Behind one of its talented freshmen, Kentucky played well in its season opener. Things could go even better when its top recruit finally takes the court.
Heralded point guard John Wall makes his much-anticipated debut when the fourth-ranked Wildcats host Miami of Ohio on Monday night.
Hailing from Raleigh, N.C., Wall was considered to be the top high school player in the country last year, but he was forced to miss Kentucky's 75-59 win over Morehead State on Friday as part of an NCAA suspension for accepting improper benefits from his former AAU coach.
Fellow freshman and Wall's projected backup, Eric Bledsoe, had a stellar debut with 24 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
After Bledsoe scored the most points by a Kentucky freshman in his opening game since Sam Bowie in 1979, coach John Calipari will start both newcomers as the Wildcats try for a 20th straight victory over Miami of Ohio.
"If you have your two guys, who are your best two players, you figure out how to play them together," Calipari said. "That is what we'll try to do. The greatest thing is they'll have to figure out more than I do."
Bledsoe, also one of the top prep point guards in the nation from Birmingham, was questioned about his decision to attend Kentucky with Wall, who Calipari said has skills ahead of his former stars and current NBA players Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans when they were freshmen for him at Memphis.
"It'll be great, both of us are point guards that know the game so it'll take pressure off of us individually," Bledsoe said.
Those two and preseason All-American junior forward Patrick Patterson make a formidable lineup that will try to help the Wildcats return to the NCAA tournament after missing it last season for the first time since 1991.
After averaging 17.9 points and 9.3 rebounds last season, the 6-foot-9 Patterson recorded his 22nd career double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds against Morehead State.
"On this team, everybody, one through 13, can make plays," Wall said. "I don't mind giving up the ball, because I have a teammate who can finish."
Though the Wildcats had little trouble winning Calipari's Kentucky debut, there's room for improvement. They went 4 for 19 from 3-point range and turned the ball over 24 times, including seven by Bledsoe.
"He just told us that we have a lot of work to do," forward Darius Miller said. "We looked sloppy at times. We didn't do everything exactly the way we were supposed to."
They'll try to remedy that when they face Miami for the first time since beating the RedHawks 57-46 on Nov. 11, 2006.
Though Kentucky has dominated this series, Calipari is cautious about facing Miami coach Charlie Coles' deliberate offense and aggressive defense that held opponents to 58.9 points while going 17-13 last season.
"It's another good team where the team can beat us," Calipari told Kentucky's official Web site. "It's not a game where you show up and you win anyway."
Senior Kenny Hayes had 17 points for Miami in its opener Friday, but the RedHawks blew a five-point halftime lead and fell 82-71 at Towson. Hayes averaged 13.9 points, but was limited to eight games due to a wrist injury last season.
Miami, picked to finish fourth in the Mid-American Conference's East Division, has lost 12 in a row against Top 25 opponents dating to a 73-67 win over then-No. 10 Boston College on Dec. 20, 2001.
