If Doron Lamb does nothing else this year, he can at least hang his hat on one thing.

“I think Coach Cal should know that I was the one that brought Anthony Davis to Kentucky,” Lamb said last week at Kentucky’s Media Day.

According to Davis, a 6-foot-10 freshman phenom considered to be the top freshman in the country, Lamb “made” him commit to UK.

“When he came on a visit I was talking to him a lot,” Lamb said. “I was trying to make him come here and show him a good time on campus. We went out and had fun. He liked it and he committed.”

Chances are it won’t be Lamb’s only big score of the year.

Lamb, a 6-4 sophomore guard from Queens, N.Y., nailed 68 treys in his first season at Kentucky, hitting 48.6 percent of his shots from behind 3-point range. The mark ranks second on UK’s single-season 3-point percentage mark, ranking behind only Travis Ford, who sunk 52.9 percent of his long-range shots during the 1992-93 season.

On a Final Four stage where just about everyone struggled to find the bottom of the net – really, the elevated floor and terrible sightlines made for an incredibly difficult shooting night – Lamb made 5-of-10 shots, including a 3-of-5 mark from behind the 3-point line.

“He and Terrence (Jones) were our best two players,” head coach John Calipari said.

Doron Lamb was one of the top 3-point shooters in college basketball last year. (photo courtesy of UK Athletics)

But as Lamb enters his sophomore season at Kentucky, one filled with national championship hopes, he says he is more than just this team’s sharpshooter.

“It changed when I got here,” Lamb said. “In high school I didn’t really shoot 3 balls like that. I went to the rack and shot midrange, but last year I was wide open every time because they were penetrating and kicking it.”

Lamb’s role as last year’s 3-point shooter came to fruition by accident. Originally intended to be UK’s backup point guard – which he still handled when Brandon Knight needed a rest – Lamb’s opportunities came on the perimeter as teams collapsed on UK’s interior beef of Josh Harrellson and Terrence Jones.

As Kentucky found success inside, grew comfortable in the transition game and developed a habit for handoffs, Lamb found himself roaming on the perimeter more and more.

Playing at 195 pounds last year, he also found himself, at times, physically overmatched inside the arc. Sinking shots at nearly a 50 percent clip, no one could blame Lamb for accepting – and flourishing – in his role as a spot-up shooter.

“When you’re a freshman, they’re going to try to push you and try to punk you while you’re out there on the court,” Lamb said. “You’ve got to be ready for that. As a freshman, you’ve got to take the bumps and finish with contact.”

But Lamb, despite a Big Blue Madness introduction that would suggest otherwise (Lamb acted like he was shooting a 3 as and then threw up the “3 goggles” as he took the stage Friday night) believes he can do more than just make shots. He very well may be asked to do more ball handling and getting into the paint if Twany Beckham or Jarrod Polson can’t take over the backup point guard reins behind Marquis Teague.

“I played the backup point guard last year when Brandon got in foul trouble, so it’s not a big thing to me,” said Lamb, who briefly flirted with going to the NBA after last year’s freshman campaign. “I can do it.”

Lamb’s floaters in the lane are both crafty and tough to defend, but he’s heeded his own advice to expand his collegiate game by adding weight this offseason to finish against contact. He’s put on 15 pounds to his frame since the end of last year, weighing in at 210 now.

“I’m working way harder after practice, before practice,” Lamb said. “I get here an hour early before practice. Me and Marquis get here before everybody. After practice I’m the last one to leave.”

Calipari repeatedly challenged Lamb this offseason to work harder, telling reporters that Lamb has the ability to be Kentucky’s best basketball player.

“Do you want to be the best?” Calipari said. “You have the ability to be the best. Go do it.  Be the first in the gym, be the last in the gym. Are you kicking the weights or are you miserable in the weight room? Tell me.”

But it took a promise to his father, Calvin, and the help of a best friend from back home to really get Lamb into a different mentality.

“My dad told me I should do that this year, and I promised him I would do it every practice,” Lamb said. “Plus my best friend goes here to school with me and he’s pushing me every day. He makes sure I go in the gym every day and put shots up and he’s the one that makes me go to the gym early.”

Lamb says he takes 200 shots on his own each day, which should remind everyone that Lamb isn’t going to steer too far away from what made him such a valuable contributor last year.

Yet if he can continue to develop and expand his game, Calipari thinks Lamb can be more than just a deadly 3-pointer shooter. On a team dripping with NBA-ready talent, Calipari says he could be Kentucky’s best all-around player.

“I think if he’s in great condition and he has a sense of urgency, he’s our best basketball player,” Calipari said. “He’s not our fastest. He doesn’t jump the highest. He’s not our toughest. He may or may not shoot it the best. Kyle Wiltjer may shoot it the best. He may or may not. I don’t think he’s going to be our best handler.

“But as far as knowing the game, having a feel for the game of basketball, he’ll have it. He may be one of the top five in the country. Now, will he have a sense of urgency? Will he have the toughness? Will he have improved his skill level? If he does all that, then he’s real good and we’re real good.”