Robert Deon Potasi Dillingham (born January 4, 2005) is an American

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

player for the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,473 ...

of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

(SEC). He is a five-star

recruit __NOTOC__ Recruit can refer to: Military * Military recruitment * Recruit training, in the military * '' Rekrut'' (English: Recruit), a military recruit or low rank in German-speaking countries * Seaman recruit Books *''Le Réquisitionnaire'' (E ...

that previously played professionally for the Cold Hearts in Overtime Elite during what would have been his senior year in high school.

High school career

Dillingham was born and raised in

Hickory, North Carolina Hickory is a city located primarily in Catawba County, with formal boundaries extending into Burke and Caldwell counties. The city lies in the U.S. state of North Carolina. At the time of the 2020 census, Hickory's population was 43,490. Hickor ...

. He played basketball for Combine Academy in

Lincolnton, North Carolina Lincolnton is a city in Lincoln County, North Carolina, United States, within the Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 10,486 at the 2010 census. Lincolnton is northwest of Charlotte, on the South Fork of the Catawba River. The city i ...

. Dillingham emerged as one of the top players in his class by his sophomore season. As a sophomore, he averaged 21.2 points, 4.9 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game, leading his team to a 29–3 record and a non-association state title. He was named '' Charlotte Observer'' Player of the Year. For his junior year, he transferred to Donda Academy,

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

's school in

Simi Valley, California Simi Valley (; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''Shimiyi'') is a city in Simi Valley (valley), the valley of the same name in the southeast region of Ventura County, California, United States. Simi Valley is from Downtown Los Angeles, making it ...

Recruiting

Dillingham is a five-star

. On December 1, 2021, he committed to playing college basketball for

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...

over offers from

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

and

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

. He became the second highest-ranked recruit in program history, behind

Dennis Smith Jr. Dennis Cliff Smith Jr. (born November 25, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended North Carolina State University for one season of college basketba ...

On March 19, 2022, Dillingham announced his decommitment from NC State and reopened his recruitment. On June 24, 2022, Dillingham committed to Kentucky over the offers of Louisville, Auburn, and USC. He became Kentucky's second commit in the 2023 recruiting class.

Professional career

On November 3, 2022, Dillingham left Donda Academy after multiple controversies surrounding its founder,

, and signed with Overtime Elite, a professional basketball league for late high school and early college-level players. He joined the Overtime Cold Hearts, one of the six teams in the league. Dillingham made his OTE debut for the Cold Hearts on November 11, recording six points, three rebounds and three steals in a 92–84 loss to the YNG Dreamerz.

National team career

Dillingham led the United States to a gold medal at the

2021 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship The 2021 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship was the men's international basketball competition that was held in Xalapa, Mexico, from 23 to 29 August 2021. The top four teams qualified for the 2022 FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup in Spain. Qu ...

in Mexico. He was named most valuable player after averaging 15.7 points, 6.2 assists and 3.2 steals per game. He posted a team-record 31 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals in a 90–75 win against

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

in the final.

References

External links

USA Basketball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dillingham, Robert 2005 births Living people American men's basketball players Overtime Elite players Basketball players from North Carolina People from Hickory, North Carolina Point guards