t need any motivation to get back to work tomorrow and neither does our team and our staff,” he said after the Tennessee loss. “It hurts because we invest a lot, our players invest a lot, and our fans invest a lot. And so, it hurts. And very disappointed. But not discouraged one bit.”
Quarterback Devin Leary had his best statistical game against Tennessee but was just as frustrated with the loss as fans.
“The overall goal is to win the game. I’ve always looked at football that way, whatever coach needs me to do, whatever the team needs me to do, I’m willing to do it,” Leary said.
“Walking away with a loss puts a sour taste in your mouth a little bit but now it’s back to the drawing board, you can’t praise yourself too much for coming off something that ended in a loss, there’s still room for improvement and we gotta get back to work and build off this.”
Kentucky is not ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press preseason poll for only the second time in John Calipari’s tenure at UK and in most preseason polls is ranked behind SEC foes Tennessee, Arkansas and Texas A&M.
While Kentucky fans believe coach John Calipari’s team will be better, Tom Hart of the SEC Network/ESPN thinks the preseason rating is about right.
“What the media has gotten away from is where there was always this automatic ranking with Alabama first in football and Kentucky first in basketball. I do not doubt John Calipari and his freshman-dominated team can be top five, but Kentucky basketball has disproved a lot of theories the past few years. People are looking at Kentucky with more doubt now,” Hart said.
“Kentucky basketball under John Calipari typically is a much different team in February and March than it is in November. Youth just needs time to grow into being away from home and the demands of college life in general while they are also growing as players.”
Hart also understands that Calipari does not put pressure on his team as much or worry about winning every game in November and December like some coaches do.
“He’s more worried about March and because of injuries to UK’s big men and so many freshmen, Kentucky will hopefully be a much different team in March than when the season starts,” Hart said.
Most SEC teams are older than Kentucky as COVID exception years have allowed players 23-24 years old to still be playing college basketball.
“That is a huge advantage for teams with experience,” Hart said. “If there is a six-year age gap, usually the older guys will have a huge advantage.”
Hart expects Tennessee to be “very good” with the talent it brings back and is “fascinated” by what Texas A&M will do with SEC preseason player of the year Wade Taylor back.
“He’s a dynamite player but they still have to prove it to me. (Coach) Buzz (Williams) is a great motivator and unique coach and I think he’s a smart coach but he’s had more misses than hits when you expect them to compete at the highest level.”
Kentucky football has not apparently had a problem with opposing teams stealing signs/play calls during games but coach Mark Stoops knows it could happen. That’s why he would be in favor of allowing radio communication in helmets to avoid signaling in play calls.
The NFL allows quarterbacks to have radio contact with coaches to get play calls and many would like to see that in college along with maybe one defensive player having the same capability.
“I’d be all for it. I’m not sure the reason why we don’t have it to this point,” Stoops said. “I know we’ve talked about it in the SEC meetings for several years, I think.
“I don’t want to speak for everybody, but if I’m not mistaken, it pretty much was unanimous that we all were in favor of that. I’d like to see it happen, so hopefully we could work towards that.”
Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam Coen says the staff actually watches what signs might have been shown on TV during a game that might need to be changed or altered when staff members signal players from the sideline to quarterback Devin Leary.
Antonio Reeves turned into a prolific scorer for Kentucky last season and is being counted on to be an even better scoring threat from 3-point range this season after returning to UK for his fifth season of college basketball.
Reeves put his name into the NBA draft and learned something that might surprise UK fans.
“Defense. I definitely learned a lot when I was traveling, how important defense was,” Reeves said. “I definitely try to emphasize that every time I step on the floor here. Just being a dog.”
He said he found out more about the importance of “all parts” of defense including being in the right position at all times.
“I feel like my on-ball defense is pretty good, it’s just when I get off the ball, sometimes I would be lolly-gagging, and that’s important if you just make sure to stay in the right spot,” he said.
With all the attention on Zvonimir Ivisic’s eligibility and Aaron Bradshaw’s foot injury, sometimes 7-foot sophomore Ugonna Onyenso’s status is overlooked.
He injured his foot the day before UK’s first exhibition game in Canada in July during a team scrimmage.
“I do not have a timeline. I’m just worried about getting back,” Onyenso said at UK’s Media Day. “Most of my time during the day, I spend it with my trainer, getting better, my strength coach. I’ve gotten a little stronger from last year. That’s actually a great thing.”
Onyenso does believe he will be able to play this season even though coach John Calipari has acknowledged he will not be back as early as Bradshaw because his injury occurred almost four months later.
“When that time comes, I think we’ll all know,” Onyenso added. “Right now, I’m just working my way towards coming back.”
The rehab work Bradshaw and Onyenso have done has helped the sophomore bond with his new teammate.
“It’s unfortunate that it happened but I’m getting to know Aaron outside of basketball. I have created a great relationship with Aaron. He always says he’s my African brother. Being with Aaron, he helps me and I help him too,” Onyenso said.
Quote of the Week: “He was always one of my favorite players. It’s definitely amazing after practice that I can go up to him and ask what I need to do to get better and what I can do to get an advantage,” UK freshman guard Rob Dillingham on UK graduate assistant coach Tyler Ulis.
Quote of the Week 2: “Still have to ask her, did you borrow a weed eater? You all know me. Come on. Never cut grass in my life. Well, I did when I was 15. Almost cut my toes off, so no. I’m not that guy,” Kentucky coach John Calipari at Media Day responding to a social media post that he borrowed a weed eater and never returned it.
Quote of the Week 3: “Extension talks are over, I’m just focused on the season. Our team is going to have a great year and I feel like I’m going to have a great year,” New York Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley after contract extension talks on his rookie contract ended.