By Nick Gray | Sports editor

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In 12 months, sophomore Willie Cauley-Stein evolved from a raw ex-high school football player to an experienced forward with preseason accolades and high expectations.

His progression, spurred by a teammate’s mishap, has been quick.

Cauley-Stein, who missed four games after a knee procedure, started in the place of forward Nerlens Noel in the final nine games last season after Noel tore his ACL in a game against the University of Florida.

Noel’s injury forced Cauley-Stein, who had been averaging 20 minutes per game, into the lineup without a true backup.

“I’m not trying to be nervous; I’m trying to establish me. But I had to take on a role that Nerlens had to do and it changed my whole game,” Cauley-Stein said. “Before he went down, I was doing what I did and I could show what I could do and show how my game is an asset to the team.”

Cauley-Stein began the season substituting for either then-sophomore forward Kyle Wiltjer or Noel. He posted double-digit point totals, including two double-doubles, in four non-conference games.

The 7-foot forward returned with the Cats in their second game with Texas A&M University, playing four minutes in the overtime victory.

Cauley-Stein’s first game logging a large amount of minutes came three days later at home against the University of South Carolina, where he scored 13 points and had six rebounds in 22 minutes in UK’s victory. Cauley-Stein also posted a 12-point, four-rebound effort in a win over the University of Auburn.

The Florida game then followed, Noel was lost for the season and an already thin frontcourt was shortened to a three-man rotation. Wiltjer played at power forward throughout the season, and 6-foot-7 forward Alex Poythress often shifted Wiltjer down to center when Cauley-Stein was taken out of games. The situation forced UK head coach John Calipari to make a decision: did he want to stretch Cauley-Stein’s minutes and risk fatigue late in the game, or play his other two forwards out of position?

No matter which choice Calipari made, his numbers told the same story.

Cauley-Stein’s per-game statistics surged after Noel’s injury, due to him picking up 11.4 minutes per game in the nine games after Florida.

But with the minute totals taken out of the equation, Cauley-Stein’s efficiency fell. Cauley-Stein’s points per-40 minutes (the length of a full game) dipped from 15.6 points before Noel’s injury to 12.2 points after. Cauley-Stein’s rebounding numbers fell from 11 rebounds per-40 minutes in games after Noel’s absence to 9.8 rebounds during his nine starts.

Cauley-Stein’s talent and production led scouts to grade him as a first-round pick going into the summer.

But the Olathe, Kan. native decided to stay. Cauley-Stein said he has seriously thought about the NBA twice since the end of last season, including while he was watching the NBA Draft.

“Two days after the draft, I was thinking ‘Oh my gosh, I should have went into the draft,’” Cauley-Stein said. “But after I got back on campus and started to work on the team, we have got a crazy opportunity and chance to be real special, and I am glad to be a part of it.”

Cauley-Stein’s preseason started with 18 stitches in his right hand after an injury during the first day of practice on Sept. 27. Cauley-Stein said the injury occurred when he tried to block a shot at the rim, and he practiced for the first time in more than two weeks.

Still, Cauley-Stein was named to the preseason All-SEC Second Team, which details the type of expectations levied on him from the fans and Calipari.

Calipari said during media day on Tuesday about Cauley-Stein’s injury that it is “hard to lead, hard to make the club in the tub.”

But Cauley-Stein is focused on what happens on the basketball court.

“Cal has already said ‘Do what you feel comfortable in doing,’” Cauley-Stein said. “And that’s my plan.”

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