Unselfish Lance Ware giving Cats key contributions off bench
On a team that features four players who have scored 25 or more points in a game, one who has broken a school record, and another who is in contention for national player of the year honors, it can be difficult for a Lance Ware to stand out.
That's what the sophomore forward has done, however, in providing No. 5 Kentucky with important minutes off the bench in relief of star big man Oscar Tshiebwe.
"When I get into a game, I try to provide as much energy as possible, to provide a spark," Ware said on Tuesday ahead of the Wildcats' matchup with Vanderbilt.
Ware's averages of 1.9 points and 1.9 rebounds per game are not going to earn him much time on SportsCenter, or even the local sports segment, but the 6-foot-9 New Jersey native has drawn praise from his coaches for his contributions to UK's surging 17-4 club.
"Unbelievable how he's playing," Kentucky head coach John Calipari said after Ware scored four points and grabbed four rebounds in the Cats' 80-62 win at Kansas. "... He's gotten so much better, so much more confident. More competent, which is why he's more confident.
"But I told him, you're playing behind this -- I don't even know what the heck (to call Tshiebwe) -- this unique (player)... You're behind him, so whatever minutes you get, you've got to take advantage of them."
Added UK assistant coach Chin Coleman: "We talk about being ready when your number is called. No one has done that to the level that Lance has done it."
In playing behind Tshiebwe, who is averaging 16.3 points and a nation-leading 15.1 rebounds per game, Ware has seen his minutes slip from 12 per game as a freshman to less than seven as a sophomore. But after being on a team that went 9-16 last season and missed the NCAA Tournament, he has a better appreciation for his current role.
"It's the cards I was dealt," Ware said. "Oscar is really good, and the way he's playing right now is just unbelievable... I just want to help my team win every single game."
That's not a throwaway line, either.
"He's the biggest cheerleader for the other guys," Coleman said of Ware, who can often be spotted standing applauding his teammates from the bench.
On Monday during his weekly radio call-in show, Calipari said Ware has been a big example of the Cats "buying in" this season.
"One of the things I try to tell these guys, and I told them again today, is you have to understand 95% of the players in the NBA are role players," Calipari said. "... So then it becomes, if you want to be a professional, what's your role? What would it be? It ain't gonna be, 'I'm gonna take all the shots.' That's eighth-grade basketball. 'If I score more, I'm going to be more of a star.' Sorry.
"Be the star at your role. That may be defending or being long. Making mid-level shots. Knowing as a secondary scorer, I'm shooting a high percentage. I'm going to rebound. I'm going to fight. If it's a 50/50 (ball) I'm going to get it because I want to win. That's what you win with."