Kel’el Ware has been a name that continues to rise up NBA Draft boards ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft next week, even enough to receive an invite to the Green Room in Brooklyn.
The former Indiana basketball center had a terrific season in his lone year in Bloomington, averaging 15.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.5 assists per game. He shot 56.8 percent from the field on the season, with his play earning him a spot on the All-Big Ten Second Team.
Ware finished this season ranked second in the Big Ten in rebounds per game, third in rebound percent, fourth in player efficiency rating, fifth in blocks per game, sixth in block percentage, eighth in total box plus/minus and 11th in offensive rating.
Not only did he push aside the ‘lazy’ narrative that followed him after his freshman season at Oregon, he wasn’t afraid to take that narrative head on and openly discuss it throughout the season.
Because of his play at Indiana and NBA Combine results, setting a combine-record among centers, Ware is now ‘generating realistic consideration in the late lottery’.
Ahead of the draft, ESPN insiders Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo released their final top-100 big board with Ware coming in at No. 24 overall.
“Ware is a bouncy finisher who runs like a guard, shoots the 3 with promising mechanics and even has some coordination and skill with the ball,” Givony wrote. “Talent was never a concern, but he still has questions to answer regarding his tenacity and awareness on both ends of the floor, something he did a good job of addressing last season.”
Related: The five best fits for former Indiana basketball player Kel’el Ware in the NBA
What NBA Scouts are saying about Kel’el Ware
As a freshman, Ware averaged just 12.5 minutes a game in conference play in the Pac-12. He was essentially taken out of the main rotation. He saw 10 or less minutes in a game in 10 of his 19 league games.
At Indiana, he averaged 32.7 minutes a game in Big Ten games and played 30+ minutes in 15 of the 18 conference games he appeared in.
What led to his increased production though was the consistent effort with the little things.
“He figured out how to be on the court and stay consistent, not just with the flashy plays but doing all the little things to help the team win,” an anonymous NBA scout told HoosierIllustrated.com about Kel’el Ware. “Like rolling hard every time even if you don’t get the ball but creates some room for somebody else. He did a nice job protecting the rim this year, did a good job rebounding. Some of the not so flashy things. Like at Oregon he may hit a three or block a shot and then get taken out and leave people wondering why. I thought he did a nice job playing the game and doing the right things more often.
“He has great natural touch around the basket and even with his jump shot. With his big catch radius and size he’s going to have an advantage in the NBA in those short roller type situations where he’s going to have to hit a floater or finish over the top of a help side defender. That’s going to be his bread and butter.”
The 2024 NBA Draft will take place June 26-27.
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