LEXINGTON, Ky. _ With Southeastern Conference play beginning this coming weekend, the sun shines brighter on the Big Blue Nation's old Kentucky home.
What a difference victories over North Carolina and Louisville made. SEC Network commentator Jimmy Dykes said on a recent telecast that UK had gone through no less than a "season-changing two weeks."
SEC basketball consultant Mike Tranghese extended the then-and-now rewrite to Kentucky's stunning 118-84 loss to Duke on opening night.
"Just look at Kentucky from the first day where it was end of the world to now," Tranghese said. "They're a pretty good team. Hey, I thought they played terrific against North Carolina. And they go on the road. I mean, Louisville is a good team, and they win on the road. John's team has really improved in a relatively short period of time."
Kentucky's turnaround further validates John Calipari's repeated counsel to fans: Stay the course, be patient, understand that transforming a collection of highly-thought-of players into an effective unit is not basketball's equivalent of flipping a switch.
"We're getting better and better," the UK coach said after the victory at Louisville. "And it just takes time. And it's a process."
Not that in late December Calipari dusted off his hands and proclaimed the completion of a process well done.
"Our issue right now is we have lapses ...," he said. "Some of it is letting up and acting like you've won."
Calipari also cited decision-making as a component of Kentucky's game needing to get better.
Coaches who lost to Kentucky the last two weeks noted UK's improvement.
"I thought they've turned the corner a little bit from the beginning of the year to now," U of L coach Chris Mack said. "They've improved dramatically."
Mack said UK did not respond well to adversity against Duke. This showed itself in taking bad shots.
"What I've seen over the last three, four, five games (that's) sort of been a thing of the past," Mack said.
North Carolina coach Roy Williams suggested that Kentucky rose to the perceived level of the competition.
"I knew we wouldn't get that kind of concentration level or that kind of effort level that I thought they gave against UNC Greensboro," Williams said. "When you play a team that doesn't have a name and you're playing them at home, guys just don't tend to be as enthused or fired up."
Williams saw a different Kentucky team against his Tar Heels. "Truthfully," he said, "I thought they manhandled us."
Unselfish play, a diverse offense that includes capability around the basket and the three-point line, plus front-court depth helped Kentucky make a positive impression, Williams said. With four "bigs," Kentucky can deal with foul trouble and still count on rebounding as a strength, he said.
Earlier this season, Calipari lamented Kentucky's defense. Too often opponents were getting to the rim relatively unimpeded, he said.
And now? Mack said that he considered UK "an elite defensive team ... . They are going to have the defensive presence to be in every game they play."
On Monday, Sports Illustrated included Kentucky among five teams on the rise. The magazine's website said, "The Wildcats are finally starting to look like the team we expected in pre-season."
After noting Ashton Hagans' eight steals against North Carolina and Tyler Herro's career-high 24 points at Louisville, Sports Illustrated said, "consistency from both of those freshmen is key for UK going forward."
Mack declined to say what UK's ceiling might be before adding, "When you play that many freshmen, they are at the tip of the iceberg in terms of their potential."
Added Tranghese, "They're going to be really good, I think, by the end of the year."
After the victory over Louisville, Herro was asked to quantify Kentucky's transformation from a team lacking a quality victory to a team on the rise.
Beating North Carolina "was a good stepping stone," he said. "And then (against Louisville) I thought we made another big step in the right direction."
A moment later, Herro pondered the victory over Seton Hall that got away on Dec. 8.
"If we won that game, we'd probably be in the top five in the country right now," he said. "We're going in the right direction. Like Coach (Calipari) says, we're building for March."
