When kids play in the backyard and count down the seconds until the buzzer sounds in the championship game, they typically are doing so with the ball in their hands, ready to take that final shot. That’s the difference between the players on the 2011-12 Kentucky men’s basketball team, and many other players around the country. These guys want to defend that shot.”I feel like we can be a very, very good defensive team if we make that a key point in what we work on,” senior guard Darius Miller said. “We have a lot of versatile guys who can guard multiple positions. We can switch a lot of things and I think if we really focus in on defense we’ll be a great team.”Miller would know, too. The Maysville, Ky., native enters his senior season having seen the ups and downs of UK basketball. After having advanced to the Elite Eight as a sophomore, and the Final Four as a junior, Miller enters his senior campaign with the most minutes and points on the team.At UK’s men’s basketball media day Thursday, Miller said he and the rest of the returners have to help the younger guys out and be “big brothers” to them. Miller went on to say last year’s team, himself included, may not have welcomed the incoming freshman and taken them under their wings as much as they should have.”I feel like we didn’t do a good job of that last year, the older guys anyway, of helping out the younger guys when they first got here,” Miller said. “We kind of tried to let them do it on their own, really. I think it took us awhile to realize that, but since we’ve already experienced that I think it’s been a lot better this year.”It also helps that this year’s group comes in with so many minutes having already played together in numerous tournaments and events, and a common hard-nosed work ethic to get better and achieve their dreams.”As a whole, I feel like our work ethic is the best out of the four years (I’ve been here),” Miller said. “We’ve had a lot of guys obviously in the past two years who have put a lot of work in, in the gym. But I feel like as a whole, all-around team, we have a lot more guys who are focused this year and a lot more guys who are trying to get better this year.”Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, a 6-foot-7 freshman forward from Somerdale, N.J., is one such player who has shown what he’s capable of on and off the court in the early going. A tenacious defender regarded by most as one of the top-five prospects in the entire 2011 class, Kidd-Gilchrist’s fire on the court has drawn comparisons to DeAndre Liggins.”(Kidd-Gilchrist’s) starting point is where DeAndre Liggins finished,” Calipari said. “That’s what he is right now, only he’s 6-7, he’s long, he can play inside, outside, he can guard three positions, or four positions for that matter, like DeAndre. He just brings a burning desire to get better. He was in the building last night like at 11 o’clock shooting. He’s like the guys that I’ve had here who – they are chasing greatness.”If that eighth banner is to be raised in the hallowed rafters of Rupp Arena sometime next year, it will be, in part, due to the Wildcats’ defense. A worry spot for some, however, is the Cats’ lack of a true center on that end of the floor.”They are all threes and fours,” Calipari said.Sophomore shooting guard Doron Lamb didn’t seem worried when asked about the lack of a true center.”It’s not a problem,” Lamb said. “We have a lot of length on this team. We block shots and have a lot of big men who rebound. That’s the main thing, rebounding and blocking shots, really. We have some great post players.”With the length of Kidd-Gilchrist, Terrence Jones and Anthony Davis, paired with the aggression of freshman point guard Marquis Teague, who has put on 17 pounds since arriving on campus, Kentucky has a slew of talented, and more importantly, willing defenders to get on opponents and cause problems.”There’s not one system to this,” Calipari said. “It’s about getting good players, who come together, and play, and care about one another, and understand that together, great stuff happens. We all have to give up.”Marquis Teague is a pit bull but you also have Michael and then you have shot-blockers behind. Terrence Jones should be an unbelievable defender. He’s in the best shape I’ve ever seen him.”After back-to-back runs deep in the tournament, Kentucky and Calipari will be looking to advance just a bit further this year to hang up banner No. 8. Expectations are soaring in the Bluegrass, true, but that’s just par for the course around these parts and the players have admitted to knowing as much.But on media day, a day where hoards of TV and print journalists both local and national descended upon the beautiful facilities located in the basement of the Joe Craft Center in Lexington, Ky., the Wildcats – to a man – talked about defense before offense in leading them to raising another banner and winning games.”It’s really tough going up against these guys,” Miller said. “You have guys like Terrence Jones, Anthony Davis, who can block almost anything, and you have a lot of tough guys on the perimeter. It’s going to be tough. We can make it tough on a lot of other teams too.”