2024 Roster (Enter Antonio Reeves & Tre Mitchell)

[KCKUKFan]

You're welcome, guys.

[Los Gatos]

Rob Dillingham has been certified eligible by the NCAA.

IIRC there have been cases where the NCAA has certified a player but the school has found things afterward that interfered with eligibility, but this is a good step for a player we (IMO) really need to suit up for us.

https://www.on3.com/teams/kentucky-w...ifier-by-ncaa/

Derrick Rose comes to mind.

[George]

You're welcome, guys.

I won’t believe it until he’s wearing a UK uniform while dribbling a basketball during regulation time of a regular season game.

[Catsrock]

With all the rumors concerning the amount of NIL money being offered would someone please explain how this works? I thought it couldn’t be used to recruit players and the amount was determined by the businesses wanting players to advertise for them once the player was a member of the team. Maybe I have this wrong?? Thanks

I think your view is probably more in line with what congress envisioned. But when they simply ruled that colleges cannot rule players ineligible for benefitting from their NIL the NCAA had nothing in line to regulate it and the floodgates were opened. It still is supposed to be boosters—ie not the school directly paying for players. But a coach—Mark Stoops?—can come right out and say “we’re falling behind, better get some $ in the collective.” And companies/individuals/anyone with some cash laying around can contribute. The boosters then let the coaches know how much $ they have for a bid for a player.

Completely the NCAA’s fault for ignoring the problem/exploitation of players a couple of decades till congress was compelled to step in.

[KCKUKFan]

I won’t believe it until he’s wearing a UK uniform while dribbling a basketball during regulation time of a regular season game.

lol you do you, buddy

[Ratt]

Derrick Rose comes to mind.

Doesn't remind me of Rose at all. He's shifty but a lot of that shake/bake stuff won't be playable at the next level or with Cal. However, he looks like he can score. Just wonder if he can play D. We'll see.

Wagner reminds me more of Rose and has a little 'dog' in him. He's not super big but interested to see him play. I like Edwards as well. I think he can become their silent/quiet assassin. Not really sold on Bradshaw. Not even as athletic as Collins

[Matt Dillon]

Doesn't remind me of Rose at all. He's shifty but a lot of that shake/bake stuff won't be playable at the next level or with Cal. However, he looks like he can score. Just wonder if he can play D. We'll see.

Wagner reminds me more of Rose and has a little 'dog' in him. He's not super big but interested to see him play. I like Edwards as well. I think he can become their silent/quiet assassin. Not really sold on Bradshaw. Not even as athletic as Collins

I believe LG was referring to eligibility issues, not playing ability.

[Joneslab]

The closest comp to Dillingham is probably Monk.

The question about him is whether he can be coached. He plays almost like a streetball sort of game. Cal, being a micromanager from the old school, will likely have a problem with that--if the crazy shots don't go in.

All in all though I guarantee Cal will be glad to be coaching a new team with new challenges. I think the situation last season was probably more of a mess than we'll ever know.

[George]

The closest comp to Dillingham is probably Monk.

The question about him is whether he can be coached. He plays almost like a streetball sort of game. Cal, being a micromanager from the old school, will likely have a problem with that--if the crazy shots don't go in.

All in all though I guarantee Cal will be glad to be coaching a new team with new challenges. I think the situation last season was probably more of a mess than we'll ever know.

I disagree with the Monk comp. Dillingham doesn’t have Monk’s shooting or ability above the rim.

I think he’s much closer to what we hoped we were going to get from Ryan Harrow.

[Joneslab]

I disagree with the Monk comp. Dillingham doesn’t have Monk’s shooting or ability above the rim.

I think he’s much closer to what we hoped we were going to get from Ryan Harrow.

Probably not above the rim. Just on shot-making and shot-taking, though, I saw a lot of Monk comps a year ago.

Thing about Dillingham is that he dropped off the radar a little because of his weird trajectory. Had he gone to high school I think you would've seen a lot more talk about him this past year. The last I saw about him, last summer, Givony was raving about him. I usually buy Givony more than any scout simply because he seems to watch a lot more ball all over the world.

Re: Harrow...Harrow was a hell of a player coming out of high school. Kentucky broke his mind. If you get a Harrow with a better disposition I'd take that.

But Ryan Harrow made 21 threes his year at Kentucky. Um...that ain't the player we're getting with Dillingham. I'll bet a steak dinner that he will hit--and miss--far more shots than Ryan Harrow even thought of shooting assuming he gets the minutes Harrow got--which I assume he will, or close to.

[Joneslab]

Dillingham averaged about 15 a game and 5 assists with OTE. Shot about 32% from three but had five to seven games where he took an avalanche of threes.

I'm thinking about Harrow and I don't quite see that comparison in the least. Maybe body type? And yet how are Malik Monk's and Ryan Harrow's bodies any different?

[KCKUKFan]

Dillingham off the court will be a bigger issue than anything he does on the court. Like Boogie, he's apparently a big personality.

It will be interesting to see how he, Wagner and (potentially) Hunter Dickinson mesh.

[Joneslab]

Dillingham off the court will be a bigger issue than anything he does on the court. Like Boogie, he's apparently a big personality.

It will be interesting to see how he, Wagner and (potentially) Hunter Dickinson mesh.

I've heard Hunter Dickinson can be a problem. But I just heard that on the Rafters echo chamber and sometimes (well, let's face it: most of the time) they're just parroting back something one guy said three weeks ago.

[George]

Dillingham averaged about 15 a game and 5 assists with OTE. Shot about 32% from three but had five to seven games where he took an avalanche of threes.

I'm thinking about Harrow and I don't quite see that comparison in the least. Maybe body type? And yet how are Malik Monk's and Ryan Harrow's bodies any different?

Like Harrow, Dillingham is know primarily for his handles and shot creation, but when it comes to being a three-point threat, no. That isn’t Dillingham. If he’s hitting threes at a decent clip it’s because he took 57 shots in a game (which he’ll often try to do).

[Joneslab]

Like Harrow, Dillingham is know primarily for his handles and shot creation, but when it comes to being a three-point threat, no. That isn’t Dillingham. If he’s hitting threes at a decent clip it’s because he took 57 shots in a game (which he’ll often try to do).

Harrow and Dillingham may've had similar handles but Harrow (at least the player we saw here; can't vouch for him in hs) was more of a true point guard. Dillingham is using the handles to set up the shot.

The main reason I like Dillingham (or at least the idea of him) is that we have had so few guards who were able to break down the defense recently. Cason Wallace could do it, definitely. But guys who can either break down a defender into a jumper, drive the basketball, or simply just shake defenders...that hasn't been Kentucky's MO these last four or five years.

It could turn out Dillingham is a reserve behind Antonio Reeves and if he'd accept that role that would be okay. In those Elite Eight and Final Four games I noticed that all those teams had guys coming in off the bench who were playing at levels that really weren't that different from the starters. Another staple of recent Kentucky basketball is a significant decline when you move down into the bench. That wasn't happening nearly as much in the early Cal years.