Kentucky Basketball: Each Projected Starter's Top Priority in 2015-16

Now that we finally know what the Kentucky Wildcats' starting lineup will look like during the 2015-16 season following the commitment of Jamal Murray, it is time to start assigning roles and goals to the five players. 

Each of the five projected starters brings a different skill set to the table, which will help head coach John Calipari bring out the best in a team that is expected to contend for a national championship with Murray in the fold. 

Regardless of what specific role each starter is expected to fill, all will face comparisons to last season's exceptional group of talent. In order to quell the talk about the 2014-15 team, the current batch of Wildcats will have to thrive despite the lack of depth the squad will have at times.

Continue reading to see what the top priority for each Kentucky starter should be for the 2015-16 season. 

Tyler Ulis: Become the Top Passer in the Nation

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This may seem like quite the lofty expectation for Tyler Ulis to meet in his sophomore season, but if the Wildcats are to tear apart opposing defenses, the guard will have to be at his best for every game. 

With plenty of impressive scorers around him on the court, Ulis will not have to worry about being the team's top contributor in the scoring department this season. Ulis may be the leading scorer in one or two contests, but it will not happen often. 

Since he doesn't have to worry about scoring, Ulis should spend the rest of his offseason focusing on becoming the best passer in the nation. If he enhances his passing abilities, which led him to 3.6 assists per game in his freshman season, few defenses will be able to stop him and his teammates. 

Isaiah Briscoe: Turn into the Best All-Around Guard on the Team

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Isaiah Briscoe is in an interesting predicament now that Murray is a part of the squad for the upcoming season. 

Briscoe was expected to shoulder much of the scoring load in the backcourt, but now that the dynamic Murray is in the fold, the New Jersey native can focus on turning himself into an all-around guard. 

We all know Ulis can deliver the ball to others and Murray can score well, but if the Wildcats had a guard who did both exceptionally well, they could settle the debate on who has the best backcourt in the nation. 

If Briscoe can improve on his all-around game, he will not only enhance Kentucky's national championship odds, but he will also boost his stock in preparation for the NBA.

Jamal Murray: Score

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Choosing Murray's top priority was a simple process. 

The Canadian prospect will be tasked with being the team's top scorer in every game he plays this season. As if that wasn't enough pressure for the guard, he will also have to prove his critics wrong following his reclassification to the class of 2015. If he fails to succeed for some reason, people will wonder if he needed an extra year to mature as a player before taking the next step. 

We don't expect Murray to become a flop based on his recent production at the high school level, and the attention he's already getting from the next level suggests he will be nothing short of a star in Lexington. The 6'5" playmaker ranked 12th on David Gardner of Sports Illustrated's list of the top 30 prospects for the 2016 NBA draft. 

Since he should live up to the hype, expect Murray to average double digits in points for the majority of the year. 

Alex Poythress: Be the Rare Senior Leader in the Locker Room

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Alex Poythress enters the 2015-16 campaign with a quality we have rarely seen in one of Calipari's collegiate starting lineups. 

The senior forward is expected to become one of the few upperclassmen in recent memory to start among the young stars and McDonald's All-Americans in the Kentucky lineup. Poythress' presence may turn out to be immense in the long run since he will be surrounded by a group of four players with one combined year of experience entering the new collegiate season. 

The big man is expected to be either the top or second-best rebounder on the team as well, but he may get recognized more for his intangibles as the season progresses. 

Skal Labissiere: Make Everyone in Lexington Forget About Karl-Anthony Towns

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Karl-Anthony Towns is no longer a Kentucky Wildcat, but his shadow will loom large over the next dominant big man to enter the program. 

With that in mind, Skal Labissiere needs to find a way to make people forget about the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NBA draft as soon as possible. Whether it is through a few highlight moments near the rim or by way of a strong defensive performance against a big team, Labissiere must lay the foundation to create his own one-year legacy. 

Putting the attention on himself instead of last year's squad will also help his teammates, who will be compared to the stars who held their respective roles last year. 

If he escapes the shadow of Towns early in the season, Labissiere should be able to average around 10 to 12 points and seven rebounds per game. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.