Robert Dillingham Player Evaluation

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Robert Dillingham

Donda Academy (CA)

Team CP3

Class

2023

Height

6'2"

Weight

165 lbs

Position

Strong Hand

Right

Committed

Kentucky

August 2021

Statistics from 2021 (9 Games Charted)

Physical/Athleticism

Possesses blow-by acceleration
Great quickness, especially off the dribble
Top-tier quick twitch fibers
Deceptive strength but, like most 16 year-olds, will benefit from improving upper body strength
- Capable of absorbing contact off the dribble and moving forward
- Capable of absorbing contact at the rim and getting quality attempts
- Does not shy away from contact
  - Welcomes it at times, as it creates additional offensive opportunities (see more on this below in the “Offensive Qualities” section)
First-class hand-eye coordination
- Quick hands
Very good speed with or without the ball when he turns on the burners

Got some bounce to him, showing the ability to finish above the rim with ease

A1 body control
Excellent balance

Other Offensive Qualities

Offensive Qualities

Ultra-skilled offensive talent who is an artist with the ball

A truly gifted 3-level scorer and an outstanding creator off the bounce with an exceptional ability to create separation
- Has a large travel bag of effective dribble moves, mixing them up throughout the game. His dribble moves are deceptive, and can be single, double, triple... He can really put his opponent on skates.
- Operates so well in isolation. His large menu of options to choose from and free style of play make for unpredictable offensive assault.

A free-flowing player who allows his body to take over, reacting to the defense and making them pay for mistakes

Has a ton of shake, wiggle, and stop-and-go

Throws in stutter steps and hesitations to add to the deception
Dribble moves are accompanied with quickness and urgency
Can blow by defenders, get to the rim, or pull up from mid-range
Will defenders on their heels, allowing him to pull up from deep

Will drive or shoot going right or left
Has a tendency to use a lot of dribbles as he goes through his rhythm, sometimes dribbling 5-6 times before getting into the actual attack move

Can cause stagnation amongst his teammates as they stand and wait for his next move
Can lull the ball defender to sleep

Has a very effective step-back and side-step going right

Utilizes a quick hang dribble into his shot with either hand
- Likes to use it to quickly survey the defense and get a feel of space and time

Superb mid-range game
- Accessed virtually at all times off his own self-creation

Deadly threat from 3 off the dribble or on the catch

Demonstrated by his shooting percentages, he has proven to be an efficient scorer as a lead guard

Top-notch shot maker with a myriad of shot types to go to (see more in the “Shooting” section below)
Advanced playmaker
- Probes with dribble penetration
- Breaks down the defense and finds open shooters and finishers around the rim

Sets up himself and his teammates out of pick-and-roll and dribble hand-off actions

Dangerous in the open court and makes good decisions with the ball

Excellent in transition and semi-transition situations
- Can really push the pace and create advantages for himself or for his team

Has an nice pull-up 3

Prefers to operate on the right side of the floor
Capable of scoring in bunches
Still learning how to attack team defensive schemes in the half-court specifically designed to slow him down but, overall, handles the extra attention that he demands well
Refined footwork

A competent and effective distributor

Strong pick-and-roll play
- Cannot go under the screen on him
- Capable of splitting the defenders on a hard hedge with the dribble

Understands how to come off and pull the defense with him, and go on to make the correct read

Likes to operate from right to left, but has no problem working right to left either
Can set up the mid-range with a nice hesitation and extra dribble to 16-18 feet
Knows how to draw and kick to the open shooters
Does not have to make the play every time. Shows the understanding of when to simply get off the ball.
Overall, he is a huge scoring threat coming off of that ball screen, but he is also an excellent playmaker who creates quality looks for his teammates

Able to create opportunities off of physical defensive play
- In order to be physical with him as a ball handler, defenders must press up to get close enough to do so. This is a task in itself and can often backfire because of his skill and quickness/burst.

Seemingly has a counter for every defensive approach, and crowding him or bumping him tends to have more of an adverse effect on the defense

Knows how to draw the foul on the floor as the ball handler
- Does not allow the effort to draw the foul impede his progress
- He sells the contact but does not exaggerate it
Bodying him off the ball was shown to be the most successful strategy out of the physical approaches
Understands how to use his body around the rim to finish with contact, which moves us into the next segment of analysis

Finishing – shot making is not limited to the perimeter

Utilizes feel and body control along with skill and vertical explosiveness

Nice touch in the paint and around the basket
Uses the board well
Uses an assortment of spins to finish from multiple angles

Has a versatile, creative set of shots
Knows how and when to use the rim for protection

Owns a nice mid-air up-and-under move

Finishes through contact when he initiates it
- Leads with his shoulder to create space and absorb the contact

Good finisher in the open court

Utilizes tremendous deceleration as he gets into the paint, slowing speed in an instant to help aid in his approach to finishing over the help defender
- Uses this deceleration and maintains good body control to draw contact and get to the line
On top of all of the above, he showed a nice floater he can switch to

Will benefit from continuing to strengthen his left hand

Impact on the game without the ball in his hands is limited
- Has a tendency to stand idle without the ball if there is no mandated movement built into the offense
Overall, this is a player you can toss the ball and say, “Make a play”

Shooting

Excellent shooter; can flat out shoot the rock

Shoots high percentages from all 3 levels (see shot chart below for more info)
- At the rim: 60.5% on nearly 5 attempts per game
- Mid-range: 52.5% on nearly 4 attempts per game
  - Wonderful touch from 16 feet and in

Shoots a lower percentage from longer mid-range distance, and an fantastic percentage from shorter mid-range distance

From three: 46.7% on nearly 7 attempts per game
- Shoots with terrific range and is accurate from NBA distance, and can do so off the catch or dribble

Extraordinary shot maker. Has a way of making really tough shots look routine.
- Whether he is able to create the space to get a quality look or not, he possesses an advanced ability to knock the shot down
- Uses a quick release and can get it off with great accuracy under duress, from all angles, on or off balance
- Shoots it very well with a hand in his face/under pressure

Uncanny shooter off the dribble

Despite being such a creator off the bounce and having his game centered around this facet, he is good off the catch, too

Needs no specific rhythm to be comfortable; has several rhythms he will shoot from
- Can shoot off of any dribble move going either direction
- Can shoot off the catch from a spot up, on the run/sprint, or from a walk up
- Off the dribble, he has a small preference for shooting with the ball in his left hand so that he’s bringing it over to his shooting hand. However, he’s quite comfortable shooting from his right and bringing his guide hand to the ball, as we have already seen in some of the clips above.

One of several shooting rhythms: the hang rhythm dribble from the left hand

Can single-handedly bury an opponent if he gets going
Laser-like focus on the goal
Short memory
Needs to improve his consistency from the foul line
- Has an unorthodox way of hopping slightly on the shot
Clean transition from dribble to the shot
Form/Mechanics – “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. Not your “prototypical” form, but is extremely effective.
- So relaxed on the shot
- Slight left lean, feet angled slightly left
- Release is roughly from his right ear and is preceded by a quick pump/cock motion
  - Has a quick release off the dribble
- Has a good, consistent follow through
  - Will pull it back quickly on his quickly-released shots
- Lands with his momentum moving leftward

A good look at his shooting form

Shot selection
- As stated above, he is a tough shot taker and maker
- A bit more ball dominant as he looks for his own shot in the initiator role; but also shows the ability to get his shots within the flow of the offense in situations where he is playing off of the ball

Mixes his attack from all 3 levels, displaying an unpredictability as games go on
Love his willingness to get to the rim and short-mid range during winning time
Can force it from the outside at times when he is looking to get himself going
Shows the consistent willingness to get to the rim and mid-range, as opposed to settling for deep threes

Shot Chart (9 Games Charted)

Dribbling

Outstanding ball handler. His craft and skill are regularly on display with the ball in his hands. Combined with his quickness and craftiness, he is tough to corral, even with double teams.

Everything is quick
- Quick, crisp change of direction dribble moves
Gets where he wants to go with the dribble
- Goes right or left with equal effectiveness
- Keeps things very unpredictable
- Uses a small twitch/quick hesitation together with his dribble moves to add to his deception and unpredictability
  - Combines the above with subsequent bursts and equally quick deceleration as he enters into the paint

Is extremely difficult to keep from getting into the paint
- Displays wonderful feel for the defender in route

Premium ball control
Has a tendency to overdribble on select possessions when looking to create for his shot
As stated above, he has an abundance of effective dribble moves to go to in various situations
Can get too close to the defender with his dribble, leaving it unprotected
Speedy dribble
- Can push it to top speed, maintain body control, and still keep track of everyone on the court
Very good ball handler in the open court. He regularly leaves defenders looking like dribbling cones.

Keeps his eyes up
Exhibits the strength to protect the ball; does not get knocked off the ball. Instead, he absorbs and keeps moving forward.
Handles ball pressure with ease (full court and half court pressure)
Takes on traps nicely. He has the skill and quickness to beat it himself off the dribble, or he can handle them with the pass.
Overall, he displays good ball security with the dribble

Passing

Despite being such a gifted scorer, he is also a skilled and willing passer
Good draw and kicker to find his shooters off his dribble penetration

Also finds his teammates around the rim for dump offs

Accurate off the live dribble

Throws a nice lob pass on the break

Will advance the ball up the court with the pass when it’s there
Very comfortable passing with his left hand, especially to create better passing angles on the perimeter
Skilled passer in the open court

Tends to make the right pass as a distributor. As creative as he is, he doesn’t force the flash. He often makes the simple play.
Puts the right touch on the pass according to the given situation
Knows when to put zip on it, air under it, etc.

Intelligent feeder to his bigs; practices good timing and placement
- Places them in a position to succeed once they receive the pass

Defense

Low/inconsistent motor on this end, and can lack intensity
- Tends to show a greater motor and more intensity against the more highly respected opponents and during winning time
Is obviously capable, but can appear a bit lazy
Stands straight up and down off the ball
Rarely exerts ball pressure, but is effective when he does so
Does not finish possessions with a box out. Tends to give up the offensive board.
Has good hands on the help side

Must be sure to get back on defense as the point guard when he is not the shooter
Generally plays good position defense
Small tendency to lose his man while ball watching off the ball
- Susceptible to back door cuts

Basketball IQ

Makes winning plays
Understands how to play with strength
Knows when to push the pace and when not to
As discussed above, he is able to create opportunities off of physical defensive play
Understands how to set his teammates up for success and not failure, such as choosing to kick out to a shooter rather than feed a running big who would need to put it on the floor and avert a defender in order to finish
- Solid overall decision-maker
Has an exceptional feel for the game
- Has an advanced feel for space and time

It's subtle, but this move is a perfect example of how he feels the defender, pushing off that foot to create additional space for the shot

Makes use of proper angles on both ends of the court
Possesses great basketball instincts
Aware of time and score
Terrific overall court awareness

Dispostion/Presence

Disposition/Presence

Creative, free-flowing, and incredibly relaxed
Bursting with confidence – supreme confidence with the ball in his hands
Plays with swagger
Calm under pressure
Just the right aggression level you want to see
Celebrates his teammates’ successes
Shows up when it’s winning time
- Does not shy away from the moment
Plays with joy

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