Players stepping up as Cats start clicking

In the opening months of the season, even as UK was rolling to win after win after win with only an Indiana loss as a setback, head coach John Calipari kept saying it. The Cats were only in first or second gear. They still had work to do on the inner mechanics, still had things to fine-tune.

Notable among those required improvements: negate physical play and learn to crush, not simply beat, opponents.

Check and check. It appears UK has shifted into fifth or sixth gear in the last five games. Its wins have come by 13, 24, 25, 34 and 20 points.

“I was happy with how we played,” Calipari said Saturday.

And it’s happened because every player has been doing their job in every game (see chart, left, for key improvements). That was another thing Calipari had been waiting to see. Two or three players would show up for games, but never five or six. Now, they’re concurrently clicking.

Pretty telling: when asked about Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Calipari not only complimented him but applauded Anthony Davis, then Marquis Teague, then Doron Lamb, then Darius Miller.

“You’re always just in a bind personnel-wise on the floor,” Florida head coach Billy Donovan said.

Donovan, and the rest of the SEC, are in a pick-your-poison mode, especially with every player consistently turning in good games.

Marquis Teague has made the most improvement. The point guard has cut down on his shots and started running the team. Calipari has again turned a talented freshman and made an effective floor general out of him.

“I feel like I’m the leader of the team,” Teague said. “I’m the point guard, I have the ball 85 percent of the time. I know I have to make the right decisions.”

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist continues to come up in big games. As Davis said, there’s just something about the freshman that makes him shine whenever the game means more. It goes beyond the numbers, too. His energy is infectious, and the rest of the team thrives off his presence on the floor.

“He reminds me of Derrick Rose,” Calipari said, “in that he’s tougher on himself than I am on him.”

And Doron Lamb has provided an element of outside shooting that takes UK’s offense to another level. Donovan said after Saturday’s game that teams, including his own, have to leave UK shooters open because they can’t afford to let Davis and Jones be left alone in the post.

“I’m shooting the ball very well,” Lamb said. “I’m getting a lot of open looks. Hopefully I can keep that up.”

So where does UK turn to next? Maybe a game that’s a little closer.

“What we need to do is have a team come out and go nutty on us,” Calipari said, “and have to respond to that and then hold on to win a tight game.”