Ten things I took away from UK’s win over Transylvania

No. 2 ranked Kentucky beat Division III Transylvania tonight 97-53 at Rupp Arena in the first exhibition game of the 2011-12 season. It was a good time had by all, especially the Transylvania faithful who appeared thrilled to see their Pioneers playing (finally) on the Rupp Arena floor. John Calipari was not so thrilled with the way his team played, but that is to be expected, both from the veteran coach and from his young team.

Here are 10 things I took away from tonight’s game.

1. Calipari said afterward that it was obvious that Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has to start. He brings a different level of intensity to the team right from the start. Here’s what I wrote in my column for Thursday: “He’s probably not going to lead your team in scoring, or rebounding, or assists, but he’s going to be near the top of the leaderboard in all those categories.”

2. Calipari was happy with the way Marquis Teague ran the team. The freshman point guard wasn’t perfect. He’s not the best shooter. But he can get in the rim. And he played a smart game with nine assists and only two turnovers. He didn’t see the pressure on the ball he will see this season. But not a bad start.

(H-L photo/Mark Cornelison)

3. The Cats made just two of 12 three-pointers in the first half, but did hit five of eight in the final 20 minutes. Calipari was unhappy that his team started jacking up threes early, despite the fact that UK had a considerable size advantage over the Division III Pioneers. Doron Lamb did make three of six threes and Darius Miller made two of five.

4. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed in Anthony Davis. Yes, he blocked eight shots. So, I know I’m being picky. But he scored just six points to go with his eight rebounds. And Transy’s tallest player was 6-foot-6. Davis will be a good player, probably a great player in time. But he’s not ready to dominate right out of the box. Or he wasn’t in this game.

5. Asked if he was alarmed by anything or if this is where he figured his team would be, Calipari said, “I’m an alarmist.”

6. Look for this to be a switching defensive team. Calipari said afterward that he wants this team to switch a lot, but that it didn’t do a good job of that tonight. He was not surprised by this since the team hadn’t really worked on it a lot in practice. But considering that this team appears to have so many interchangeable parts, it should be a good switching team on defense.

7. The Cats made just 12 of 20 free throws, but (a) it’s a Calipari team, and (b) it’s early.

8. Stacey Poole, Jr.? He wasn’t on the bench. Calipari said there was no roster change so “there’s nothing to talk about right now.” The players did not answer questions about Poole after the game, either. That was as surprising as the 44-point margin.

9. Brian Lane is a class act, just like his father.

10. Calipari: “I wish it was easy . . . but that’s not how it works.”

Click here for the Herald-Leader photo gallery from tonight’s game.