There’s a certain comfort around the Kentucky basketball offices these days, an easy rapport between second-year head coach Billy Gillispie and his players that was largely lacking this time last year.

“I think the players have a greater sense of comfort because there’s not as much unknown,” Gillispie says. “You develop relationships with players. They know what to expect more, and I think we know what to expect more also.”

That doesn’t mean Kentucky is without uncertainty as the season approaches. After an 18–13 campaign in which the Wildcats caught fire during the SEC season, then snuck into the NCAA Tournament only to be bounced by Marquette in the first round, there are question marks.

Guards Joe Crawford and Ramel Bradley graduated, taking a combined 33.8 points per game along with them. And Gillispie’s top returning players — sophomore power forward Patrick Patterson and junior shooting guard Jodie Meeks — are coming off of offseason surgeries.

Gillispie isn’t showing signs of concern. He says the team’s effort during the summer ranked among the best he’s seen in a head coaching career that includes rebuilding projects at Texas A&M and UTEP. It’s the kind of offseason work, Gillispie says, that teams often reference when they make deep runs in March.

“I’m not making any predictions,” he says, “but I do like what’s going on.”

Frontcourt

What Gillispie likes most about his team is the presence of Patterson, who’s expected to be 100 percent recovered from offseason surgery on a stress fracture in his left ankle. Patterson will be expected to put Kentucky on his broad shoulders after a freshman season in which he finished ninth in the Southeastern Conference in scoring, seventh in rebounding and fifth in field goal percentage.

But Patterson needs help, and Gillispie believes the Cats can give him plenty this season. Some of it will come from junior Perry Stevenson, who Gillispie says showed marked improvement over the summer. The wiry Stevenson averaged 9.4 points and 9.0 rebounds in the five games that Patterson missed to injury at the end of last season. Kentucky also has high hopes for sophomore Josh Harrellson, a transfer from Southwestern Illinois College, where the late bloomer averaged 14.8 points per game as a freshman.

The frontcourt depth could come from senior Jared Carter and sophomore A.J. Stewart.

Backcourt

If Kentucky is to replace Crawford’s and Bradley’s points, the bulk of the backcourt scoring will fall to Meeks, who missed 20 games last season with what eventually was diagnosed as a sports hernia. Gillispie has little doubt that Meeks will be healthy. He’s less certain about who will join the 6'4" guard in the backcourt.

Bradley handled the point guard position last season. His part-time backup was Derrick Jasper, who transferred to UNLV. That leaves junior Michael Porter and a pair of newcomers to man the point. “As far as who’s going to play the point guard for us, right now I think it’s yet to be determined,” Gillispie says. “We have some options. It may be conventional. It may not be as conventional.”

Among the unconventional possibilities are DeAndre Liggins, a 6'6" freshman, and Kevin Galloway, a 6'6" junior college transfer. If both are eligible to play this fall (as expected), the Wildcats will feature the long, rangy athletes Gillispie favors in the backcourt. Liggins in particular has the potential to emerge as Kentucky’s primary ball-handler.

On the wing, Gillispie says freshman Darius Miller “is going to be a really good scorer for us early.” Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball will compete for minutes right away.

Final Analysis

It was a tumultuous first year for Gillispie, with no fewer than four player departures — most notably Alex Legion, who transferred to Illinois at the semester break — and an early loss to Gardner-Webb that turned heads. This year should get off to a smoother start, though a non-conference schedule that includes Miami (Fla.), North Carolina and Louisville won’t help Kentucky pad its record. Whether or not the Wildcats can duplicate their improbable 12–4 SEC mark remains to be seen, but Patterson and Meeks are a potent enough 1-2 punch — and their supporting cast is solid enough — that Kentucky should make its 18th straight NCAA Tournament.