Kel'el Ware (born April 20, 2004) is an American college basketball player for the Indiana Hoosiers of the Big Ten Conference. He previously played for the Oregon Ducks.
No. 1 – Indiana Hoosiers | |||||||||||||||
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Position | Center | ||||||||||||||
League | Big Ten Conference | ||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
Born | Sherwood, Arkansas, U.S. | April 20, 2004||||||||||||||
Listed height | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | ||||||||||||||
Listed weight | 242 lb (110 kg) | ||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||
High school | North Little Rock (North Little Rock, Arkansas) | ||||||||||||||
College | |||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Early life and high school career edit
Ware grew up in North Little Rock, Arkansas and attended North Little Rock High School.[1] As a junior, he averaged 16.2 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 4.1 blocks per game. As a senior, Ware averaged 20.3 points, 12 rebounds, and 5.7 blocks per game.[2] He also played in the Jordan Brand Classic, Nike Hoop Summit, and the 2022 McDonald's All-American Boys Game during his senior year.[3][4][5]
Recruiting edit
Ware was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2022 class, according to major recruiting services.[6] On August 9, 2021, he committed to playing college basketball for Oregon over offers from Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Illinois, Kansas, Memphis, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech.[7] Ware was also offered a two-year contract for $900,000 from Overtime Elite, but he declined offer and maintained his commitment to Oregon.[8]
Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
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Kel'el Ware C |
North Little Rock, AR | North Little Rock (AR) | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Aug 9, 2021 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 93 | ||||||
Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 7 247Sports: 7 ESPN: 8 | ||||||
Sources:
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College career edit
Ware entered his freshman season at Oregon as the Ducks' second center.[9] He also entered the season as a potential first-round selection in the 2023 NBA draft.[10] After averaging 26 minutes played, 10.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks over the first nine games of the season, Ware saw a decline in playing time due to what Oregon's coaching staff believed to be an inconsistent work ethic.[11] He ultimately averaged 6.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game on the season. At the end of the season, Ware entered the NCAA transfer portal.[12]
Ware ultimately transferred to Indiana.[13] He started at center in the Hoosiers' season-opener against Florida Gulf Coast and recorded the first double-double of his college career with 13 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, three blocks, and two steals as Indiana won 69–63.[14] Ware set a new career-high with 22 points scored while also grabbing 12 rebounds on November 16, 2023, in a 89–80 victory over Wright State.[15] He re-set his career-high in scoring with 28 points in a 89–76 win over Harvard.[16] After the season, Ware declared for the 2024 NBA draft.[17]
National team career edit
Ware played for the United States under-18 basketball team at the 2022 FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship.[18] He was named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 15.7 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks as the United States won the gold medal.[19]
Career statistics edit
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
College edit
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
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2022–23 | Oregon | 35 | 4 | 15.8 | .457 | .273 | .712 | 4.1 | .5 | .4 | 1.3 | 6.6 |
2023–24 | Indiana | 30 | 30 | 32.1 | .586 | .425 | .634 | 9.9 | 1.5 | .6 | 1.9 | 15.9 |
References edit
- ^ Davenport, Richard (May 7, 2021). "THE RECRUITING GUY: Ware keeps motor running on high". The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
- ^ Davenport, Richard (January 26, 2022). "UA signees, Ware get all-star invite". The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
- ^ Streng, Nik (April 7, 2022). "Future Oregon Duck Kel'el Ware to play in Nike Hoop Summit". The Oregonian. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
- ^ Taylor, Erick (March 29, 2022). "Arkansas connections galore at McDonald's game". The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
- ^ Metzker, Graham (June 2, 2022). "Oregon Signee Kel'el Ware Named Finalist for USA Basketball U18 National Team". SI.com. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
- ^ Nemec, Andrew (January 19, 2022). "Updated rankings: Kel'el Ware, Oregon Ducks center signee, becomes consensus 5-star basketball prospect". The Oregonian. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
- ^ Hansen, Chris (August 9, 2021). "Oregon Ducks land another 5-star recruit as 7–0 center Kel'el Ware commits". The Register Guard. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
- ^ Nemec, Andrew (September 1, 2021). "Kel'el Ware, Oregon Ducks 5-star center pledge, declines $900,000 offer from Overtime Elite, remains committed: Report". The Oregonian. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
- ^ Prehm, Matt (November 9, 2022). "Dana Altman sees talent but also lots of room for improvement in newcomers Kel'el Ware, Keeshawn Barthelemy". 247Sports.com. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
- ^ Borzello, Jeff (November 2, 2022). "Newcomer Impact Rankings: Which men's college basketball freshmen, transfers will lead teams in 2022–23?". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
- ^ Crepea, James (March 27, 2023). "Oregon men's basketball center Kel'el Ware to enter transfer portal". The Oregonian. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
- ^ Borzello, Jeff (March 27, 2023). "Oregon's Kel'el Ware, former top-10 recruit, to enter portal". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
- ^ Borzello, Jeff (April 10, 2023). "Oregon center Kel'el Ware transferring to Indiana". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
- ^ "Indiana basketball beats FGCU thanks to Kel'el Ware, Gabe Cupps debuts". Indianapolis Star. November 7, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
- ^ "Kel'el Ware came to IU with point to prove. He's playing like it, and Hoosiers need it". Indianapolis Star. November 17, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
- ^ "Career games for Ware and Mgbako lead Indiana past Harvard 89-76". ESPN. November 26, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
- ^ "Indiana basketball sophomore Kel'el Ware declares for 2024 NBA draft". Indianapolis Star. March 26, 2024. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
- ^ Crepea, James (June 3, 2022). "Oregon signee Kel'el Ware to play for USA Basketball's U18 men's national team". The Oregonian. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
- ^ Crepea, James (June 13, 2022). "Oregon signee Kel'el Ware, USA Basketball's U18 men's national team win gold at Americas Championship". The Oregonian. Retrieved November 9, 2022.