LEXINGTON – Rider caught a glimpse of the potential Kentucky has this season.
In perhaps their best outing of the year, the Wildcats showed flashes of brilliance in a 92-63 win over the Bronc Saturday at Rupp Arena. It marked the first time Kentucky coach John Calipari felt at ease after giving up 29 shots from long-range in the previous two contests.

“I was fearful of this game until I saw how we defended early in the game and then I felt fine,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said.
The Kentucky coach had every reason to be afraid considering Rider had beaten conference foe Mississippi State by 15 in Starkville this season and had a reputation for being a better perimeter-shooting team than Miami of Ohio and Sam Houston State combined.

The Broncs missed all nine of their three-point attempts in the first half and connected on just four of 17 shots from behind the arc.
Kentucky held the opponent to 31 percent shooting from the field and forced 20 turnovers. The effort was an indication the Wildcats were focused and ready to play after two lackluster performances on the defensive end of the court.

After reviewing the film from the shootout against Sam Houston State, several Kentucky players received a revelation and mocked each other’s performances in the closer-than-expected contest against BearKats.
“Some of it was almost hysterical,” Calipari recalled. “They were laughing at each other.”

Following Friday’s workout the emphasized transition defense and “how to match down,” Kentucky displayed its defensive potential as Rider caught the brunt of the Cats’ frustration.
“There has to be a sense of urgency,” Calipari said. “We had that today.”
What was the difference? Calipari said it all started with the pre-game shoot around.
“Today’s shoot around was the first day they came out with a sense of urgency and they were focused. That means they were more concerned about their teammates than themselves.”

One of those unselfish players was freshman DeMarcus Cousins, who deferred a start in the second half in favor of teammate Daniel Orton. Orton missed just one field goal on six attempts and scored 10 points, Orton finished with 14 points, six rebounds and one blocked shot.

“I was going to start DeMarcus in the second half, but I asked him and he said to let Daniel (Orton) start because he had been playing so well and he would come off the bench,” he said.  “That is a big step for our program. That means they are starting to care about each other. That means they are starting to be able to see when another man is playing well, to leave him in the game and not worry about themselves.”

Orton wasn’t surprised by Cousins’ kind gesture.
“We have a lot of great guys on this team and (it) showed how great our personalities are,” he said. “We all have great people around us and it reflects how much we all love each other and how much love is on this team.”
The response by Cousins left an impression on junior Patrick Patterson, who had 19 points and 18 rebounds in the winning effort.
“It shows we’re growing a lot, starting to mature and looking out for one another,” he said.