WATCH: Lance Ware helps Bryce Hopkins' introduction to Kentucky Basketball

Over the first two weeks of June the Kentucky basketball team has hosted basketball camps around the state. The camps have served multiple purposes, allowing the program to give back to the Commonwealth. It’s also benefitted the team, giving players time to bond with one another, unlike anything they experienced last year.

After attending just three of the camps, it’s easy to spot the difference in this team. There is a level of experience and comfortability with one another that has not been seen often during the Calipari era. Jacob Toppin and Lance Ware are the two most charismatic personalities, spending most of their time goofing off with each other, the campers and parents. During one portion of the camp in E-Town, the two took the mic to the stands and asked Kentucky basketball trivia questions.

You cannot quantify the significance of the team’s maturity, but it is safe to say it’s helping the new guys come into their own.

“That’s like my big brother here,” freshman Bryce Hopkins said of Ware. “He’s just been showing me around, making me feel welcome, making me feel comfortable, simple stuff like that.”

The little things can make a big difference. Will being comfortable in front of a camera make Hopkins better at basketball? No, but it will help the fan base fall in love with this team. A day after Toppin tossed what Ware described as a “lame” question during the media scrum, Ware grabbed a microphone to see if Hopkins could respond while on his toes.

This Kentucky basketball team is having fun while turning a new page into the 2021-22 season. A group filled with mature players, the sky is the limit once John Calipari figures out how to correctly piece together this puzzle.