A so-so start to exhibition season shows these Wildcats are a work in progress

The preseason was only 10 seconds old, and all five Kentucky Wildcats on the court had already touched the basketball.

Was this it? After an angsty and, at times, awfully hard to watch Year 2 of the Mark Pope era, was this the return to that beautiful brand of ball that the UK coach had promised upon his arrival in Lexington and then played so well over the course of his first season in charge?

That’s what was projected for this bunch all preseason. And this starting lineup looked equipped to deliver, with Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins working as the “creators” — Pope’s buzz word for the past several months — out of the backcourt, Milan Momcilovic as the ultimate floor-spacer on the perimeter, high-upside 7-footer Ousmane N’Diaye capable of gunning from deep and Malachi Moreno returning to play the role of the versatile 5 in UK’s offensive attack.

Ten seconds in, the Cats were off to a good start. 

And then the flow started to slow. The ball stalled. The passes turned to dribbles. The shot clock ticked and tocked. 

With five seconds left to do something — anything — Wilkins got it on the wing and went to work. The transfer guard from Furman isn’t merely a shooter, he’s a driver, too, and he casually unleashed a devastating move that left his Little Rock defender wondering what had happened as Wilkins streaked toward the basket and glided in for a finger-roll finish.

It wasn’t exactly the prettiest possession, but this would do just fine, too.

The ball left Wilkins’ fingertips, and … clanked off the rim.

And so it went for the first few minutes of Kentucky’s eventual 69-49 victory in the exhibition opener.