John Calipari the competitor wants to jump out to a big early and win every game by double digits. John Calipari the realist knows that’s not happening.That’s why he’s saying things like this.”We need adversity so bad,” Calipari said. “We need to get hit in the mouth as soon as we can.”If you didn’t know any better, you might think John Calipari is rooting against his own team.”We need to be down 10, and let’s figure out what we are,” Calipari said.On the eve of Kentucky’s season opener, it’s just a matter of time before he gets his wish.UK opens its much-anticipated 2014-15 campaign at 8 p.m. on Friday night against Grand Canyon, a second-year Division-I program led by three-time NBA All Star Dan Majerle. The Wildcats are in the final hours of a unique offseason that’s featured some surprise decisions to bypass the NBA Draft, a six-game Big Blue Bahamas tour and intrigue surrounding UK’s platoon system.That’s all led to a No. 1 preseason ranking and unmatched hype (at least since last season), neither of which changes the task UK is facing.”This thing is going to take time and it’s going to be a process just like last year’s team,” Calipari said. “It can be all the hype we want. Won’t matter. Gotta do it on the court.”Though there’s no doubt doing it on the court in a game that counts is different, it’s not as if this UK team is completely untested. There were the aforementioned Bahamas games and, perhaps even more notably, Kentucky’s practices.Talk of UK’s roster featuring two teams that might each be ranked in the top 25 has been common all offseason, culminating in Calipari mentor and SMU head coach Larry Brown saying Thursday he believed the Cats’ platoons would be No. 1 and No. 2 in the polls. That, like much of what’s been said about Kentucky, is likely hyperbole, but the sentiment behind it is significant nonetheless.With 12 talented players, every time UK gathers at the Joe Craft Center, it’s a battle.”Oh real competitive, you know always going against somebody at your position at all times,” Poythress said. “Even in drills it’s competitive.”One drill especially.”We have a drill called the ‘Perfect Stop,’ ” Lee said. “Once Coach Cal calls ‘Perfect Stop,’ it’s probably the best part of practice because we’re trying to kill each other. It’s probably the most fun, but it’s the most work we do during practice.”It’s a five-on-five drill in the half-court that Alex Poythress called a “pride thing.” The defense’s task is simple, though far from easy: prevent the offense from scoring or getting into the lane for the entirety of the 35-second shot clock. “It’s probably the noisiest point of our practice because we’re yelling, we’re screaming, we’re talking because you only have so much time to try to talk with your team to get things done,” Lee said.The drill has been prominently featured in the last few days of practice leading up to the opener, which Coach Cal called “ultra-competitive” after he ratcheted up the heat another couple notches.”Our wins and losses matter here,” Lee said. “We gotta run every time we lose, so it means a lot to win or lose no matter who you’re playing right now.”Running is one thing, but it’s a little different when permanent tallies go in the win-loss column. The Cats, however, are eager.For most, season openers come with plenty of butterflies. At Kentucky, the chance to play meaningful games again actually may represent a reprieve.At long last, talking season is over.”It’s definitely very relaxing knowing that we are finally here at the start of the season,” Marcus Lee said. “It’s something that we’ve all been looking forward to since the end of last season. So for it to finally be here is kind of a good feeling.”