NBA Draft Scouting Report: Indiana's Kel’el Ware
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Kel’el Ware
Center | Indiana
Height: 7’0” | Weight: 220 lbs
2024 Draft Age: 20.17
Chris Pietsch/The Register Guard-USA TODAY NETWORK
Prospect Profile
A major play finisher and huge lob threat, Ware is one of the best vertical spacers at the college level. He’s a fluid center that runs the floor well, boasting his mobility.
Ware has a thin frame that sometimes struggles against physicality, but that should improve as he gets stronger moving forward. He’s got extremely long arms and is still fairly raw, but has great tools.
He isn’t necessarily the type of center you run an offense through, but the 7-footer is extremely versatile. He does a lot of the little things that impact winning. It will be interesting to see Ware as a sophomore in a new system at Indiana after his freshman campaign at Oregon was somewhat disappointing. To this point, he hasn’t been able to dominate a game offensively and sometimes goes long stretches without impacting that side of the ball.
While Ware isn’t a great 3-point shooter at this point, he’s at least willing to try and space the floor. His mechanics aren’t bad, but his release is slow and he doesn’t get much elevation on the jumper. He's got more upside than most bigs his age as a floor spacer, but still has work to do. It will be fascinating to see if he increases his volume from deep in year two at the college level.
It’s worth noting, Ware is a solid free throw shooter which can often indicate future 3-point success.
Closer to the rim, the 7-footer actually has good shooting touch. He’s got a high release point to go along with incredible standing reach that ensures his shot isn’t blocked or altered. He’s got good hands and has no trouble sealing off defenders to get the ball in a place to generate shots he wants.
Ware is a good offensive rebounder and a decent passer for his size. He’s also shown flashes of being able to handle the ball well for a 7-footer at times.
Where he’s really impactful is defensively, as he is very disruptive with his active hands. He’s great at clogging passing lanes and blocks a ton of shots. As a rim protector, the upside is extremely high with Ware. He’s also solid as a pick-and-role defender and isn’t a liability when switched onto a guard on the perimeter.
Ware wasn't able to emerge as a dominant big as a freshman at Oregon, but was that on him or more a result of the system he was in? His sophomore campaign as a Hoosier will have to be one in which he showcases the ability to take games over.
Ware was school teammates with Nick Smith Jr. at North Little Rock, where that dominant duo had a ton of success. He also played at the U18 Americas Championship and got the chance to showcase some things he hadn’t at the high school level.
At minimum, Ware should be a solid rim running big and paint protector moving forward.
Highlights
Draft Projection
First-Round Pick in 2024 NBA Draft.
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