John Calipari was cagey speaking to the media on Monday. He mentioned a “great” team meeting. He asked rhetorical questions about what Kentucky needed to do to regain the swagger the Wildcats had seemingly lost in a pair of overtime wins to open Southeastern Conference play, questions to which he seemed to think he knew the answers. There was something he was choosing not to say.On Tuesday night, when starting lineups were posted before UK’s matchup with Missouri and Dominique Hawkins’ No. 25 appeared, everyone found out what he was withholding.The platoons, they were coming back.”Well, I had planned on it, I just didn’t tell you guys,” Calipari said. “I don’t tell you guys everything.”Following Alex Poythress’ season-ending injury, Coach Cal cut his rotation to nine players, abandoning the strict 10-man platoon system that had drawn countless headlines and propelled UK to a hot start. The Cats kept winning after the move, but in increasingly unconvincing and therefore uncharacteristic fashion, eventually prompting Calipari to declare “enough is enough.”Perhaps everyone should have known then what he was about to do. Maybe everyone should have known how top-ranked UK (16-0, 3-0 SEC) would respond, too. The dominant form that had inspired talk of a possible unbeaten run through SEC play, it was back with the platoons in an 86-37 win over Missouri (7-9, 1-2 SEC).”We just needed to get back to what we were,” said Karl-Anthony Towns, who had 12 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks. “We looked ourselves in the mirror and said we aren’t playing the way we normally play. We did that and did a great job with that tonight.”As it always has for this team, that started on defense.UK overwhelmed the visitors, using a 20-2 first-half run to turn a 12-10 lead into a far bigger one that continued to balloon with every missed Missouri shot. The Tigers shot just 27.1 percent and managed only 0.578 points per possession. In the process, UK allowed the fewest points scored by an SEC opponent since Mississippi State managed 36 in 1987 and rolled up the biggest blowout of a conference foe since a 106-44 shellacking of Vanderbilt in 2003.”I thought our defensive intensity because of the platoons was back to where it was,” Calipari said, later comparing his team to a “buzz saw” the likes of which Kansas and UCLA had experienced in November and December, respectively.The player who set the tone wasn’t even a lock to be on the floor.Calipari, reflecting on Saturday’s double-overtime win at Texas A&M, decided to go back to the platoons. With that out of the way, his next choice was between Hawkins and Derek Willis, gifted yet very different players who have ridden the bench in recent weeks.Making his judgment based on performance in practice, Calipari told Hawkins on Sunday he would be making the third start of his career.”Coach, he told us he wants to get back to the Blue and White platoon,” said Hawkins, who later revealed he had a sleepless night on Monday thinking about the game. “He told me I was going to be on the Blue one and he just wanted high energy from me and me to be aggressive on offense.”For Hawkins, high energy is pretty much a given.He was dogged in his 20 minutes, chasing and making life on the Rupp Arena court generally miserable for Missouri’s Keith Shamburger with his ball pressure. “He brings so much energy and so much athleticism to the game,” said Aaron Harrison, who bounced back from an off game at A&M with 16 points and five made 3s in seven tries. “And we’re all excited for him when he plays well. We’re all proud of him. I’ve seen him get a lot better over these past couple years and I’m proud of him.”Hawkins, true to his humble nature, credited that improvement to his teammates.”When I’m playing another team’s point guard, I feel like it’s easier for me to contain them because Tyler (Ulis), he’s so quick, he helps me out, like trying to stay in front of a quick guy,” Hawkins said. “Andrew (Harrison), he’s so big, he’s helping me (learn) how to stand up when they get me in the paint and be strong and body them up.”On the other end of the floor, Hawkins displayed the aggressiveness Coach Cal asked of him. He missed all three of his 3-point tries, but took each confidently and buried a pair of shots inside the arc to post six points.”We know Dom can play,” Aaron Harrison said. “He’s very capable and he’s a really talented basketball player and he showed it out there tonight.”In spite of that talent, Hawkins hadn’t played a minute since Dec. 20 against UCLA, when the Cats last blitzed an opponent as they did Missouri. That hasn’t been easy on the 2013 Kentucky Mr. Basketball, but he was undeterred.”It’s really hard to stay patient, but with this team you definitely know if you stay patient and get the opportunity you have to go out and ball,” Hawkins said. “I was patient enough and Coach finally gave me some time to play and I was able to do well.”Hawkins said he felt his play had earned him the chance to make another start when the Cats hit the road to face a tough Alabama team on Saturday, but he was quick to point out the decision is out of his hands.That call, of course, belongs to Coach Cal, who was back to his coy, unrevealing self in discussing it.”I don’t know if I’ll do it next game,” Calipari said. “I may not.”