Indiana has another addition to their roster from the Transfer Portal. This time, it’s a former five-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American Kel’el Ware from Oregon.
On Monday, center Kel’el Ware announced his commitment to Mike Woodson and the Indiana Hoosiers. Ware began an official visit to Bloomington on Thursday last.
Ware played one season at Oregon and has three years of eligibility remaining. He averaged 6.6 points in 15 minutes during his time at Oregon.
Despite the large shoes to fill with the departure of Trayce Jackson-Davis to the NBA draft, the Hoosiers find a 7-foot athletic big that has the motor to run both ends of the floor. Ware will be equally friendly to Indiana guards as he has a large radius to catch. He has great touch around the rim and has a strong ability to navigate himself into scoring positions.
Draft experts compare him to Jarrett Allen.
Ware does shoot threes; however, for him to be a consistent threat, he will need to spend time over the summer working on his stroke. He shot 15 of 55 last season for the Ducks, good for just 27.3%.
Unlike Jackson-Davis, Ware has room to fill in his frame as an immediately apparent difference, and may not have the same success defending to the giant “back-to-the-basket” forwards that are plentiful in the Big Ten. Ware is not particularly known for his ability to put the ball on the floor, which will be interesting to see how Mike Woodson develops him in that area. (Jackson-Davis became a reasonably impactful component of the half court game for the Hoosiers last year in transitions).
Videos of Kel’el Ware
Featured Image: Kel’el Ware / Twitter