Times have been pretty hard recently in Wildcat Country. The coal severence tax still makes the state a one-sided smorgasborg of wealth. The influenza epidemic is starting to spread state-wide which is rare for a southern state this early in the Winter months. The pride of northern Kentucky's Florence area, Shaun Alexander had a tough season and a tough loss in the NFC Divisional playoffs against the Bears. But unlike the last few years, our hoopsters have been showing potential. Potential being an operative word open for discussion. Yes, times have been hard, but the Wildcats are on a mini-roll right now. Not since the days of Chuck Hayes and Keith Bogans have we had a winning streak we couldn't count on one hand. The Wildcats have ran off eleven wins in a row. They are 4-0 in SEC play and stand atop the SEC East alone. What does all this mean? I wish I knew. All I know is that the Wildcats haven't lost since they traveled to Chapel Hill on December 2, 2006. A respectable game not by score, but that Kentucky showed signs of this potential. In the loss the Wildcats held the Tarheels to just over 37% shooting, which is where they pretty well are holding all opponents presently. Randolph Morris, center for UK, outshined All-everything Tyler Hansbrough again by holding him under double figures while collecting 23 points himself on 11 of 12 shooting. That game may have been the catalyst for Randolph's game. And it couldn't have come at a better time. Morris is averaging 16.4 points and 8.1 rebounds in 28 minutes of play a game. Of course the winning streak has importance though. The Wildcats are showing no let-downs. They are beating the teams this year they are supposed to beat. Will they get a win over a team they aren't supposed to beat? Yet to be seen. Since starting the season at 4-3, the Cats have stepped up their game. Largely on defense. But that is usually a constant under Tubby Smith. On offense two other starters are averaging over 13 points a game. Point guard Ramel Bradley has been showing promise at the position, one he was very uncomfortable with early in the season. Bradley's line 13.5 points, 4.6 reb, 3.8 assists are respectable and a compliment to freshmen back-ups. Starting shooting guard, Joe Crawford is coming out of his shell this season also. The Junior is averaging 14.1 points, 3.9 reb, and 2.6 assists per game. Overall offensively the Cats are showing some signs of life. The Cats scored 87 points in their last outing against a struggling South Carolina but beat them by 38 points. As opposed to last season when they at many times had scoring droughts of 8 minutes or longer. Can the Cats sustain this level of play when the competition gets tougher? We'll see in the month of February. Ending this month home against Vandy and at Georgia, UK hosts ranked (for now) Tennessee to start off the month. A tough road game against the Hogs of Arkansas, then a brutal stretch in which the Cats in successive games host no. 1 Florida, play at Tennessee, then travel to Tuscalusa to take on the Crimson Tide, travel back to Lexington to host a tough LSU team. Kentucky ends its regular season on March 4th as always with a trip to Gainsville to battle the defending champs Florida again. Tubby has a lot of coaching to do. Kentucky fans have a lot of praying to do. Many questions will be answered this season. Is this the year the Junior class of Morris, Crawford, and Bradley can get their act together and show some passion and toughness? Or will it be another season of let-downs and disappointing under-achieving? The most important question on Kentucky fans minds is whether a quick exit in the NCAA tournament, should Kentucky be so fortunate to be in the field, be the end of Smith's tenure at the school. Tubby won the National Title in his first season in Lexington in 1998 but has failed to maked it back to the Final Four since. Tough losses and close calls as well as blow-outs and poor play has tainted his resume since. January has been good to Tubby so far. A loss to up-start Vanderbilt this weekend could start a landslide. Any sign of life at the end of February could mean brighter things ahead for Wildcat fans and for Tubby Smith himself. As in a job at seasons end. NOTES: KENTUCKY'S 11 GAME WINNING STREAK IS TIED FOR 4TH LONGEST IN NATION. KENTUCKY'S THREE LOSSES WERE AT NORTH CAROLINA, UCLA AND MEMPHIS AT THE MAUI INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON. KENTUCKY IS RANKED 6TH NATIONALLY IN RPI.