LEXINGTON — Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham is off to ply his trade at the professional level.

Dillingham becomes UK's latest one-and-done product under now-former coach John Calipari. Dillingham declared for the NBA draft Tuesday.

A North Carolina native, Dillingham provided instant offense off the bench all season for the Wildcats, averaging 15.2 points per game — trailing only senior Antonio Reeves, who set a Calipari-era record at 20.2. Of his 32 appearances last season, Dillingham made only one start, which came against Texas A&M-Commerce in Game 2. Dillingham teamed with fellow freshman guard Reed Sheppard as a dynamic duo off the bench, routinely checking into games together at the under-16 timeout of the first half.

The 6-foot-3, 176-pound Dillingham is expected to be one of the first players to hear his name called during this year's NBA draft, which is scheduled June 26-27 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

He is projected as a lottery pick in the latest mock drafts from USA TODAY, ESPN, Bleacher Report, The Ringer and NBAdraft.net. The only question is exactly when he'll be selected, as his projected pick varies; mock drafts have Dillingham as high as No. 2 (Bleacher Report) and as low as No. 11 (The Ringer).

This story will be updated.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball guard Rob Dillingham declares for NBA draft 2024