By LARRY VAUGHT

Patrick Patterson is back.
After two sluggish performances in Kentucky’s exhibition games, Patterson played like the star player he supposed to be against Morehead State.
Seven minutes into Friday’s 75-59 win that officially started the John Calipari era, Patterson already had nine points on 4-for-4 shooting and three rebounds, all on the offensive end. He finished with 20 points on 9-for-12 shooting from the field, 12 rebounds, one assist and one blocked shot.
“It  was good to see him bust out,” said Calipari.
The Kentucky coach knows Patterson, a preseason all-American, wasn’t perfect and noted he lost the ball in traffic, had a couple of defensive miscues and wore down at times.
Still, this was the Patterson everyone expected to see unleashed again in Calipari’s system.
“He should be 20 (points) and 12 (rebounds), maybe 25 and 15. That is what he needs to be,” Calipari said.
The coach made that clear to Patterson in a “heart-to-heart” meeting several days before the game.
Freshman Daniel Orton wasn’t at that meeting, but he heard what Calipari told his teammate before the game.
“Coach said he wanted him to be a beast. Demand the ball like DeMarcus (Cousins) does and that he did not want Pat to be unselfish, which is his personality. He told Pat, ‘You are an all-American. Play like it,’” Orton said.
And Patterson did.
Of course, Morehead State coach Donnie Tyndall was not surprised, especially since his team played a zone defense to slow down Kentucky. That kept Patterson, who has moved from center to power forward this season, in the lane more than he was in UK’s two exhibition games.
“At the start of the game he did all the things that make him great,” the Morehead coach said. “As the season goes on, he’ll get better in the dribble-drive. Tonight was his night because he played around the rim more against the zone.”
Maybe, but it was also “his night” because this game counted. When the lights come on for real, Patterson is going to raise his level of play. No offense to Cousins, a highly-touted freshman, but in games that count the Cats are going to look for Patterson, not him.
It may have helped that Calipari emphasized again — as did assistant coach John Robic — that Patterson had to be more dominant.
“They want me to be a force inside. Coach told me to do what it takes to get this team a national championship,” Patterson said. “He wanted me to play like last year on defense and rebounding. He wanted me to demand the ball and shoot the ball. I had my mind made up I was going to be a force out there tonight.”
Calipari has no problems with Patterson’s effort or intentions.
“He is such great kid. What you tell him, he tries to do. I may have to take the ball out (of bounds after a made basket) with a big guy and let him run the floor and try to post him because I know he will run and also know he will catch it,” Calipari said.
That was an obvious shot at UK’s other inside players because Calipari was especially upset with Cousins, who got in early foul trouble, and backup Perry Stevenson, who the coach said “reverted” and didn’t play like he had in exhibition games.
Of course, guard Eric Bledsoe was golden. With John Wall watching from the bench because of his NCAA suspension, Bledsoe had 24 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots in 37 minutes of play to more than offset seven turnovers.
He even made an acrobatic shot as he was falling back in the lane. “I had never took a shot like that. Coach was probably going nuts. I am so glad it went in,” he said.
And he did it after slightly turning his bad ankle again.
“I just had to stop worrying about my ankle the second half and play,” Bledsoe said. “The crowd helped. They made me feel great.”
Calipari didn’t. The defense didn’t suit him. The hustle didn’t suit him. The overall play didn’t suit him.
“No one told me it was going to be this hard,” he joked.
Don’t worry, Cal. It will get a lot tougher pleasing everyone, including yourself. However, he did remember one thing.
“I am very happy we won. I love winning,” Calipari said.

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