By Les Johns | @KernelJohns

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — UK basketball fans are energized with visions of championship No. 9 dancing in their collective heads.

It is beyond hope; it is nearly an expectation. Anything less than a national title would be considered a disappointment … in 2014.

It is understandable to be excited over UK head coach John Calipari’s recruiting success, but as one former coach preached not that many years ago, fans should enjoy the “precious present.”

And the present can be pretty darn good. The Cats were tested yet again Thursday night, this time coming out with a conference road win over the Vanderbilt Commodores, 60-58. Only two teams in the SEC have won on the road so far this season, and the Cats are among them.

UK was in full control of the game, until an inexplicable 18-0 run by the Commodores midway through the second half. That stretch should worry Cat fans, and it has Calipari concerned as well.

“They outworked us. They beat us to 50-50 balls and they beat us to rebounds,” Calipari said about the second-half effort.

Along the way, it appears, sophomore Kyle Wiltjer might need to learn how to defend, as he was abused the entire game by the normally lackluster Vanderbilt offense.

Calipari’s squad responded down the stretch with big buckets and a crucial last-second defensive stop.

Winning on the road in the SEC is not easy, even against the conference’s lower-tier.

The Cats were led by sophomore guard Ryan Harrow, freshman forward Nerlens Noel and freshman guard Archie Goodwin, part of a group that likely won’t be in Lexington next year.

Much like the past three teams, this collection of Cats won’t be together long.

Noel, who scored 13 points and seven rebounds, and Alex Poythress, who added seven points and six rebounds against Vandy, have long been considered NBA Lottery picks.

Goodwin, who had 12 points, five rebounds and three assists, had NBA scouts salivating over his second-half performance against the Cards in late December.

Even freshman forward Willie Cauley-Stein, who played multiple sports in high school and never completely focused on basketball until this summer, is being considered a high-first-round selection.

You have but just nine more games at Rupp Arena (and the postseason tournaments) to see this group before they join the legion of former Cats at the next level.

They deserve your support, and fans shouldn’t discount them by looking forward to next season when a different group of top-ranked recruits wear the blue and white.

This team has four losses — all against good teams. Even the home loss against Baylor is looking somewhat better as the Bears have won five of their last six, including slaughtering Texas Tech, 82-48, on the road Tuesday to move to 2-0 in the Big 12.

The team has endured its point guard being absent for several games due to illness, several sets of individual workouts (most recently with Poythress) and nearly a month of “Camp Cal.” Its only loss in the past five weeks was on the road to the No. 3 team in the country.

The Cats have been improving every game and could easily find themselves among 10-20 teams that have a chance to make a run at the Final Four.

“There’s probably 30 teams that could be in the Final Four, and I don’t think there’s any clear-cut national champion winner,” Calipari said Wednesday. “It’s great for all of us out there. Who’s going to have their team playing the best in March? Because that is what it’ll be about.”

When asked if the Cats were in that group, Calipari said, “At this point, probably not, but by March that’s what our plan would be.”

Dismissing this collection of Cats and counting on next year’s group to deliver No. 9 isn’t fair to either group.

To be great this year, the Cats will have to grind out tough road wins like they did Thursday night, and as they continue to evolve they will likely get themselves in that kind of situation less often.

If the Cats play like they did during the 18-0 Vanderbilt run Thursday, the last half of this season is going to be ugly. Otherwise, nearly anything is possible.

Championship No. 9 may be imminent for the Cats, but for now, it’s too early to focus on thoughts of it coming in 2014.