INDIANAPOLIS – A fun, annual game many in the Big Blue Nation often like to play is to debate how different teams from Kentucky’s past would fare when playing against another Wildcat squad, whether that be another former team or the current version of the Cats.With the Cats sending so many players to the NBA each year, that game has certainly become far more interesting due to such different rosters with each passing season.In reality, all the former players can do is lend their advice to the current Cats, and thanks to the brotherhood and family that UK head coach John Calipari has fostered in his six years in Lexington, that ever-growing family remains a constant presence, especially for his undefeated 2014-15 team.”I don’t have to do that,” Coach Cal said. “Those kids do it themselves. I mean, our former players are in touch with our players, in touch with our staff. I get the texts and the calls. You know, they know over All-Star break if they’re not playing, they stop in. In the summers they always will pass through. It’s been a great thing to see how they help each other and talk to one another.”After defeating LSU 71-69 in a thrilling game in Baton Rouge, La., NBA superstar and former Wildcat Anthony Davis stopped by the UK locker room and offered some advice to forwards Willie Cauley-Stein and Karl-Anthony Towns.”It helps me and Karl out a lot because AD went through the same exact stuff that we’re going through,” Cauley-Stein said. “AD came in and wasn’t so good on offense, or he just did a lot of dunks and stuff. Then you see him develop into one of, arguably, the best forward/centers in the league right now. You see him making jumpers, you see him taking people off the dribble and you’re like, ‘We’re the same, we have the same background, we all came to the same school and do the same stuff.’ You see that and it kind of gives you like, ‘I just have to work on my stuff and I’m going to end up like him.’ “And when Davis, or any other former Cats, speak to the current team, their words always carry clout. These guys are, after all, in the NBA, a place all of the current players want to get to. Cauley-Stein said the biggest difference between Davis and anybody else he’s spoken with is his mindset, and his ability to flip a switch when he steps on the court.”He’s going to be cool to you right now, if he was in here, but once you step on the floor he’s trying to take your heart out,” Cauley-Stein said. “That’s the way you have to play.”For Calipari, who calls each of his current and former players his “sons,” the moment and growth of his extended family has been fun to watch.”It’s been fun being a part of this family, knowing that they’ve benefited by the experience of being at Kentucky and they give back,” Calipari said. “They give back in a lot of ways, but they give back to each other.”Evolution of Trey Lyles concludes at home in IndianapolisBefore freshman forward Trey Lyles ever put on a Kentucky jersey, he had a vision for how he wanted the 2015 season to conclude.He wanted to win a national championship in his hometown of Indianapolis.

In 2015 I want to win a National Championship in my hometown Indianapolis!!! #BBN #Cats ????

— Trey Lyles? (@TreyMambaLyles) April 21, 2014

Now, just shy of one year later, Lyles and his Wildcats are just two wins away from making that dream a reality. The first obstacle for him is staying focused on the game, and not get caught up in the emotions that surround it.”It’s just an exciting moment for me and my family,” Lyles said. “I’m just trying to approach it like any other game. You know, going to stay focused. You know, just got to go out there and play hard.”When the Cats began their season in August with a six-game exhibition tour in the Bahamas against professional teams from around the world, Lyles was relegated to the sidelines with an injury. His absence left a mystery not only for outsiders, but his own teammates as well. Just how good is he?”We didn’t know because Trey got hurt before anybody could even see what he can do,” Cauley-Stein said. “So you didn’t know what, really, Trey could do, you just knew he was super crafty. Super crafty. One of the craftiest dudes I’ve played against. Now you’re seeing it.”At the next level, Lyles figures to play the power forward position, but with three 7-footers on the roster, the 6-foot-10 Lyles has played more of the small forward role, creating mismatches for opponents both on offense and defense due to his size, strength and athleticism. He’s also benefitted greatly from having to defend smaller players nearly every single game.”Now it’s to the point he knows he’s one of the best players on the floor,” Cauley-Stein said. “He knows on defense nobody can guard him. His craft really comes into play for us and it’s really beneficial to us as a team.”Calipari has often referred to Lyles as the team’s X-factor, the guy who can take the Cats to a different level.”He’s that one guy that is hard to guard, can make rebounds, plays hard, plays big,” Coach Cal said. “Makes us a really big team, 7-foot, 7-foot, 6-10, 6-6. Really big.”As he does anytime one of his players returns to play a game in his hometown, Calipari says he also worries about Lyles playing back in Indianapolis, though the freshman does have some experience doing it after having played Kansas in Indianapolis on Nov. 18.”As a matter of fact, I even forgot it until I got on the bus (Wednesday) night,” Coach Cal said. “I went, ‘Oh, my gosh, we’re coming back to Indiana, back to Indianapolis.’ I said, ‘Oh, my gosh.’ He laughs about it. But it’s a hard deal. The whole environment is hard for everybody.”Teams prepare for shooting in dome settingLucas Oil Stadium is not your typical basketball arena. That’s because it’s a football stadium.And with that comes different sightlines, different vantage points, and different scoring outputs.”Tough playing in domes,” Coach Cal said. “The worst one we played in as a coach, we played in the 2011 Final Four in Houston, that was hard. Every team shot 30 percent. It was crazy. I don’t think that will be the case here. All four teams are good shooting teams. The backdrop and the way … I don’t think it will be an issue.”And Calipari isn’t the only one. UK freshman forward Karl-Anthony Towns said while it takes time to get used to the depth of the background, the Cats have had a great shootaround and practice and have been hitting shots.Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo also didn’t express any concern in playing in a large football arena, though that may be because his teams have played in much more challenging venues in the past.”We played on an aircraft carrier where the background was the sea,” Izzo said. “That don’t bother our guys. … There’s been a couple of domes that I think have been tougher. But this hasn’t been one. No matter how we shoot tomorrow, I think this is as good a setup as there is.”Approaching the Final FourEvery team and every season is different. Similarly, there are many different ways to approach different situations within each season, such as the Final Four.For Coach Cal, finding the identity of his team has seemed to be the key. While at UMass, Coach Cal said his teams backed up, and they tried to keep them loose.”It was our first time, school’s first time,” Calipari said. “Probably didn’t do as good of a job as I needed to because of that.”Then at Memphis, he said his team had a spirit about it, but did back off some, just not as much as when he was at UMass.This year’s version of the Wildcats appears to want to cut the brakes and continue stomping on the gas.”This year’s team, I mean, we had two vicious practices Tuesday and Wednesday,” Calipari said. “I was on them like it was December. This is a team that wants to go at each other. Our advantage is that we have a lot of guys. So when we scrimmage, you really benefit by that. They want to. They don’t want to do drills. This is not a drills team. ‘Stop the drills, throw the ball up.’ They go after each other. They argue every call. They fight. I have to, ‘Stop it!’ I’m saying that five times a practice. So we went at it. We’re basically done now. I feel that we’ve done what we’re supposed to do with this team, but you never know. Probably after it’s over, I’ll say, I wish I hadn’t gone so hard.”The biggest challenge facing his team at the Final Four outside of the immensely talented Wisconsin Badgers (35-3)? Tickets, Coach Cal said.”The challenge is staying away from that, getting your players to stay away from it.”