By LARRY VAUGHT

On the day he was named an Associated Press preseason All-American, Kentucky’s Patrick Patterson had a very uncharacteristic game.
In 31 minutes against Campbellsville, the Kentucky junior had more turnovers — 6 — than he did rebounds — 5 — or points — 4.
Who would have ever imagined that could happen to a player who received 35 votes from a 65-member nationwide media panel to make the preseason All-American team or was one of six unanimous picks on the all-Southeastern Conference team Wednesday picked by the league coaches?
“Patrick has to take more shots. We have to get him more active and involved. What happened is that small guy mauled him and he couldn’t go by. I may put a smaller guy on him in practice to make better with ball. He has been playing great. He played good, but not great,” said Kentucky coach John Calipari after the 74-38 exhibition victory.
It’s hard to be more critical of Patterson than that because Calipari understood the total presence Patterson has and that his value to this team is measured by far more than statistics.
The new UK coach was amazed how happy Patterson was for senior teammate Perry Stevenson. Calipari felt he had not been playing well in practice, so he didn’t put a returning starter into an exhibition game until the final six minutes. However, Stevenson got 11 points and was 6-for-7 at the foul line.
“What a great kid. He was so happy for Perry,” Calipari said. He could have been mad because he only took seven shots. He was fine. What a great teammate this guy is.”
Calipari wants him to be more vocal and said he told him Wednesday he should be because not only is he one of the nation’s best players, but he’s also one of the nation’s hardest workers.
“I told him, ‘You deserve to speak and they will listen.’ Today he did and that’s what you want him tobe. A leader doesn’t worry about numbers.”
Or telling anyone else about his honors.
“I was really excited when someone told me he was named All-American,” Kentucky sophomore Darius Miller said. “But he didn’t tell me or make a big deal out of it. Everybody was talking about it except Pat. He’s not really the type of person to brag on himself.”
So what if UK has not had a preseason first-team All-American since Tayshaun Prince in the 2001-2002 season and before that it was Jamal Mashburn going into the 1992-93 season. Patterson wasn’t going to sing his praises over a preseason honor.
“It is an honor, but it really doesn’t mean anything. It’s a preseason prediction,” Patterson said. “We have a lot to work on. I have a lot to work on. There’s no reason to be worried about making this team or that team.”
He’s right. While the score was lopsided, the game was not a cakewalk because of UK’s offensive inefficiency, something Calipari had been predicting since he came to the Bluegrass in May.
Kentucky had 23 turnovers and only 12 assists against an undersized NAIA team. The Cats were 3-for-14 from 3-point range.
Granted, talented freshman point guard John Wall did not play as part of his NCAA punishment, but the dribble-drive didn’t work nearly as well as Calipari insists it will in a few more weeks. The coach thought his players shied away from driving through contact to make plays and also got fatigued in the second half.
“It is the confidence to go by man, get bumped a little bit and recognize defenders. We have got to be aggressive, confident and skilled. We had a lot of guys that were a little bit tentative, which surprised me. Even in press things broke down.”
However, one thing that won’t break down this year is Patterson. He’s a warrior and could well become the first UK player to earn postseason All-American honors since Ron Mercer in 1997 if he plays the way Calipari expects.
“Patrick earns everything he gets,” Kentucky freshman Daniel Orton said. “He doesn’t talk about awards or stuff like that. He’s the last one to talk about anything other than winning. We all respect him for that.”
However, what matters most is that Patterson respects his teammates. There’s not a selfish bone in that muscular body and that’s why he genuinely was as happy for Stevenson’s late play as he was his own All-American honor.
“To have a successful season, you need a deep bench. We need Perry to play like he can and I am so happy he showed what he can do,” Patterson said. “Personally, that’s much more satisfying than a preseason prediction because Perry’s play will impact our season.”

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