Monticello — Are you still counting the days?

Well, it's getting pretty close to John Calipari's long-awaited debut at

Kentucky when his squad faces Morehead State on Friday night, Nov. 13, in

Lexington.

And the Big Blue fans are getting antsy to see how far Calipari's new

team will go this winter.

Unlike last season, when UK missed the NCAA tournament for the first

time in nearly two decades, there are high expectations and electrifying

enthusiasm for the Wildcats this time around.

"This year feels a lot different," said Kentucky star Patrick Patterson

during the recent SEC Media Day festivities. "Everyone expects us to have a

great year this season, not only us, but our fans and people close to us

expect us to have a true ŒKentucky' season.

"They expect a national championship, a run in the SEC tournament and an

SEC championship. They expect our team to be successful and have one of the

best years in a while. We embrace expectations and do not see them as

pressure. Everyone wants to be great and this year we think we can get it

done."

Super freshman John Wall, a 6-4 guard, doesn't really know what to think

about UK's rabid fan base.

"It was kind of surprising," Wall commented during UK's Media Day. "I

knew that Kentucky fans were crazy about basketball because there is no NBA

team around here or anything like that and with the good tradition that we

have here.

"But I didn't know they were that crazy. People were sitting outside in

the freezing cold and rain in tents just to get tickets (and they are)

crazy. That just shows how great it is that we have good fan support here."

Wildcat 6-6 sophomore DeAndre Liggins, who was ranked as the fifth-best

prep point guard in the nation, has noticed a significant change in the

program since last season.

"There was excitement last year. But Coach Calipari's background brings

much more excitement," said Liggins, who started one game as a freshman.

And Liggins is the one who could surprise some folks this winter after

an up-and-down 2008-09 campaign. Former UK coach Joe B. Hall, who attended

one of the team's recent practices, told Calipari that Liggins is the most

improved player on the team.

"It makes me feel good," said Calipari. "As a coach that is what you

want to hear guys are getting better. He's working, he's committed to

working, he's done well in school, he's on time for everything he is doing

everything he is suppose to do.

"He is going to have to get used to this (dribble-drive motion) offense.

He's going to be sloppy at first. He's going to miss some shots and give

some balls over but I think what you'll see if a player much more

comfortable playing basketball with less thinking and more reaction to what

is happening around him. That's what I would hope."

Anyhow, Calipari, who has traveled a lot throughout the state in recent

months, is still marveling about the phenomenal interest shown in the

program.

"I have been blown away," said 50-year-old Calipari, who has nearly 1

million Twitter followers. "It is awesome. It is what you live for in

coaching. Every place I have been it has taken me five years to build this

kind of passion and you know what, I walked into it here at Kentucky."

Even though Calipari received some unflattering national coverage back

in August when NCAA penalized his former program at Memphis, he is now

getting some nice publicity in recent weeks. In its regular Oct. 26 edition,

the Sporting News published a lengthy article about Calipari and the

Wildcats. It is a nicely-done seven-page spread written by veteran

sportswriter Mike DeCourcy, whom I have chatted with at a UK football game

and by e-mail in the past.

Calipari‹who earlier said on his official Website that his team is

overrated‹told DeCourcy this could be the most talented team that he has

ever coached. That's a strong statement since he has already coached six

30-win teams at UMass and Memphis, including two Final Four berths, in his

17-year head coaching career.

Also, in the Sporting News' annual college basketball yearbook, it

features an interesting conversation with Calipari in an question-and-answer

format by Pete Williams.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based yearbook has Kentucky at No. 2 behind Kansas

in its Top 25 pre-season poll. The other SEC teams ranked include No. 10

Mississippi State and No. 12 Tennessee.

Like the SN yearbook, Athlon Sports and other media outlets are

expecting a banner campaign for the Wildcats, who are loaded with several

potential first-rounders of the NBA Draft.

Athlon Sports yearbook, based in Nashville, Tenn., has projected a No. 6

ranking for the 2009-10 Wildcats in its annual colorful pre-season magazine.

Unlike SN yearbook, which has UK as one of four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA

tournament, the Wildcats didn't make the 2010 Final Four cut in Athlon

Sports, according to managing editor Mitchell Light.

"Kentucky was definitely on our short list for Final Four teams," Light

told this columnist in a recent e-mail. "We picked the Cats No. 6 in our

pre-season Top 25, so I guess you can say they were two spots off.

"This team is obviously very talented. The only concern is the

following: How will all of these new players mesh? You really only have one

proven commodity in (All-American candidate) Patrick Patterson. Will the new

parts work together?"

Athlon, by the way, ranked Tennessee No. 8 in its pre-season poll with

Mississippi State and Vanderbilt at No. 15 and No. 16, respectively.

Even though Calipari hasn't won a single game at Kentucky yet, he

certainly has rejuvenated the UK program in a very big way. Should we start

calling him the "Italian Magician" like we did with Rick Pitino back in

1991?



Jamie H. Vaught, whose syndicated sports column currently appears in

Kentucky newspapers, is the author of four books about UK basketball. He is

currently a professor at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College

in Middlesboro.

CatsUpClose2008@yahoo.com.