Noticing Michael Kidd-Gilchrist working out before breakfast, Wildcats coach John Calipari recounted how Michael Jordan organized early morning workout sessions with teammates, suggesting Kidd-Gilchrist persuade others to participate.

“I did,” Kidd-Gilchrist said. “It’s at 8:30 in the morning. It’s just lifting and shooting (before breakfast). We just want to get better.”

Gilchrist was soon joined by point guard Marquis Teague, sophomores Terrence Jones and Jarrod Polson, and finally fellow freshman Kyle Wiltjer and Anthony Davis. Taking a page from Jordan, the Wildcats refer to themselves as the “Breakfast Club.”

“I’m going to go tomorrow,” Teague said. “People will come on certain days. If they wake up early enough to go, they go. … Coach Cal just mentioned it. He talked about how Michael Jordan’s team did it. He just said it’s something we should take into consideration, and we just did it.”

By establishing an early morning workout regimen, Kidd-Gilchrist has evolved into one of the team’s best leaders.

“I want to be a leader now, so I just want to step into that role,” he said, noting that Calipari picked him to start it because he noticed “I’m always in the gym. I’m just getting better and better and, as y’all saw in the Indiana game and the UNC game, it’s just showing.”