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Future Wildcat, Rob Dillingham, Excited to Learn Under Tyler Ulis and Rajon Rondo

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Ulis: © Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports/Dillingham: UK Athletics/Rondo:© Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

There has been a ton of hype around Kentucky’s 2023 recruiting class, and for good reason. The Wildcats currently have four incoming five-star recruits, and one four-star recruit for next season.

One of the five-star signees that will be making his way to Lexington is Rob Dillingham, who is ranked as the No. 2 point guard and the No. 13 overall prospect in 2023 via 247Sports One thing he is most excited for is the opportunity to learn from two of the best point guards to ever play at the University of Kentucky.

Coach Tyler Ulis and Coach Rajon Rondo

Back in December, former Kentucky point guard Tyler Ulis joined the Kentucky coaching staff as a graduate assistant. In the coming months, former Wildcat and NBA veteran Rajon Rondo is expected to join the staff on the same terms.

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Tyler Ulis played at Kentucky for two seasons, 2014-15 and 2015-16. In his sophomore season, he averaged 17.3 points per game. He went on to win the Bob Cousy award for the nation’s best point guard. He also won SEC Player of the Year and SEC Defensive Player of the Year in that season after tallying 51 steals and recording 246 assists.

Rajon Rondo played at Kentucky for two seasons as well, 2004-05 and 2005-06. He averaged 9.65 points and 4.2 assists per game during his time in Lexington. Rondo would go on to the NBA to have a very successful career. He was a four-time NBA All-Star, four-time NBA All-Defensive team honors, and two NBA championships (Boston Celtics – 2008, Los Angeles Lakers – 2020).

“We’re learning from greats”

Dillingham was recently interviewed by Kentucky Sports Radio where they asked him about his opportunity to be coached by the two Kentucky legends.

“That’s just amazing that could even happen,” Dillingham said. “Tyler Ulis won [SEC] Defensive Player of the Year and player of the year. Then, you’ve got Rondo, who was one of the greatest guards of all time. We’re learning from greats.”

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“We’re also learning from Coach Cal,” he continued. “We have guard play. We’re all going to learn how to play within the system and use our talent at the same time. I feel like Rajon and Tyler will help us with that easily because they’ve already done it.”

Kentucky recently hosted Dillingham for an official visit when Kansas came to town on January 28th. Although the Wildcats lost the matchup, it was a positive experience for Dillingham as he was recognized on the court at halftime.

Dillingham said, “It was crazy. I’m in the middle of the court with 20-some thousand fans. I don’t even know how to explain it. You’re just looking around like I’m excited.”

It is likely that the starting point guard position will be up for grabs next season. Cason Wallace is headed for the NBA, and it is likely that Sahvir Wheeler will transfer or forego his final season of eligibility to begin a professional career of his own.

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If Kentucky decides to play fellow five-star signee DJ Wagner off the ball, the point guard spot could very well fall into Dillingham’s hands.

BB Recruiting

Top 20 Prospect Taylen Kinney Set To Visit Kentucky

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James Weber | The Enquirer

Taylen Kinney, one of the top guards in the 2026 class and the No. 1 point guard in Kentucky, will take an official visit with the Wildcats beginning on June 24.

The Newport, Kentucky native has been inserted in a bit of a bidding war with Louisville and other premier schools after his official visit with the Cardinals, but of course the true recruiting powerhouse had to cast a line in hope of a bite.

KSR’s Jack Pilgrim caught a video of Kinney working with Mark Pope one-on-one on the morning of June 17 at the USA U19 Training Camp in Colorado Springs.

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A picture of Kinney, along with Malachi Moreno and Jasper Johnson, two of Kentucky’s incoming freshman on this year’s squad, came out of the camp. Tyran Stokes, the No. 1 player in the class of 2026, who already took a visit to Kentucky recently, was also shown in the picture. All four players are Kentucky natives.

Kinney is a priority for Kentucky, and Pope planting the idea of being a Wildcat in his mind this past weekend certainly builds the hype of his commitment being a future reality.

However, we can’t act like Pat Kelsey hasn’t already beat Pope to the punch, and it may be too late to change Kinney’s mind on being a Cardinal.

“I probably talk to coach Kelsey twice a week,” Kinney said. “He talks to my parents multiple times a week. I talk to the whole staff all of the time.”

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He later added on some words that no Wildcat fan would want to hear.

“They (Louisville’s staff) just told me that I was their guy,” Kinney said. “I fit perfectly into their system, and there’s no other school that I fit better into than them.

A common member of Big Blue Nation would likely think “yeah alright, wait until you get that Kentucky treatment,” and with the climate of today’s recruiting trail, who knows what can happen.

It will likely be a long time before the star guard makes an official decision, but who doesn’t like a good back-and-forth between two rival programs. The bell has already rung, and round one goes to the Cardinals, but the Wildcats are coming out swinging for round two.

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No. 1 Ranked Recruit Takes Official Visit to Kentucky

The top-ranked recruit in the nation, Tyran Stokes, took his official visit to Kentucky following a prior delay.

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Tyran Stokes takes his official visit to Kentucky.
Mark J. Rebilas | Imagn Images

Being from Louisville doesn’t necessarily make you a cardinal, and Mark Pope has set out to prove that in the biggest possible way.

The top-ranked overall recruit in next year’s class, Tyran Stokes, officially took a visit to Lexington on Sunday, June 8. This comes in lieu of many rumors that he’d canceled his visit altogether due to frustration with fans trying to dig for information online.

Last month in a cryptic post on X, Stokes said, “Why can’t y’all give a kid some privacy”. As curious as that was, especially given the proximity to his originally planned visit to Kentucky, it seems that the true issue had no bearing on his choice to hear Coach Pope’s plea. 

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And, as Kentucky fans now know, sometimes that’s all it takes to get a guy in blue and white.

The Louisville native, at 6’7, 230, has become widely renowned for his strong slashing ability as a multi-threat scorer on the wing. Stokes is the sort of player that, nobody who you already have on your team, you make room for him. He’s got an intangible build made for the big leagues, and he’s not even out of high school yet.

Stokes is the kind of guy that’d have NBA scouts sitting court side in Rupp Arena. While that level of national buzz isn’t always a good thing, it’s hard to underscore the possibility, and excitement, of the top recruit in the nation committing to the Cats come 2026.

In the very least, Kentucky is in the race, alongside Kansas and Louisville as heavy pursuers. It’s never too early to look ahead, and, as usual, Pope and staff are doing just that with the biggest names in the game.

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Kentucky Earns Commitment From European Big Andrija Jelavic

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ABA League j.t.d./Dragana Stjepanovic

Earlier today, Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats received the commitment from Andrija Jelavic, a 6-foot-11 big from Croatia.

As first reported by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, Jelavic is one of the most highly regarded European prospects that is taking his talent to the NCAA.

Soon to be 21 years old, Jelavic averaged 10.8 points per game on 60% shooting from the field to go along with 7.4 rebounds per game for Mega Superbet, the same club that NBA Champion and three-time MVP Nikola Jokic played for.

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As a shock to most, who were expecting Pope’s next commit to be a guard of some sorts, international players can now sign lucrative NIL deals. Kentucky, along with several of the elite colleges, are now in the European market. 

Jelavic, with shades of current European big men, can do just about everything on the court. He can shoot, dribble, pass, finish at the rim, etc. With a very relevant comparison, Jelavic plays almost perfectly in the replacement role of Andrew Carr. 

His commitment now makes him the fifth member of Pope’s additions this offseason, joining Kam Williams, Jaland Lowe, Mouhamed Dioubate and Jayden Quaintance. 

With a 7’2” wingspan, joining an already impressive Kentucky frontcourt, it’s safe to say for certain that this new team will not lack in that department. 

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Next year’s roster was loaded with talent already, but now with the addition of Jelavic, lots of questions are arising: Who will start? How many more players is Pope going to add? What will happen with the walk-ons? 

There’s plenty to think about for Pope and his staff before the season starts, but like he said back when he introduced himself to Big Blue Nation, “We’re here to win banners.” He’s going to make the moves he thinks will do just that for the Wildcats. 

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