Kentucky Basketball: What to Expect from Wildcats' Upperclassmen in 2014-15

It is the job of upperclassmen in sports to provide leadership—both on and off the court—tapping into their vast experience to help guide younger players through the rigors of a season. At least, that's how it works for college basketball teams that regularly have upperclassmen who fit that description.

With Kentucky coach John Calipari's trend of loading up on freshman talent—knowing full well much of it will be done after a year—the approach in Lexington hasn't involved as much of the mentor-student dynamic among teammates as you'd see at other schools.

But that's not the case this season, where the Wildcats not only have five upperclassmen on the roster, but two of them have extensive playing time under their belt.

Junior forwards Willie Cauley-Stein and Alex Poythress are the grizzled veterans (both turned 21 during the offseason) for the latest Kentucky team that's stocked with talented underclassmen. There's even more than normal, as the somewhat surprising return of twin guards Aaron and Andrew Harrison makes the sophomore class the largest one on the roster with seven.

But while Calipari will be able to look to those second-year players for leadership and on-court guidance as well, it will more come down to what Cauley-Stein and Poythress are able to do in that realm that could be the key to Kentucky's season.

It will be a two-pronged assignment for the juniors, one that's part performance and part example:

Performance

A part-time starter in both of his seasons, the 7'0", 240-pound Cauley-Stein looks ready to emerge as a go-to player, after being more of a role guy who played a backseat to Kentucky's more aggressive frontcourt players. That was Nerlens Noel in his freshman year, Julius Randle last season.

There's no more waiting in the shadows, though, not if he wants to move to the next level.

"How Cauley-Stein develops on the court as a junior will undoubtedly be the biggest factor in his NBA draft stock and will likely say much about Kentucky's success as a team," wrote Jon Hale of CatsPause.com.

Playing with the Harrison twins, Poythress and freshman Karl-Anthony Towns, Cauley-Stein was part of the opening platoon for Kentucky in its exhibition against Pikeville. Towns was the offensive star with 22 points, but Cauley-Stein did his job by making all five of his shots and finishing with a unit-high six rebounds in 19 minutes.

For Poythress, the 6'8", 238-pounder has to use his length and driving ability, as well as his penchant for outside shooting, to become a matchup nightmare. He's shown flashes of this over this career, such as when he had 16 points last season against Texas A&M or his four straight 20-point games as a true freshman.

But other times, Poythress has almost disappeared, and his production was nearly cut in half from his freshman to sophomore years. This season, he needs to maximize his talents, with Bleacher Report's Bobby Reagan noting that a strong defensive game could be the best way to stand out.

"During his sophomore year, he began to develop into a shutdown defender on the wing while also being a rim protector, averaging about a block a game," Reagan wrote. "Poythress can turn into the best defender on this team because of his versatility."

Example

Numbers and production are one thing, but just as essential for Cauley-Stein and Poythress this season are their roles as leaders and trendsetters.

Having been a part of the program longer than most of Calipari's stable of studs, they have knowledge and an understanding of the environment that can be passed on to the newest players, particularly forwards Towns and Trey Lyles.

That overabundance of big men was one of the many reasons Calipari opted to try out the platoon system, but even that spread-the-wealth approach isn't going to guarantee everyone will be satisfied with their time.

That's where the veterans step in, noting how they each went through similar situations in the past and are better because of it.

The playing time issue is often one of the most strife-causing, especially when there are a multitude of capable contributors who could all get far more minutes if they were to go elsewhere.

Kentucky has lost players to this, just like everyone else, but Cauley-Stein and Poythress can cite their own experiences in the program as a way to weather the storm and make the most of the opportunities given.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.