Dakari Johnson started his season with a bang. He scored in double figures in six of his first eight games, showing off a leaner physique and improved conditioning.He flew up and down the floor, played through contact inside and rarely took the path of least resistance, but fell into a trap soon after.”It’s hard,” John Calipari said. “It’s hard to play the right way. You try to go back to see if I can do it that other way. It’s much easier.”Johnson, of course, would learn the easier way just doesn’t work.”And then what happens is, your confidence gets down,” Calipari said.His production suffered as well, especially in a two-point, four-turnover outing at Louisville. The 7-foot Johnson routinely yielded the advantage his size gives him by bringing the ball low and shooting off balance then and in games soon after and the difference was plain to see. That version of Johnson, however, was long gone on Tuesday against Missouri.”(I) just came out trying to be aggressive, just try to bring energy to the game (and) try to bring my shot up quicker,” Johnson said.Johnson’s statistics – eight points on 3-of-7 shooting and seven rebounds – didn’t look drastically different, but everything else about him did. He was running the floor, kept the ball high and easily dealt with double teams, mirroring the boost of energy UK got as a team as the 10-man platoon system returned. The way Johnson played was hardly surprising to Coach Cal after watching him in the days prior.”He’s just better in practice,” Calipari said. “I told him – you could almost watch guys in practice and say, ‘If he plays like that, watch what happens.’ But it’s hard. It’s hard to run really hard every time, outrun your guy.”Johnson has proven time and time again he’s not afraid of a challenge, most notably this past offseason. Aware he needed to shed weight to take the next step in his game, Johnson changed his diet and took on an aggressive workout routine and he hasn’t stopped since.”I’ve been working on my body all summer so I can sustain that throughout the season, just keep on staying in the same diet, the same regimen that I’ve been staying on,” Johnson said. The results, save for that holiday swoon, have been plain to see.”Dakari’s playing great,” Aaron Harrison said. “He’s a great player. He’s changed so much from last year. I’ve never seen someone change as much as he has over a year. He just works so hard and I’m really proud of him and happy for him.”Set for a trip to Alabama, top-ranked UK (16-0, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) will need Johnson to keep it up. The Crimson Tide (12-4, 2-1 SEC) is unbeaten in 10 home games this season and its only losses have come to No. 11/13 Iowa State, Xavier, No. 13/15 Wichita State and a much-improved South Carolina team on Tuesday. “I know they’re a big, athletic team that’s a good defensive team as well and really have to play hard against them,” Aaron Harrison said. “They play really hard.”Calipari anticipates Alabama will trap Johnson and his fellow post players.”They have to,” Calipari said. “They’re not gonna surrender. I keep coming back to, ‘Why are they playing like this and hard?’ They’re not surrendering. So they body-to-body him and they just try to lay on him.”By this point, Johnson is accustomed to that, and he’s happy to create openings for his teammates on the perimeter.”It’s expected,” Johnson said. “We’re used to teams doubling down and going on the inside. As long as we’re shooting it well that’s going to open it up.”