Kentucky's fuzzy-cheeked basketball team took its first baby step with the Blue-White Scrimmage Tuesday night. John Calipari, the proud father and UK coach, sounded happy while wondering aloud about what the future holds.

"I like the fact you saw some camaraderie out there," said Calipari, who then translated what that hint of a one-for-all mentality meant. "They're listening to everything we say. We better be sure we're telling them the right things."

Besides conditioning (mandated by the NCAA rule that prevented former UK players from participating), the Blue-White Scrimmage served as a first sign as to how this freshman-oriented team will react under the figurative and literal bright lights.

The Blue team's 101-74 victory gave Calipari and his staff 40 minutes to dissect.

Freshman Brandon Knight led all scorers with 37 points and committed only two turnovers in his 40 minutes (every player played 40 minutes). Knight's 3-for-5 three-point shooting (14-for-20 overall) caught Calipari's eye.

"I haven't had a point guard shoot like you," the UK coach said he told Knight.

So Calipari is forming ideas on how best to use a good-shooting point guard.

Freshman Terrence Jones hit 13 of 26 shots and contributed 29 points. "One of the things you've got to have is someone to score the ball," Calipari noted. "That kid can score the ball."

But — there's always a "but" in these intrasquad scrimmages — Jones grabbed only one offensive rebound in his 40 minutes.

"C'mon," Calipari said. "He probably attempted (to offensive rebound) 25 to 30 percent of the time. He needs to attempt 80 percent."

That's especially important with Enes Kanter watching from the bench. As the big man from Turkey waits for the NCAA and Kentucky to continue the process of judging his eligibility status, UK figures it must compensate by gang rebounding.

"We all have to rebound because we don't have the big monster in there without Enes," Knight said. "... If we do get him, it's going to be crazy."

Josh Harrellson rebounded like a gang of players. He grabbed 26 (16 for the Blue team and 10 for the White team).

"Either we're the worst offensive rebounding team in America," Calipari said, "or he's gotten better."

The UK coach singled out transfer Eloy Vargas, the player UK recruited as insurance should Kanter not gain eligibility, as someone who had to try harder to rebound.

"We've got to get some fight from Eloy," Calipari said. "It's not just play. It's you've got to battle. (Then again), he's never played in front of 10,000."

The Blue-White Scrimmage drew an announced crowd of 11,391. "Wait till it's 24,000," Calipari said of the looming regular season less than three weeks away.

The Blue-White Scrimmage showcased Calipari's much-trumpeted dribble-drive offense. With both teams playing man-to-man defense, that freed up plenty of opportunities for drives to the basket. The teams did a lot of driving. Finishing was a more scarce commodity. By halftime, the teams had missed 24 shots created by drives to the basket. The tally at game's end was 36 misses.

Then again, the idea with the dribble-drive is to get the ball to the rim. Rebound put-backs are welcomed.

In this regard (and others), Knight was an exceptional player. The heir apparent to John Wall scored at the end of several drives. Even a bump from Vargas failed to prevent Knight from scoring.

While figuring out how Kentucky will play, Calipari noted the absence of big men like DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson means the Cats cannot be a low-post power team.

Doron Lamb, who had 16 points and six assists, said Calipari had told the team he envisioned a lot of dribble-drive and pick-and-roll action.

The contrast with last season could extend to something as basic as outlet passes. In Calipari's first season, the Cats got the defensive rebound to John Wall as quickly as possible. So far, Calipari sees more versatility and more players capable of initiating a fast break.

Knight and Jones looked like seniors, a reality they aren't likely to see if they play this productively on a regular basis this season. In one memorable sequence, Jones blocked a three-point shot by Jon Hood, whipped the loose ball to Knight, who returned a lob pass that Jones dunked to finish the fast break.

"Just pure excitement," Knight said of the play.

For Calipari and his staff, the excitement will be getting a handle on this collection of talent and maximizing its possibilities.