By LARRY VAUGHT

LOUISVILLE — Kentucky coach John Calipari didn’t think his team made enough turnovers.
Do what?
“No sir, I have never had a coach tell me that. I asked him, ‘Do you want me to go back to having five turnovers every game?’” said Kentucky freshman John Wall.
The Wildcats had only eight turnovers in a ho-hum 94-57 victory over vastly outmanned UNC Asheville here Monday night that Calipari knows was the final dress rehearsal for UK’s first major tests.
The Cats will host defending national champion North Carolina Saturday and then play Connecticut in New York and at Indiana next week.
“I didn’t like effort in the first part of the game but I liked how guys played after halftime. I thought they really tried,” said Calipari.
They might have, but they better try a lot harder to beat a bigger, more talented North Carolina. Remember, UNC Asheville lost 124-49 at Tennessee after falling behind 50-8 and lost 79-58 at Georgia.
“We had eight turnovers, which isn’t enough. If you only have eight turnovers, you are not being aggressive. They laughed when I said we didn’t have enough turnovers. But when you only have eight, you are not playing aggressively,” Calipari said.
Wall certainly did play aggressively, though. The talented freshman had 12 points and 14 assists, one shy of the school record. He also got six steals and four rebounds.
Several of Wall’s assists came on fast breaks after steals when he could easily have scored. Instead, he lobbed passes to Patrick Patterson and DeMarcus Cousins for crowd-pleasing dunks.
“If the big guys are out running the court, you want to get them the ball,” Wall said. “I would rather do that than score.”
Calipari admits Wall is ahead of any freshman guard he’s had — and he has two former Memphis point guards playing in the NBA that were high draft picks.
“He is trying to listen to what I say,” Calipari said.
The Kentucky coach says his daily report from UK’s strength coach refers to Wall as an “animal” and notes how he tries to get better daily. Tutors tell Calipari how hard Wall is working academically in an attempt to get an A in every class — something no one could have anticipated since he is already projected as a potential No. 1 pick in the 2010 NBA draft.
“Certain kids have that drive to stand out and be the best,” Calipari said. “One thing different about him is he is a pleaser. He will try to please teammates and coaches. If I do not tell him he is doing good, he will ask if he’s doing okay.”
From what UNC-Asheville coach Eddie Beidenbach saw, he thought Kentucky did better than okay in this game.
“Kentucky gained a lot in this game,” Beidenbach said. “They gained confidence and they didn’t turn the ball over much. Our pressure wasn’t all that bad, and Kentucky played better than they had in previous games. They played smarter than they had been playing.”
Maybe, but Calipari was not convinced.
“This next 10 days we will find out exactly where we are. It is not bad if we lose all three (games) as long as we learn where we are and what we need to work on,” Calipari said.
Calipari said his team had been in “six wars” before Monday’s breather that he hoped built “a little bit of confidence” even though he was not pleased with the defense.
But he knows after two days of practice and a short workout Friday, his team has to get ready to be tested like it has not been yet.
“We have two practice days and a Friday to get ready for a top 10 team and then follow with another top 10 team that is mad as heck cause they lost and then we play at Assembly Hall where they win. That is a big game where they are bringing it. We have our work cut out for us,” Calipari said. “You want to keep learning about your team and how we are going to play.
“We have one month and some change to get ready for league games. I have not panicked yet. I have one foot and my hands on the panic button, but we have time.”
Or at least he hopes so depending on what happens the next three games.

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