Folks typically wait until the turn of the new year to make their annual resolutions. UK's Terrence Jones decided to make his a day early.

With his pinky still giving him problems, Jones resigned himself to the defensive end and came away with 11 rebounds and three steals.

Chastised by coach John Calipari at times last season for his selfishness, Jones, still bothered by a dislocated left pinky-finger suffered against Chattanooga Dec. 17, decided to put his offense on the back burner during the Cats' 69-62 win over Louisville at Rupp Arena Saturday.

Despite scoring just two points on 1 of 9 shooting, for the second consecutive year, Jones had a huge impact on UK's win over its archrival without scoring a bushel full of points. Last season, it was Jones drawing repeated double teams and dishing out a game-high five assists, namely to teammate Josh Harrellson for easy buckets which led to a career-high 23 points.

Saturday, Jones resigned himself to the defensive end, corralling 11 boards (eight defensive) and coming up with three steals in an impactful 30 minutes of action.

"Coach Cal told him that if his offense isn't going just go rebound. That's what he did," UK freshman Anthony Davis said. "He's starting to find his way back.

Jones also bodied the Cardinals' Chane Behanan, Rakeem Buckles and Gorgui Dieng in the absence of Anthony Davis in the first half, helping limit the Louisville interior trio to 4 of 12 shooting and just 11 points.

"I think he did a great job of playing defense," UK senior Darius Miller said. "I feel like he played pretty good, especially with his finger being hurt. It's been tough on him recently."

Playing with a wrap on his injured finger, Jones readily admits it has affected his shooting and instead focused his energies solely on rebounding, where UK held a considerable 57-31 advantage on the glass.

"I didn’t even care. I was just playing, really, just to rebound," Jones said. "I wouldn’t shoot unless they gave it to me or unless I was wide open because I know I can’t really shoot right now. I was just supposed to be the rebounder. That’s what I’ve been focusing on the last two games because I know my hand is messed up and I can’t play 100 percent. I just want to help my team win."

While he admits that Jones is still struggling offensively, Calipari says he took a step in the right direction not only in coming all the way back from injury, but being the All-American many predicted him to be in the pre-season.

"Terrence took strides to come back," Calipari said. "He's not there yet. I think within the next week and a half, he'll be fine. He went in there, got 11 rebounds. He battled and did what we needed him to do."

While most new year's pledges often come and go by the wayside, for the Cats to hang banner No. 8, they'll need Jones' to be resolute.