Vanderbilt head coach compares Kentucky freshman to an NBA superstar
Kentucky just beat Vanderbilt 93-77 in Rupp Arena to complete the season sweep of the Commodores.
The Wildcats had another solid offensive night but really couldn't get much going defensively, as the Commodores had a ton of open looks that, in the first half, they were knocking down. In the second half, the shots stopped falling for Vandy, but they still had some open looks.
Kentucky freshman guard Rob Dillingham had a solid showing for the Wildcats as he scored 23 points on 9-15 shooting in what was likely his final game in Rupp Arena. The freshman also had five assists in Kentucky's final home game of the season. Dillingham has proven to be one of the best offensive players in all of college basketball, and Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse compared him to NBA superstar Kyrie Irving. The Dallas Mavericks star is an incredible scorer and passer. He is probably the best in the NBA when it comes to finishing tough baskets at the rim which is what Dillingham has been so good at this season.
Here is the full quote on Dillingham from Stackhouse, “Well, I would say he is so shifty. I think that's the word that I would use to describe him, and I saw him in high school. I mean, I knew him when he was at Combine Academy when he played against my teammates from North Carolina. And when I saw him, I just, I didn't know if he was big enough right at the time when I first saw him as a ninth grader, but he continued to grow in, and it just got better. I mean, that kid has really gotten better, and he's a tough cover for anybody. He's the guy that's capable of exploding and going for 25 or 30 on any given night. I think that's why you're seeing him projected on the draft boards and his own because he has that type of ability. You know, being able to play one on one create off the dribble kind of Kyrie Irving like, and I think once he continues to grow as a defender, right, I mean, he's going to be a guy that you try to pick on it, but I think he has to that same shift in this that he has on offense he can apply that and become a good on-ball defender as well.”
Hearing Stackhouse talk up Dillingham like this holds a lot of value as he played over 900 NBA games while being selected to two All-Star games and averaging 16.9 points per game in his career. If anyone can be a judge of how good Dillingham can be in the NBA, it's Stackhouse, and he seems to think he will be a great player at the next level.
