To the surprise of no one, Kentucky is back on top.

It didn’t take long.

Nineteen games into his coaching career with UK, the honeymoon is still going strong for John Calipari.

The players are loving him and so are the fans.

You hear nary a bad word from fans about Coach Cal, unlike his predecessor who was not ready for a job of this magnitude. In fact, it ate him alive and then spit him out.

Coach Cal doesn’t pretend to be bigger than the UK job. He has capitalized on everything that’s good about being the UK coach — the fanfare, the national acclaim, the tradition. He even used some of that UK magic to have a fundraiser that produced more than $1 million for Haiti.

Could you have imagined Billy Gillispie having a fundraiser for Haiti? Gillispie never did understand what was at his fingertips.

Things are sunny now, what with UK being 19-0 and ranked No. 1 for the first time since 2003.

Of course, as the most ardent UK fans like to say, we’re with you win or tie.

So far, so good for Coach Cal, who has done nothing but win. He brought in an All-American recruiting class, including one-and-done John Wall and probably one-and-done Demarcus Cousins.

Nobody seems to mind that they will only be wearing blue-and-white for this season. I really believe that because they only have the one season which, by all accounts they’re enjoying like nothing else they’ve ever experienced, there’s a sense of urgency to win now. That’s how they want to go out.

Think about this: Kentucky has three players on its roster who could and probably will be first-round selections in the NBA Draft this summer.

That brings to mind the 1996 Cats, the national champions who had one of the most talented rosters in UK history. This team, overall, may have more talent.

No wonder Kentucky is waxing the floor with anybody in its path. A deep bench leaves opponents wondering how they can keep up.

Do I think UK will finished the season unblemished? Not really. I still believe that somebody somewhere is going to get them. I couldn’t imagine who, but somebody will come up with one of those can’t-miss nights, when everything that used to rim out, rims in, when the 3-point shots are raining down and finding the bottom of the net like magic.

But that’s what it will take, a Herculean effort.

Here’s the scary part: Kentucky is getting better and better. And you can tell from watching them play, they are a happy team. The chemistry that Coach Cal has swirled is making this team a Frankenstein not only in the Southeastern Conference but the rest of the nation as well.

Arkansas and poor John Pelphrey were in the wrong place at the wrong time on Saturday, that’s for sure.

Before the season began, Coach Cal told the fans he wanted to restore Kentucky “to its rightful place in college basketball.”

He’s done it a lot faster than anybody could imagine.

So far, there have been no hiccups in a season that promises to be one of the most fulfilling in recent memory for Kentucky’s fans.

Everybody is watching. The evening is now being planned around UK basketball.

Before this season, when was the last time that happened?

MARK MAYNARD can be reached at mmaynard@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2648.