Lost in the discussion of Mark Stoops, Josh Allen, and Benny Snell, there is that other team in Kentucky. No, not Louisville football. Basketball is back. SEC Media Day is done, so it’s time to check in with the state of Calipari’s ‘Cats via a series of 10 questions about the team and upcoming season.

1. How good are these ‘Cats?

SEC media members just picked the Cats to win the conference. No real surprise there. But they are very, very good. There’s not quite as much hype around this team as the 2014-15 team that reached the Final Four undefeated, but this team seems like a slightly better rounded equivalent of that team.

2. Who starts the Nov. 6 in opener vs. Duke?

This won’t be the best five, and it probably won’t be the five who end the game, but as of right now, the likely starting five will be Quade Green and Immanuel Quickley in the backcourt, Keldon Johnson, PJ Washington, and Reid Travis in the frontcourt. That leaves Ashton Hagans, Tyler Herro, EJ Montgomery and Nick Richards on the bench.

3. Will they be ready?

That shouldn’t be an issue. Normally, when the season opens, John Calipari is the guy blending a handful of talented kids with no experience playing together. This year, it’ll be the other coach in UK’s opener who’s stuck with that task. And while Duke’s Coach K also has plenty of talent, Calipari has experienced talent — both in terms of prior seasons of major college basketball and having played together in preparation for and in the Bahaman games back in August.

4. So will this team go undefeated?

No, it’s ridiculous that the 2014-15 team got as close as it did. That team also played in a much weaker SEC than this UK squad will face. Bear in mind that the 1978 and 2012 UK title teams each lost two games … despite each being clearly the best teams in college basketball in their particular seasons of play. Calipari and the Big Blue Nation would love an undefeated season, but given the quality of the SEC, three or four losses isn’t unreasonable — or a reason to panic.

5. Are the platoons back?

Highly doubtful. Back in 2014-15, Calipari experimented with swapping five-man units in for each other in an effort to keep minutes high. The problem was that come NCAA crunch time, he found himself relying on the inconsistent perimeter skills of Aaron and Andrew Harrison, instead of the superior talent of Tyler Ulis and Devin Booker. There could be a bit of the platoon system, but Calipari will do his best to either avoid it or at least keep it pretty quiet.

6. Who will be the most improved since the Bahamas trip?

It might be kind of hard to believe, but Reid Travis is the answer. He’s dropped nearly 20 pounds from last season and looks like a slab of muscle in media day photos. We’re talking about a guy who averaged 10.8 points and 10.3 rebounds per game in the Bahamas, while mostly not looking terribly comfortable. He will be a beast on the backboards, and will be versatile enough to get his 10-12 points per game easily within the team concept.

7. Who will be the leading scorer?

There are plenty of choices that make sense, but it’s hard to pick against Tyler Herro. As the resident “athletic white guy,” Herro earned comparisons to Rex Chapman and Jeff Sheppard in the Bahamas, but his shot is more along the lines of Devin Booker. The missing ingredient for Calipari’s teams tends to be a pure outside shooter, and there are none purer than Herro.

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8. Which player will Calipari be the saddest to lose after the season?

Ashton Hagans. Offense sells tickets and draws media attention. Defense wins games. Hagans has the team-first attitude, the deadly quickness, and the want-to needed to be the lock down defender and glue of this team. His scoring numbers might not set the world on fire, but he’s the guy who Calipari will be most tempted to clone come April.

9. What will be the surprise close game in the pre-conference schedule?

There’s always one. Either due to style of play or a young Kentucky team overlooking somebody, you end up with Buffalo or Miami of Ohio coming to Rupp Arena and nearly stealing the day. This year’s game to keep an eye on isn’t a home game though. Kentucky’s Dec. 8 matchup with Seton Hall in New York comes at a bad time against a team that’s better than most people realize. The Pirates nearly knocked off Kansas in the NCAA Tournament last March, so they won’t be intimidated by Kentucky’s talent. Not saying they’ll win, but they’ve give Coach Cal something to keep his Christmas not entirely merry.

10. Is this the best time in history to be a Kentucky fan?

We’ll explore this one in more depth in a later column, but suffice it to say, between Benny Snell, Josh Allen and the Gridiron Cats and the plethora of stars who are going to run and gun on the hardwood, yes, this season certainly has the potential to be one of those exceptionally memorable seasons for Kentucky fans. You have to go back four decades to find both programs at their current levels at the same time.