Makayla Epps and Linnae Harper have always been the future of UK Hoops.That future has arrived sooner than expected.A season-ending injury to Janee Thompson on Sunday left the two sophomores with no choice but to step up into featured roles. The tears Epps and Harper cried for their teammate weren’t even dry when they realized it.”We both knew it was on as soon as Janee got took off on that stretcher,” Epps said. “We both knew right there mentally that it was on, that we have to step up now. There’s no more excuses.”Epps would have to shift from her customary jack-of-all-trades role over to being UK’s permanent point guard. Harper would have to go from being a part-time standout to a full-time star for No. 10/11 Kentucky (15-3, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) to sustain its strong start.One game in – a hard-fought 62-56 win over Florida (9-9, 1-4 SEC) – Epps and Harper are handling themselves just fine.”I think tonight we both did great things on the offensive end,” Epps said. “We still struggle on the defensive end with ball watching, which I’m sure we’ll see tomorrow in practice for film, but we just have to step up on both ends because, like I said, it’s all for Janee.”The Cats repeated their “play for Janee” mantra all night on Thursday in Memorial Coliseum, from the moment Thompson took the floor on crutches alongside head coach Matthew Mitchell on. The junior received a loud ovation from the crowd of 5,134 and watched from a few feet behind the UK bench.With Thompson so close, Epps found herself wanting to ask advice of the player she’s replacing. She’d have to settle for the occasional knowing look.”There was times where I would look up and look at her,” Epps said. “She would smile at me so I’m like, ‘I’m doing all right.’ “All right for Epps meant 20 points, five rebounds, four assists and two turnovers. After an uneven first half, Epps was aggressive throughout the second stanza in scoring 14 points, following advice given by her head coach when he called her back for some final private words in the halftime locker room.”He always tells me there’s not too many people that can guard me,” Epps said, “and I think I just really have to start believing that because when I get my feet in the paint that’s creating shots for me, that’s creating opportunities for my teammates and I just think I have to start believing in myself more.”Epps showed no shortage of self-belief in the final minutes, burying six clutch free throws in as many attempts over the final 2:15 to salt away the win. Still, Mitchell will be demanding more from her as she settles into her new role.”We wouldn’t have won the game without her,” Mitchell said. “She just needs reps. I really believe this: I believe she can be one of the best point guards in this league. I think she can be one of the best point guards in the country, but she needs reps.”Harper, on other hand, remains in a familiar role on the wing, but she can no longer afford to show only flashes of her talent. The injury to Thompson, who Harper has known and played with since fifth grade, might have hit her harder than anyone, but Harper still has to step up.In her 32 minutes against Florida, Harper did just that. She had 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds, as well a career-high six steals.”She’s developed so much,” Mitchell said. “Last year she didn’t get on the floor because she couldn’t defend and now she’s out there the whole game and just on a torrid steals pace.”Harper has a team-best 40 steals, including 20 over her last six games. She plans to keep her improvement on defense and offensive emergence going in honor of her friend and teammate.”Now it’s just all about playing for her because I know that she would want the best for us,” Harper said. “I think about her all the time, I think about her every day and think she’s my motivation to work harder in practice, do the little things, get in the gym extra and I think that’s going to be contagious to the rest of the team.”