ASHLAND — When he’s not helping Kentucky sign top recruits from across the nation, he’s doing his own signing across the state.

Kentucky coach John Calipari made a Labor Day stop at the Ashland Plaza Hotel on Monday for an Ashland Main Street fundraiser. Before speaking at the dinner event, he signed books and other Kentucky paraphernalia for local Wildcats fans.

Calipari senses that the excitement is back in the Bluegrass.

“I think the fans like the direction we’re going in,” Calipari said. “They like that we’re in that conversation. We’re back to being one of the programs that everyone is talking about.”

And not just during the season. Calipari stirs up as much conversation throughout the offseason with his constant recruitment of the nation’s most talented players.

Kentucky’s 35-3, NCAA regional final runner-up team last season produced five first-round picks in June’s NBA Draft, which was a record for the most first-round picks by any school. Calipari is well on his way to matching that feat, as he has gotten commitments from three of the nation’s top six recruits, according to rivals.com, for 2011.

As for this coming season, Darius Miller, DeAndre Liggins, Josh Harrellson and Jon Hood will be joined by six highly-touted freshmen (Terrence Jones, Brandon Knight, Enes Kanter, Doron Lamb, Stacey Poole, Jarrod Polson) and Eloy Vargas, a 6-foot-11 transfer from Miami-Dade Community College.

As long as Calipari is Kentucky’s coach, expect freshmen to annually factor into the starting lineup. The 51-year-old coach has started 25 freshmen in 19 years at Massachusetts, Memphis and Kentucky, including three (John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe) last season.

“You don’t promise anybody you’ll start in minutes,” Calipari said. “If you’re good enough, you’ll have that opportunity.”

According to Calipari, it looks as if three freshmen will again be in the starting lineup when Kentucky takes on East Tennessee State on Nov. 12 to begin the season. Miller and Liggins, both juniors, will see significant time.

Calipari hopes that Miller and Liggins can display that same type of selflessness that Huntington native Patrick Patterson showed last season as a junior before being selected 14th overall by the Houston Rockets in the NBA Draft.

“Those fives guys drafted in the first round ... it doesn’t happen if Patrick doesn’t accept other players,” Calipari said. “He scored less, rebounded less and still went 14th. He did less and benefited enormously from it.”

The young Wildcats gained some helpful experience in three exhibition games against teams in Windsor, Ontario, in mid-August.

“The Canada stuff was good,” Calipari said. “We had some big guys out (including the 6-11 Kanter) but it gave all the smaller players a chance to play.”

Calipari was originally slated to visit Ashland in June, but because of family reasons, the trip was pushed back to Monday. It fit into his paperback-book tour of his book, “Bounce Back,” which includes the speech that Calipari delivered at Big Blue Madness last October.

“I still get goosebumps reading it,” he said.

A visit to Ashland also called for a ring from former Wildcat and Ashland Tomcat Larry Conley.

“Every time I come here people are excited,” Calipari said. “Conley calls me and thanks me for coming in.

“I’m glad to be here helping getting people involved (in Main Street),” he added.

AARON SNYDER can be reached at asnyder@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2664.