Meet the 2022-23 Kentucky Wildcats: Lance Ware brings the energy his teammates crave
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Need to know: Where every Wildcat fits for 2022-23
Meet every member of the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team through a series of preseason stories.
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We’re getting to know all 15 of the 2022-23 Kentucky Wildcats. Here is what to expect from one of the UK juniors. Watch Kentucky.com for stories about all of the remaining Cats as the preseason unfolds.
Lance Ware
Uniform number: 55.
Height/weight: 6-9, 235.
Position: Forward.
Class: Junior.
Age: 21.
Hometown: Camden, N.J.
High school: Camden.
Ware’s role in 2022-23: Ware played 12.1 minutes per game as a freshman and saw that time cut significantly last season, mostly thanks to the emergence of Oscar Tshiebwe as the best player in college basketball.
John Calipari has talked up Ware at just about every opportunity this offseason, saying the third-year Wildcat continues to make strides in his game and seems primed for a step forward. The UK coach has noted multiple times in recent months that Ware — a gritty competitor who likes to mix it up with a physical style — played at 217 pounds last season. Calipari told Ware he wanted him to add weight for his junior season, and he was checking in at about 233 pounds by mid-October.
“So now all of a sudden you got Lance more physical and able to hold his position,” Calipari said. “He makes it hard.”
Even if Ware has improved this offseason, it’ll be difficult for him to carve out a major role with Tshiebwe likely commanding 30ish minutes every game.
Still, Ware has proven to be a spark off the bench in the past — his teammates say they thrive off his energy — and he said recently that he’s been working on his face-up game in hopes of playing some minutes at the “4” position, which would allow him to be on the court alongside Tshiebwe in certain situations.
This story was originally published November 4, 2022 at 7:40 AM.
