Early Returns: Kentucky

Sparks, a senior guard, went off on Tuesday and keyed the victory over the Mountaineers, shooting 8-of-13 from the field (including 7-of-11 from 3), adding six assists and a steal, and playing strong defense on the top portion of UK's 2-3 zone. Stardom, however, has not been the norm this season for Sparks, who was the 'Cats' leading returning scorer at 11.0 points per game. "It's been a pretty unpredictable year," said Sparks, who entered the West Virginia game averaging just 6.0 points and seeing limited minutes (just 21.7 per game) after drawing the early-season ire of Smith. Sparks was on the pine late against the Hawkeyes, and had been benched two minutes into the second half against Lipscomb on Nov. 14 for shoddy defense and taking a questionable running shot attempt.

Over the course of 40 fine minutes against the Mountaineers, Smith had apparently both forgiven and forgotten, because he said afterward, "We needed to put the ball in [Patrick's] hands more, because he's a veteran player. He can beat you inside and out, with his savvy and especially his ballhandling."

So what clicked for Sparks on Tuesday? Wearing a pulled-down camouflage ballcap and a hunter's stone-cold look, he declined to boast, saying only, "I just felt regular." But Rondo offered perhaps the best explanation: his backcourt mate got hot early, and everything else fell into place. "When you hit your first shot, you feel pretty good," Rondo said. "[And when Patrick does], he plays with a lot more emotion. He's screaming, and doing a lot more stuff, like getting in the passing lanes [on defense]."

Sparks knocked down a 3 in the game's first four minutes, and that, perhaps, provided the proverbial spark. Smith would leave him on the floor for 33 minutes -- nearly 12 above his average. This may have been our first '05-06 look at the real Sparks

Kentucky began the season at No. 13 in SI's Top 20; it came to Kansas City as the No. 7 team in the AP poll, suffered a loss to the No. 17-ranked Hawkeyes and downed a No. 13-ranked Mountaineers squad (albeit one that was ice-cold) on Tuesday. The backcourt combo of Rondo and Sparks (with help from sparkplug Moss) can play with any team in the nation -- and Rondo is revered by some as the No. 1 point guard in all of the NCAA -- but how long can UK's guards support such a shaky frontcourt? Sims had a breakthrough game against Iowa in his first start of the season, scoring 22 points and grabbing seven boards, and Perry played strong defense against WVU, but the 'Cats have a glaring deficiency on the glass, to the extent that the SI ranking (13) is probably more appropriate than AP's (7) until the 'Cats find some production in the paint.

Smith, no doubt, would prefer that the player most evoking memories of Hayes was not Rondo; it's a situation made even stranger by the fact Kentucky is incubating a trio of 7-footers on the bench. "We're one of the biggest teams in the country -- and we'd love to use it," Perry said. But at present, size is not part of UK's winning equation. Expect Smith to keep tinkering with his lineups through the holidays, but after beating the Mountaineers with three guards and two versatile forwards, the 'Cats' formula du jour is clear: smaller is better.