“Work in progress.”We’ve heard that phrase from head coach John Calipari more than his one-liner “I’ve got five freshmen who think they poop ice cream,” and his constant reminder that this team is made up of 18-year-olds.If there was a slogan for Calipari’s first-year campaign, a “work in progress” is exactly it.Saturday afternoon, we witnessed some of that progress. We saw what the Dribble Drive Motion Offense is capable of when it’s clicking, a dominant Patrick Patterson (19 points, 18 rebounds) and the star power of John Wall (21 points, 11 assists). In the most complete game of the season, a 92-63 win over Rider, we saw, for the first time this year, the flashes of potential this team is capable of in the future.”We’re making strides,” Calipari said. “We’re just not very good now.”Not yet. But they could be if they continue to listen to their coach and adjust like they did Saturday.After getting torched from 3-point range in two consecutive games, the Cats clamped down on the perimeter and held the normally hot-shooting Broncs – who entered this game shooting 48.5 percent from behind the arc – to just 4-of-17 from 3-point land and 32.1 percent overall from the floor.   “There are a couple of things that are starting to happen,” Calipari said. “The thing I told them at some point is there has to be a sense of urgency defensively. Well, we had it today. We really did. If there is a sense of urgency defensively, you’re not going to give up the 3s. You’re going to come out and play.”The turnaround started with their film session Friday, which was nothing short of a comedy hour with Calipari as the main act. Guys were cutting it up with one another and Calipari was playfully throwing jabs and some of the players’ efforts.”Some of the stuff (we were watching) was almost hysterical,” Calipari said. “They were laughing at each other.”But they listened and they learned what they were doing wrong, and according to Ramon Harris, the list of don’t dos was long and extensive. Laughs aside, it might have been the most informative, eye-opening meeting of the season.”We weren’t rotating, guys weren’t getting their hands up, we didn’t get back in transition ‘D,’ ” Harris said. “Like coach said, if you can’t laugh at yourself, you’re not going to get better, so we all looked at film, tried to get better and I think we showed it today.”During the film session, each player recalled getting pointed out for something they were doing wrong. Everyone except Harris was criticized for not talking, Patterson was chided for not going after loose balls and taking charges, Jon Hood was berated for coming out of his defensive stance, and Wall was criticized for not diving on the floor. “The difference was definitely effort,” Patterson said.On Saturday, they fought through screens, defended the perimeter and talked as loud and as often as 12-year-old girls do at a slumber party, shutting down a team that a couple of weeks ago shot Southeastern Conference West Division preseason favorite Mississippi State out of the gym.”I was really fearful of this game until I saw how we defended early in the game and then I felt fine,” Calipari said.Sure, Rider missed some wide-open looks and is partly to blame for the chilly shooting afternoon, but credit the young Cats with some maturity beyond their years. Even though this team is made up primarily of 18-year-olds, they were level-headed enough to look at themselves in the mirror and realize that improvements had to be made.And get this for maturity:”We’ve still got a lot more work to do,” Wall said. “You can’t drink the (Kool-Aid) and think you did good one day and take off the next day. We’ve got a lot of work to keep doing.”They did well Saturday, but they think — no, they know — they can do better. That more than anything — even defense — is really what Calipari wants to see from this team. He wants them to show him they can put their accolades and egos aside and learn from their mistakes.That maturity might be best epitomized by a move DeMarcus Cousins pulled at halftime. With Cousins riddled in foul trouble and Daniel Orton scoring 10 first-half points, Calipari had a dilemma on his hand: should he go back to Cousins, who typically starts, or leave Orton out there?

Calipari decided to leave it up to Cousins. The first-year forward responded by telling assistant coach John Robic that Orton was playing too well to be taken out and offered to come off the bench in the second half. “Big step for our program,” Calipari said. “Big step.” There are still plenty more steps to be taken, but Saturday the Cats made progress. “They have to be one of the most talented teams in the country. It’s just a matter of playing with a sense of urgency defensively,” Rider head coach Tommy Dempsey said. “I think they took their foot off the gas here and there, but when they are engaged, start playing the big-time programs, and start locking in, they are going to have a special team. You guys are going to like what you see as the season goes forward.”