[SLIDESHOW] Column: Cats’ will to win overshadows youth

John Calipari doesn’t want you to forget all his team’s shortcomings.

“Oh, we’re not back. We’re not very good,”  said Calipari, pointing out some silly turnovers and apparent confusion out of timeouts.

But UK, without Do-It-All John Wall for a large chunk in the second half, withstood a late charge by the mighty North Carolina — defending national champions, lest we forget — and defeated the Tar Heels for the first time since Chuck Hayes and Kelenna Azubuike were wearing Kentucky blue.

Whether or not UK is “back,” we still don’t know. But Saturday’s win validated the Cats’ top-five ranking. Young still, but as Calipari put it: “We have a will to win.”

UK had to face an opponent unlike any it had seen so far under Calipari. Each Tar Heel player entered and exited the arena wearing a suit. Coach Roy Williams didn’t sport a suit because of his injured shoulder, but his freshly fitted national championship ring sure did shimmer under the Rupp Arena lights.

For the first time this season, the Cats had more reason to feel intimidated than their opponent.

And despite all that, and despite falling behind 9-2 early on, the Cats put a little faith behind the voters confident enough in their talent to rank them No. 4 in the Associated Press poll.

By the end of its blinding run, UK turned a seven-point deficit into a 19-point lead, a 31-5 spree that spanned just under nine minutes.

Quite a will to win.

But who knew what to expect when UK’s lead slowly dwindled down to a single possession? This year’s team had played just one game against a major-conference team, and it certainly had never felt the pressure of weathering the storm against a giant like North Carolina.

Methodically working throughout the second half, the Tar Heels closed the gap to two points — the closest they had been since early in the first half — with 32 seconds left. Immediately to be tested was UK’s free-throw shooting which had been, kindly put, awful.

But don’t forget about that will to win.

Bledsoe, sitting on the bench, didn’t ask Calipari to go in the game so he could hit free throws. He told him.

“I’m really comfortable and don’t get distracted shooting free throws,” Bledsoe said. “I know I’m going to knock them down.”

Indeed, Bledsoe hit 3-of-4 foul shots in the final 30 seconds to help seal the win.

“We’re a young team but no matter how bad we play, we know how to win,” he said.

With UK’s uncanny team speed and knack for feeding off emotion, it’s likely the Cats will continue to open up big leads early in games the rest of the year. And no matter how much film a team watches, it may take a few minutes to get a real-life gauge on just how explosive Wall is with the ball.

But what the Cats proved against North Carolina is what will matter more come postseason play. Against a brand-name opponent and maybe without a key player — Wall, for instance — how will the team react? Will players forget about aches, pains or cold shooting nights and find a way to win?

Based on Saturday’s game, on a CBS-televised stage as big as any between now and March, the Cats’ will to win is in pretty good shape. If Wall’s feeling good, I’m not sure anyone this side of Dwight Howard standing in front of a brick wall could stop him. But if Wall has to sit for a few minutes, a half or even a whole game, Calipari isn’t out of luck.

In fact, he’s still in pretty good shape. Even if he thinks his team has a lot to work on, a win against North Carolina is as solid a foundation as one could have.

James Pennington is a journalism senior. E-mail jpennington@kykernel.com.