For all the accolades Brandon Knight possessed when he signed with Kentucky, he entered an unenviable situation.Knight was tabbed to be the heir apparent to John Wall, Mr. UK superstar, the program’s first No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft and the man largely behind Kentucky’s quick turnaround.Wall was somewhat of a legend around these parts. A drink was named after him, a dance was imitated by millions and his flashy dunks were frequently revisited on ESPN. There was a certain aura that surrounded Wall. Though he was just a student-athlete, there was something about Wall that spelled superstar. And Knight was expected to replace all that.”It was everywhere basically,” Knight said in a recent interview with Cat Scratches. “Being compared to previous players and what they would expect of me was difficult. Over time, you learn to accept that’s just what’s going to happen. You have to play through it.”But it wasn’t easy. Knight was so well revered in Lexington and became such a symbol for UK basketball that it became easy for fans’ imaginations to drift. With head coach John Calipari seemingly lining up the No. 1 point guard in class after class, it seemed like a formality to some that they could expect the same type of player each and every year from its point guard.Quite frankly, despite being rated the No. 6 overall prospect by Rivals.com and the 2009-10 Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year, the expectations were unrealistic and unfair for Knight.”I was prepared for it and I wasn’t really worried about it because I was just coming in to do the best that I could do and lead our team no matter who was here before,” Knight said. “I just wanted to come in and play and do the best that I could do.”Knight’s humbleness and business-like approach are what have made the transition easier. An intelligent kid that was hailed for his success on and off the court, Knight came to Kentucky with the right approach to succeed.Instead of trying to be John Wall, he tried to be Brandon Knight.”I know who I am and that’s just not the type of guy that I am,” Knight said. “I just came in to do what I do.”Because what Knight does, while not as flashy or as athletic as Wall, is pretty darn good, too. What he lacks in highlight-reel dunks – he can still throw one down with the best of them, by the way – he makes up for with a more polished jump shot. Through the first 16 games of his career, Knight is hitting 46.2 percent of his shots, including 38.8 percent from 3-point range. If you take out Knight’s worst stretch of the season, a three-game swing in Maui, Hawaii, where he struggled at times, Knight is actually shooting 46.1 percent from behind the arc, including 14 of his last 28 attempts.”All I could do was try to be myself,” Knight said. “John has what he does well and I have what I do well.”Still, for as much as Knight respected Wall and as prepared as he was for the unparalleled expectations, all the comparisons had to gnaw at Knight just a little bit, didn’t they?”It was kind of motivation,” Knight said. “Coming in and being compared to him, people saying you’re not going to be as good as him, you’re not going to make the impact that he made, I just kind of use it as a motivational factor. He was a great player, but the most I could do was focus on myself and try to get better. That was my main goal for coming here is to get better as an individual and have a chance at a national championship.”Though Knight doesn’t get the publicity that Terrence Jones does and doesn’t have a trademark dance like Wall, he’s blossomed into one of the nation’s top point guards already. The freshman from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., is averaging 17.4 points and 4.0 assists in leading the Wildcats to a 13-3 overall record. As his assist figures have started to climb lately, his turnover numbers have started to drop.Calipari said Knight is becoming a more complete point guard.”I’m so proud of him,” Calipari said recently. “How many of you were in Hawaii with us? Different player, isn’t it? Different player. And that’s what you are trying to see with guys that want to change and want to get better. We’re on him about his defense and you know what, he went out and said, ‘I’m going to guard better,’ and he did.”Looking back at the first half of the season, Knight said the hardest part about the transition from high school to college was figuring out what Coach Cal wanted from him at the one position. As the No. 1 point guard in America last year, Knight’s main job at Pine Crest High School was to score the basketball. Knight has displayed an uncanny ability to continue to score on the collegiate level, but when he first arrived, Calipari’s focus for him was getting his teammates more involved.”He zeroed in on me, especially after Maui,” Knight said. “He started coaching me a lot more and getting on me for every little thing from when I should be passing to how to run our team. I thank him for doing that because it’s made me a better player. I hope he continues to stay on me so I can continue to get better.”Knight said his struggles in Maui were difficult for him, but he’s since learned to become a better leader and better distributor. His biggest improvement to this point, he says, is his ability to read defenses.”Before Maui I was getting to the basket, but then I would try to shoot a layup over three guys when I just drew three defenders,” Knight said. “Now, when I get to the basket, I’m making reads and I’m seeing guys that are open. I’ve got my head up, I’m looking for the lob, I’m looking for the skip pass and I’m looking for guys that are open. It’s opened my game up more.”Knight and the Cats are back in action Saturday against LSU at 4 p.m. in Rupp Arena. UK, 1-1 in the Southeastern Conference, is looking for its second straight win.