John Calipari has coached a lot of players who have gone on to become college and NBA superstars. The man who has coached 27 NBA players, 15 draft picks over the last three years and three No. 1 selections (the only coach who can claim that feat), believes Willie Cauley-Stein has the potential to be as good as any of them.

Like every player that has an opportunity to turn professional in his program, Coach Cal sat down with Goodwin at the end of the season, gave him the information he had gathered from NBA scouts and general managers, and put the decision in Goodwin’s hands. It’s the type of support system Calipari runs in a players-first program.

If you ask Coach Cal what he learned more than anything else about last year’s disappointing season that ended with a loss in the National Invitation Tournament, the answer may surprise you. It was depth.

The expectations at Kentucky are always enormous; the pressure, forever palpable. Calipari, who has publicly said he would like to go 40-0 before he retires, isn’t shying away from the pressure.

For as easy as it looked for Davis and Co. during their 38-2 domination of college basketball, the struggles of this past year confirmed what Davis knew all along: His team didn’t just show up and win because it was better than everyone else. They worked hard. They sacrificed for each other. They came together. As 2012-13 proved, it’s not as easy as it sounds.