Calipari in lineup lab

Kentucky coach John Calipari is mixing and matching his personnel as the Wildcats prepare for the upcoming season, trying to find the best lineup combinations.

Like an alchemist in his lab, John Calipari is in experimental mode this week.

In his most recent update on CoachCal.com, the Kentucky coach said he's using a variety of lineup combinations in practice this week as the Wildcats prepare for an exhibition game on Thursday against Rollie Massimino-coached Northwood University, last year's NAIA national runner-up.

Of particular note is Calipari's ongoing flirtation with playing freshman big men Nerlens Noel and Willie Cauley-Stein at the same time. The 6-foot-10 Noel and 7-foot Cauley-Stein would give the Wildcats one of the "longest" inside tandems in the country and spark memories of "Twin Tower" days under former UK coach Joe B. Hall with Mike Phillips and Rick Robey in the late 70s and Sam Bowie and Melvin Turpin in the early 80s.

The last half of Monday's practice was dedicated to a full scrimmage, complete with referees, and four different lineup combinations each playing a five-minute segment together. Noel and Cauley-Stein were joined in the fourth and final lineup of the scrimmage by Alex Poythress at the 3, Julius Mays at the 2 and Archie Goodwin getting work at the point.

Goodwin, who led the Cats with 32 points in the Blue-White Scrimmage, was the top scorer again in Monday's workout. The freshman from Arkansas tallied 16 points in 20 minutes of action. Poythress added 12.

To read the full report, CLICK HERE to see more on the latest details from inside UK practice.