Is Poythress' "unreal" practice a sign of things to come?

As of late, we have seen Alex Poythress taking steps forward in his confidence level, aggressiveness, and work ethic with extended workouts by his own choice. That's good news for any Cats' fan to compliment improvements in effort and execution Kentucky has shown over the past few games (despite nobody boxing out Michael Qualls).   Of course practice is much less intense than game situations and results don't always translate but Cal has a nice update on Willis and Poythress who was "unreal" today. But what does this recent uprising in effort and production by way of Alex mean for the Cats? Well that depends on how long these improved performances and “unreal” practices continue. As everybody who has kept up with Poythress throughout his career knows, these highs have been equally balanced with lows in his production and effort his freshmen season and this season alike. If you remember, Alex has excelled a few times this season, which included his start to the season looking dominant and assertive. We would hope with maturity and experience being added daily, AP will be able to keep his inclining performances to extend a bit longer. Maybe through conference play and a tourney?   That brings me to the next scenario, which is Poythress not falling back into a slump, but rather continuing to develop his game and growing into more of a leader and impactful player on the court. Over the last five games, Alex has accumulated 8.8 points per game with a 14% increase in field goal percentage to compliment his solid rebounding efforts. He is playing a little defense as well with 1.6 blocks per game during this five game stretch.  If Poythress could continue to improve as a scoring threat, defensive player, and show a slight bit more improvement in rebounding as the season progresses, we could definitely find Alex as a pivotal player come the SEC and NCAA tournaments.   Something that could be an extra motivating factor to Alex throughout the stretch of the season is the way last season ended. Kentucky found themselves losing four of their last five games resulting in a beyond disappointing season after missing the NCAA tourney. I’m sure AP learned from last year's team and what could be changed in regards to effort, execution, and how to finish games. That sure would be great for this young team and ensure Cal puts a little less strain on those vocal cords. It’s time to step up Alex.     @CodyDanielKSR