Even when he was struggling during the team's first nine games with 24 turnovers, Porter kept the little things to overcome his mental miscues on the court.
Porter had four turnovers in Kentucky's dominating 84-52 win over Central Michigan on Monday night, but the miscues were overshadowed by several categories.
Porter turned in a career outing with 12 points on four-of-eight shooting from the field. Porter also knocked down two shots from long range, including one that drew nothing but net during the second half. Earlier in the season, such shots by Porter had a tendency to bounce off the front or even the back of the iron.
Porter said his three-point shots have "have always been on target," but a change in routine may have led to his career-high outing.
"I've had to work on a few things," he said. "I don't know if I got it fixed or not. I've got to go back and look at film, but I'm trying to get my form back to where it was."
Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie wasn't surprised by Porter's four field goals.
"He made some shots today and that's more like the guy we'll see for the rest of the year," he said. "I think he can shoot the basketball, but I think it's going to be off other (players) penetration, inside-out and in transition. He needs some space. He has really improved."
Since his first career start against VMI, Porter has settled down and has shown marked improvement on both sides of the court. Gillispie said Porter's recent success can be attributed to a mental adjustment.
"He's got a lot of confidence right now," the Kentucky coach said. "He worked extremely hard all spring, summer and fall and he's worked extremely hard at it. I think he has really been a good player for us over the first 14 games."
Porter and the Cats held Central Michigan to just eight points and one field goal in the last 14 minutes of the first half to put the game away.
How good was Kentucky's defense during that stretch?
"The energy level was pretty high," Porter recalled. "It's the highest that it's been (this season). It had to be one of the top (defensive performances)."
Porter said the team takes each contest "one game at a time," but is looking forward to Sunday's contest against Louisville at Freedom Hall. Porter plans on keeping the same approach he's had since the mid-season turnaround.
"Every time we see a fan, they say รข??beat Louisville,' and that's all they want," he said. "I've always approached rivalry games like any other game. If you try to do too much or think too much, you don't play like you should."
Porter is just letting the game come to him more freely, which has yielded productive results.
