Kentucky Basketball: Setting Pass/Fail Marks for Key Players in 2015-16

The college basketball regular season is less than two months away, which means it's time to start making legitimate predictions about each of the top teams in the nation.

At Kentucky, John Calipari will be working with a brand-new starting lineup with two stars returning from last year's run to the Final Four, one of whom was hurt for the majority of the year. 

Despite the lack of experience in the starting five, expectations are high as always in Lexington for the incoming batch of star freshmen as well as the veterans on the roster.

With the season looming around the corner, we decided to set pass and fail marks for each of the key players in the Kentucky lineup. 

The statistics listed in the pass category are the numbers we expect to see out of the stars on the Kentucky roster when the season ends. The numbers in the fail category mark what would be an absolute waste of a season for each.

Continue reading to see what our pass and fail marks are for each Kentucky starter.

Tyler Ulis

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Pass: 7.5 points per game, 3.8 assists per game, 41.0 field-goal percentage

Fail: 5.0 points per game, 2.5 assists per game, 35.0 field-goal percentage

Kentucky will rely on Tyler Ulis to dish the ball out to his teammates from the point guard position on countless occasions throughout the season. 

The sophomore set a high standard for himself in his freshman season by averaging 3.6 assists per game. To go along with that high number, Ulis was one of the team's top shooters at 40.6 percent. 

There is no doubt Ulis' point totals will rise given his increased role on the team, but how many points he scores per game isn't as important as the other two stats mentioned above. 

Improving on 3.6 assists per game will be tough, which is why we set 3.8 as a goal. Although Ulis will be the top distributor, the other guards in the starting lineup should be able to move the ball around with ease once they get acclimated to the college game. 

As for his numbers from the field, Ulis will also take more shots this season, but he may not throw up a ton of field goals like the shooters in the Kentucky lineup will. If he continues with his solid shot selection, Ulis should be able to remain above 40 percent. 

We expect plenty of progression from Ulis in his sophomore season, but if he somehow fails to improve on his numbers from last year, the Wildcats will be in trouble.

Isaiah Briscoe

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Pass: 9.5 points per game, 3.5 rebounds per game, 2.0 assists per game

Fail: 6.5 points per game, 2.0 rebounds per game, 0.5 assists per game 

Isaiah Briscoe enters Lexington following a successful senior season at Roselle Catholic High School in New Jersey where he averaged 20.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per contest. Obviously, those numbers will decrease as the competition gets better within the team for points and across the court. 

Along with fellow freshman Jamal Murray, Briscoe is expected to carry the scoring load in the backcourt. Given how much time he will see on the court, we expect him to push for a scoring average near double digits.

Briscoe's production in the assist department will undoubtedly drop given Ulis' positioning at the point, but the freshman should do enough to contribute a few dishes per game. As for the boards, Briscoe should be involved in the paint enough to snag a few rebounds in each game.

The worst-case scenario for Briscoe would see him contribute in a minor fashion in the rebound and assist categories and fail to be close to the team lead in scoring.

Jamal Murray

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Pass: 12.5 points per game, 3.5 rebounds per game, 3.0 assists per game

Fail: 7.0 points per game, 1.5 rebounds per game, 1.0 assists per game 

The true star of the Kentucky team this season could very well be Jamal Murray, who put on a show at the international level with Canada this summer. The reclassified class of 2015 guard should start to shoot up draft boards if his play from the summer extends into Kentucky's nonconference schedule. 

Due to his impressive output for Canada at the Pan American Games, Murray's expectations have grown for his first year in Lexington. The star player should be the top point producer out of the backcourt, and he has the potential to lead the team in scoring depending on how much success Skal Labissiere experiences during his freshman year. 

Murray should also be able to open up opposing defenses with his passing ability, which will be a welcome sight to Ulis, who will face a ton of pressure to thrive at the point. 

While a disappointing year in Lexington is unlikely, there is a small possibility Murray's youth will catch up with him and will need another year to adjust. The only way Murray's season is seen as a failure is if he ends up near the bottom on the team leaderboard in all three major stat categories. 

Alex Poythress

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Pass: 10.0 points per game, 6.5 rebounds per game, 46.5 field-goal percentage

Fail: 6.0 points per game, 4.0 rebounds per game, 40.0 field-goal percentage

In order to properly predict what Alex Poythress will do on the court this season, we have to go back to his freshman year to see what his numbers were like with a good amount of playing time. Three seasons ago, Poythress averaged 10.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while shooting 58.1 percent from the field. 

Poythress may not be seen as the top scoring option in the paint right away with Labissiere in the fold, but that assumption could help him grow back into his game. With less pressure on his shoulders, Poythress has the ability to turn into a strong second choice in the frontcourt when it comes to scoring. 

One thing we expect Poythress to do from the start of the season is pull down rebounds. If he can become a force down low on the defensive end, he will take some of the pressure off Labissiere. 

As for how Poythress will fare from the field, we set a passing mark at 46.5 percent, because we're not sure how many shots he will take in a specific game. What we do know is the big man was extremely accurate in his first two years at Kentucky. Our predicted mark may be a bit conservative compared to his career stats, but we do have to take into account his adjustment process to game speed over the first few nonconference games.

The greatest fear when it comes to players returning from injury is that they will not be able to replicate their strong numbers from years past. In Poythress' case, a failed senior season would entail a rough year on the boards and in the shooting department.

Skal Labissiere

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Pass: 13.5 points per game, 7.0 rebounds per game, 2.5 blocks per game

Fail: 7.5 points per game, 5.0 rebounds per game, 0.5 blocks per game

Kentucky fans were a bit spoiled with the team's tremendous frontcourt depth last season. With plenty of big names now in the NBA, the Wildcats will task Labissiere with filling the void left by Karl-Anthony Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein and Dakari Johnson. 

What Labissiere has that the big men from last season don't is a lack of competition for playing time at the center position. Since he will be the main man in the paint for the Wildcats, Labissiere should beat out the marks set by last season's leading scorer and rebounder. 

The big man from Haiti should receive plenty of opportunities to score from close range, which is why we set his passing mark so high. It will be fine if he scores a little less, but given his expected role, he should be able to reach that total.

When it comes to his defensive numbers, Labissiere should aspire to beat out Towns' 2014-15 team highs of 6.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. Labissiere will certainly earn the playing time to achieve those lofty goals, but just one string of a few bad games could halt his efforts to top Towns. 

It is hard to imagine Labissiere flaming out in his freshman year with the NBA looming in 2016. With that in mind, his fail marks are a bit higher than those of a normal big man. 

All statistics obtained from ESPN.com and UKAthletics.com.