By David Schuh | @KernelSchuh

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As Willie Cauley-Stein sat down to speak with the media following UK’s game Wednesday, he calmly sported a pair of green, brown and white patterned pants.

“They’re pretty nifty,” he responded when asked about them.

The Cats’ sophomore forward carries a calm, yet beaming confidence with him wherever he goes. Now in an often-rare second year for a man his size in Lexington, he’s beginning to establish a role on a team filled with guys just as capable as him.

And WednesdaY, Cauley-Stein had maybe the best game of his career, notching 15 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks. It’s the first time in his 36 collegiate games that he’s accumulated those numbers together.

UK won fairly easily over Eastern Michigan University, 81-63. There were a lot of your typical young team, early-season highs and lows, but it was Cauley-Stein who stood out as the player the Cats needed.

Coming off the bench for the past four games, he has brought energy to a team gasping for it against far less-talented teams. In those last four games, Cauley-Stein is averaging 11.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and four blocks.

In a game where freshman forward Julius Randle was held scoreless in the first half, UK needed somebody to be active, get rebounds and create second-chance opportunities.

Cauley-Stein did that from beginning to end.

“He did a tremendous job with his activity,” Eastern Michigan head coach Rob Murphy said. “He was all over the floor.”

Maybe the most impressive thing about Cauley-Stein was his efficiency. He put up one of the more complete statistical games of any UK player this season, yet saw only 25 minutes of action.

If he would have played closer to a full game, he may have flirted with a triple-double.

“I just flew around, (brought) a lot of energy,” Cauley-Stein said of his performance Wednesday. “I ran, and when I was tired I subbed myself. That’s what (Calipari) preaches to us.”

Cauley-Stein has experience on his side, something most Cats have everything but. He brings an extra energy when he gets on the court — a spark that can lead UK out of the lethargic mentality it has been known to mire in from time to time.

And every talented team needs a Willie Cauley-Stein — someone who may not have the best ball skills on the floor, but has just enough of everything to produce at a consistently high level.

He won’t score 15 points per game. But he will have games like Wednesday when his team needs someone to produce, to hustle, and to fight.

And that’s just the quirky essence of Willie Cauley-Stein. He’s pretty nifty.