These names emerge from the hardwood: Willie Naulls, Gail Goodrich, Marques Johnson, Paul Pierce, Baron Davis, Tyson Chandler, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Paul Pierce, DeMar DeRozan, Jrue Holiday.
This is a good sampling of the greatest basketball players to come from Southland high schools.
Rob Dillingham could join them, with a major asterisk. The exceptionally fast guard from Kentucky is expected to be a lottery pick in Wednesday’s NBA draft.
Yet even the most ardent followers of high school basketball could be forgiven for not recognizing Dillingham’s ties to the Greater Los Angeles area. He’s not a local in the traditional sense, e.g. Jared McCain — with the Times Player of the Year in 2023 Corona Centennial HighMcCann, who spent one year at Duke, is expected to be taken in the mid-first round.
But Dillingham?
He was the marquee player Donda AcademyShort-lived basketball mill and K-12 private Christian school owned and operated by rapper Ye – formerly Kanye WestDonda, named after Ye’s mother, opened in Simi Valley in autumn 2021, then relocated to an industrial park in Chatsworth before closing in early 2023.
Donda’s parents, faculty, and staff were required to sign an agreement non disclosure agreement And avoid publicly discussing school practices and other details that are not public.
“People like to bring their kids to Donda Academy for the sense of privacy,” said Malik Youssef, producer and longtime collaborator of Yes! told Rolling Stone In September 2022. “A spirit of caring, a spirit of concern, a spirit of love, an environment of health, and an environment of wealth, an environment of learning, and keeping God at the center.”
However, Ye ruined the star-studded Donda Doves basketball team, and then the entire academy, with repeated anti-Semitic statements, which was the final straw. a podcast interview There was a controversy with M.I.T. research scientist Lex Fridman, in which he made careless and laughably false statements about the Holocaust, abortion, and Jewish people.
His hate speech has already cost him several deals. Talent Agency CAAFashion label Balenciaga and sportswear giant AdidasThe podcast interview inspired several major national basketball showcases and tournaments Drop the pigeonWhose entire season schedule got completed in a short time.
The team disbanded and Dillingham, who had already committed to enroll at Kentucky in the fall of 2023, never played in front of an L.A. crowd in a traditional high school gym and never studied in a traditional high school classroom.
Rather than transfer to another high school, he opted to transfer and play in Atlanta Overtime EliteA semi-professional operation for 16- to 20-year-olds that, according to the New York Times, “offers health and disability insurance and sets aside $100,000 in college scholarship money for each player if they later decide not to pursue professional basketball.”
The decision proved worthwhile for Dillingham’s development. Overtime Elite practiced three times a day in a facility that included practice courts, a weight room, training room and space for classes. When he left there, he was ready for the rigors of Division I basketball.
Dillingham maintained the code of silence he learned at Donda and did not consent to be interviewed at Overtime Elite. However, teammates Canaan CarlyleThe Stanford star player, who has known Dillingham since the fifth grade, said that Lexington Herald-Leader In 2022, “I’ve watched Rob grow, from little Rob with the big afro hair to now he’s getting ready to go to Kentucky. It’s been amazing to watch him grow over time.”
At Kentucky, Dillingham began talking to reporters and establishing that he was excited and confident without being brash. During a postgame interview, he and coach John Calipari shared opinions about each other.
The season started off poorly, with Dillingham not playing much in exhibition games held in Canada. By mid-season he was performing better and by the end of the season he was named the Southeastern Conference’s Sixth Man of the Year, averaging 15.6 points.
“From Canada to now, our relationship has grown a lot stronger,” Dillingham said of Calipari. “He shows me he trusts me. He still lets me lead, but at the same time he wants me to investigate and make better decisions.
“I’m just grateful for him. He helps me and lets me be myself.”
Calipari, seated next to Dillingham, added: “You’re coaching a kid who can create space and get a basket when he wants. Do you clip his wings? You can’t. You’ve got to let him go.”
“But, I give him two (mistakes) in a half. The third,” Calipari said, turning to Dillingham, “you’re coming out.”
Dillingham was always considered a player who would play once and make it to the NBA as soon as possible. He is one of four players from Kentucky who are expected to be drafted, including Reed Shepard, Justin Edwards and Antonio Reeves.
Times basketball writer Dan Woike Mock draft Dillingham is said to go to the Utah Jazz with the 10th pick, saying, “The Jazz have time, ammunition with future draft picks and needs in their backcourt. Dillingham is an explosive offensive player with quick hands on defense. He’s small but lightning fast.”
Other mock drafts have him going as high as No. 8 to the San Antonio Spurs. He has undersized, 6 foot 1 inch without shoes, and weighed 164 pounds at the NBA Combine. Dillingham didn’t let the disaster at Donda derail his dreams, and soon he would prove he was up there with the best.
