Biography:

Kevin Dillard is one of the best transfers to ever wear a Dayton uniform. A strong case could be made that no player in college basketball was more valuable to his team than Dillard was to the University of Dayton in his two seasons in a Flyer uniform.  Exhibit A in defense of that statement would be the fact that he earned five MVP honors (2011 Old Spice MVP, 2011-12 team MVP, 2012-13 team MVP, and a two-time Blackburn/McCafferty MVP in wins over Xavier) during his career at UD.

Dillard earned the White-Allen Most Valuable Player Award in both of his seasons in a Flyer uniform. Dillard, Dave Colbert (another two-year transfer) and Henry Finkel are the only players to be named MVP in every season they played at UD.

Kevin Dillard almost reached the 1,000 point club in just two seasons at UD. His 913 points ranks 53rd in school history. If you included Dillard’s two seasons at Southern Illinois, in addition to Dayton, he tallied 1,647 collegiate points. That mark would have been good enough for 12th in Dayton’s all-time scoring list. Dillard and Dave Colbert (Cleveland State) are the only transfers in school history to score their 1,000th career point in a Flyer uniform.

In addition to Dillard’s scoring, he ranks as one of the best passers in UD history. Dillard ranks 14th in school history in career assists (339). All of the other players ahead of Dillard played at least three seasons and 91 games at UD (Dillard played 64 games). His 5.30 assists per game average is the second best in school history, trailing only Negele Knight’s average of 5.43 assist per game.

Dillard also ranks second in UD history in free throw percentage (.861), which includes a .892 mark from the foul line during his senior year. His .892 free throw percentage during the 2012-13 season is the fifth best mark in school history and ranked him 8th in the NCAA.

Dillard also had a 1.27 career steals per game average at UD, which places him ninth in UD history.

In 2012-13, Dillard led the Flyers in scoring (15.3ppg), assists (4.5apg), free throw percentage (.892), and minutes played (33.0mpg).  His play earned him Second Team All-Conference accolades in the Atlantic 10 Conference for the second consecutive season. He also earned Second Team NABC All-District for the second consecutive season.

Dillard ranked among the Atlantic 10 conference leaders in four statistical categories:  He was sixth in scoring (15.3), 11th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4), sixth in assists (4.5) and first in FT% (.892, 140-157).

Dillard converted 35-of-36 (.972) free throws in the last two minutes of games this season, and in the last 11 games he shot 55-of-59 (.932) from the foul line.

As a junior, Dillard ranked second in the Atlantic 10 and tied for 16th in the NCAA in assists per game with 6.0. Dillard’s 198 assists was the second-most in a single season in UD history, only trailing Negele Knight’s 216 assists back in the 1989-1990 season. Also his 6.0 assists per game ranks tied for fourth in highest assist average for a season at UD.

In 2011-12, he finished the year leading the Flyers in scoring (13.3 ppg), steals (47) and minutes (32.7 mpg). Dillard was named the MVP of the Old Spice Classic after averaging a team-best 15.3 points during the tournament. Dillard was the most consistent Flyer as he scored in double figures in 27 of the team’s 33 games and closed the season scoring in double figures in 14 of his last 15 games. As a senior, Dillard scored in double-figures in 28 of the team’s 31 games.

Dillard is a tremendously creative offensive player; he possesses the quickness, strength and shooting touch to excel in late-clock situations. Dillard is a former Mr. Basketball in the state of Illinois.

2012-13
Kevin Dillard finished up one of the best two-year stretches in UD school history. The transfer from Southern Illinois led the Flyers in scoring (15.3 ppg), assists (4.5 apg), free throw percentage (.892) and minutes (33.0 mpg). He also led the Flyers in three-pointer made (55), free throws made and attempted (140-of-157) and was second in steals (34). He started all 31 of UD’s games during the 2012-13 season while tallying 473 points and 141 assists while playing a total of 1,023 minutes.

Dillard earned Second Team All-Atlantic 10, Second Team NABC All-District Honors and the team’s White-Allen Most Valuable Player Award for the 2012-13 season.

Dillard scored in double-figures in 28 of the Flyers’ 31 games during the 2012-13 season. He started the season with a double-double of 12 points and 10 assists in a victory over Arkansas State.

Dillard had back-to-back games of 20 points against Auburn in the Charleston Classic and at home vs. Manhattan. He scored a career-high 25 points on 7-of-14 shooting and converted all eight of his free throw attempts in a road win at Alabama. Dillard also dished out six assists, grabbed four rebounds and had two steals in that game against Alabama.

Dillard had his second-of-three double-doubles against Murray State in what may have been his highlight game of the season. He had 18 points and 10 assists against Preseason First Team All-American Isaiah Canaan and the Murray State Racers. Dillard scored 16 of Dayton’s last 20 points over the final 6:17 of the game to win the game for the Flyers.

Dillard had another double-double against UAB as he recorded 14 points (11-of-12 from the foul line) and dished out 10 assists. Dillard scored 22 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the three-point line and had eight assists against Fordham.

Dillard tallied 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting against Saint Joseph’s in a Flyer victory. He had 17 points on 5-of-12 shooting en route to earning Blackburn/McCafferty MVP honors in the victory over Xavier.

Dillard had 21 points on 6-of-13 shooting vs. Richmond, and then scored 18 points and had assists in the next game against St. Bonaventure.

Dillard scored 20 points while shooting 10-of-11 from the foul line at George Washington. He scored 15 points in his final collegiate game in the First Round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament vs. Butler.

2011-2012
Dillard had a terrific 2011-2012 season, which was his first in a Flyer uniform. Dillard was named Second Team All-Atlantic 10 and Second Team NABC All-District. Dillard led the Flyers in scoring (13.3 ppg), assists per game (6.0), steals (47), and minutes (32.7 mpg). Dillard scored a total of 440 points, dished out 198 assists and played a total of 1,079 minutes while starting all 33 games. He was also led the team in free throws made and attempted (115-for-139). His .827 free throw percentage ranked third on the team. Dillard shot .412 from the field (143-for 347) and .325 from beyond the arc (39-for-120).

Dillard had 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting versus UNC Wilmington, and then followed that performance with a 15-point performance against Wake Forest in the first round of the Old Spice Classic. In the Old Spice Championship game victory versus Minnesota, Dillard had an all-around terrific performance. The point guard had a double-double of 19 points, 10 assists, and he also registered a career-high seven steals. The seven steals in a single game is tied for the third-best mark in school history.

Dillard added 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field, eight rebounds and six assists in the win over No.16 Alabama. He registered his second double-double of the season in the Atlantic 10 conference opener versus Saint Louis with 18 points and 10 assists. Dillard followed that up with 16 points and six assists in the win at Temple.

Dillard earned the Blackburn/McCafferty MVP in the win over rival Xavier as he tallied 16 points and nine assists. In the next game at Saint Joseph’s, he registered 17 points and six assists. At home against Rhode Island, Dillard had his third and final double-double of the season as he tallied 12 points and a career-high 13 assists. The 13 assists are good enough to tie for the sixth-best mark in a single game in UD history.

In the next game versus Duquesne, Dillard had 22 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and dished out seven assists. At Xavier, he tallied 20 points and added six assists. Against UMass, Dillard scored 14 points and dished out seven assists. At Richmond, he netted 11 points and registered nine assists.

In the first round of the Atlantic 10 tournament against George Washington, Dillard netted 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and dished out eight assists. In the quarterfinal match-up versus Xavier, Dillard tallied 18 points, six assists and had three steals. In the finale in the first round of the NIT at Iowa, Dillard scored a career-high 23 points on 7-of-14 shooting and added six assists and five rebounds.

2010-11
Dillard was ineligible to play for the Flyers due to transfer rules.

At Southern Illinois
Dillard appeared in 29 games in the 2009-2010 season for the Salukis, including 27 starts. He averaged 12.3 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game while shooting .423 from the field (112-265) and .773 from the free throw line (102-132). He also had a stellar assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.03. Dillard led the Missouri Valley Conference in assists per game, was fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio, ninth in steals, and 12th in scor­ing.

Dillard was selected as Freshman of the Year in the Missouri Valley Conference after the 2008-2009 season. During that season, Dillard averaged 12.2 points, 4.2 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1.3 steals while shooting .441 from the field (129-290), including a three-point percent­age of .452 (57-126). Dillard was ranked second in the Missouri Valley Conference in three-point percentage, and third in assists.

High School
As a high school senior, Dillard was ranked as the number 136 overall player on rivals.com for the class of 2008. Dillard averaged 23.3 points, 5.6 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game and led Homewood-Flossmoor to a 27-2 record. Seven of the previous eight winners of the Mr. Basketball award for Illinois have played in the NBA. The eight previous winners are Darius Miles (2000), Eddy Curry (2001), Dee Brown (2002), Shannon Brown (2003), Shaun Livingston (2004), Julian Wright (2005), Jon Scheyer (2006), and Derrick Rose (2007).

Personal Data
Full Name: Kevin Dillard II
Nickname: KD
Son of: Kevin Dillard, Sr.
Siblings: Jordan and Jared Dillard
Birthday: October 15, 1989
Major: General Studies
High School Coach: Jim McLaughlin
AAU Team: Meanstreets
Career Goal: Improve as much as I can and play at the highest level
Why I Chose UD: I chose UD because of the strong support system. I could become a better player, student, and man from this experience.

Dayton Career Statistics

Dayton Career Highs
Points: 25, at Alabama (12/5/12)
Rebounds: 8, Alabama (12/7/11)
Assists: 13, Rhode Island (1/28/12
Steals: 7, vs Minnesota (11/27/11)
Blocks: 3, vs Minnesota (11/27/11)
FGs Made: 8, UNC-Wimington (11/19/11); Fordham (1/23/13); Saint Joseph's (2/6/13)
FT Made: 12, vs. Auburn (11/18/12)
Minutes: 42, at Xavier (2/18/12)

Flyer 1's...
Monty Scott (2003-07), London Warren (2007-10)