Kentucky Basketball: Wildcats Who'll Take Biggest Leap Forward in 2015-16

Plenty of new faces will be on the Kentucky Wildcats roster for the 2015-16 season, but there are a few returners who will be asked to step into bigger roles this season as well. 

Unlike some of John Calipari's recent teams, the 2015-16 edition of the Wildcats carries a good amount of experience into the regular season. In addition to a few older players, the Wildcats have a strong sophomore who is ready to take the reins of the offense. 

Due to the bigger roles the older players will have, we should expect them to progress over the next nine months, but who will take the biggest leap forward? 

Below we will try to answer that question about Calipari's latest crop of Wildcats.

Tyler Ulis

Predicting Tyler Ulis to be the most improved player on the Kentucky roster seems like a no-brainer based off of what his role will be this year compared to last year. 

During his freshman season, Ulis split time with the Harrison twins and Devin Booker at the guard position. As he enters his second collegiate campaign, Ulis will be the main man at the point for the Wildcats. 

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Ulis put together some solid numbers during the 2014-15 season, as he led Kentucky in assists per game with 3.6 and played 23.8 minutes per contest. 

The numbers we expect Ulis to improve on are his points per game, steals per game and even rebounds per game as he becomes a more integral part of the lineup. 

Not only will Ulis make a leap forward statistically, but also he will have a chance to grow mentally and physically as the NBA comes calling. 

Marcus Lee

Although he will be overshadowed by the entrance of Skal Labissiere to the starting lineup and the return of Alex Poythress, Marcus Lee has the potential to turn himself into a key contributor off the bench. 

The junior from California featured in a minimal role off the pine in his sophomore season, as he averaged just under 11 minutes per game and contributed 2.7 rebounds per contest. 

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At some point in the season, the Wildcats will face an opponent that thinks it will match up well with them in the frontcourt. If Lee can turn into a solid first replacement option in the frontcourt, he will be able to hand Kentucky the upper hand against some frontcourt-heavy lineups. 

Although we aren't expecting superstar-like numbers from Lee, we should see him improve his minutes and rebounds per contest. If he gets around the bucket enough, he could also make an impact in the points department. 

Dominique Hawkins

One player who may not see a ton of playing time but will improve his resume when he does step on the court is Dominique Hawkins. 

The junior guard hasn't produced much in his first two seasons, but with depth not a massive strength like it was in the past, Hawkins could mold himself into a decent contributor during times of need for Kentucky. 

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A big leap forward in Hawkins' case would be averaging 10 minutes per game after his total dropped 1.5 minutes from his average of 8.6 his freshman season. 

As for the other major stat categories, if Hawkins can average somewhere around five points per game, it would be seen as a massive success. 

We don't expect a ton out of Hawkins this season, but he definitely has a chance of contributing if the starting guards get in foul trouble.