By LARRY VAUGHT

Freshman Jon Hood knew this year had a chance to be something special for Kentucky.

“The talent I am playing with is fun to play with. I have never played with this talent for three or four months. It’s the same in high school when you come from middle school and made the big jump to high school. You get used to the speed and all, but this talent is incredible,” he said.

“One thing coach (John) Calipari did from day one was talk to us about having good chemisty. We knew it would take time, but that’s something we also worked hard at.”

Since Hood is from Kentucky, he understood the good and bad of the huge expectations for this team, which the Wildcats have managed to meet or exceed to this point.

“I think that good expectations can be a good or bad thing only if we let them get to us. The new guys didn’t have a clue about the fan base. We do have the best fans for better or worse. That isn’t something I can help them with. We were somewhere out eating in the drive-through and fans said, ‘Hey, Darius Miller.’ That’s the way it is. The fans will open their arms to anybody in or out of state. They will do it for all of us, and have,” Hood said.

“I think we can handle the hype. Actually, there’s no doubt we can. I think we can be as good if not better than expectations if we work like we did in the preseason and get stuff done like we can the rest of the year.”

Hood knew playing time could be hard to garner this year — and it has been. On this team, though, a good player can still have a hard time playing.

“Whatever coach Cal wants me to do, that’s fine. Whatever he tells me to do, I will do. If the team wins, I am fine. I don’t care. We all just like winning,” Hood said.

Hood also likes freshman teammate Daniel Orton a lot.

“I started getting on Daniel back after I committed in July of my senior year. I started ragging on him. He finally told me to just shut up and go away. We talked a lot. We were going to come in with G (Billy Gillispie). We got to know each other. He came in for a game and me and my buddy also came up here for the Tennessee game and I saw him during that powerful, powerful ice storm. We all went out to eat and I got to really know him. We talked and always kept in touch. He is my roommate now and it is easy for us to get along because he really is a great guy, and  a great player,” Hood said.

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