Indiana is quietly making progress with one of the top big men in the transfer portal.
In fact, Oregon transfer center Kel’el Ware may be on campus in Bloomington for an official visit very soon according to sources. He is ranked as the No. 8 overall player in the portal according to On3, and the No. 2 center.
A former 5-star and national top-10 recruit in the class of 2022, Ware entered the portal a week ago. The 7-foot and 210 pound center from Little Rock, Ark. averaged 6.6 points and 4.1 rebounds in a mostly reserve role (15.8 mpg) during his freshman campaign in Eugene.
Ware started in 4 of the 35 games he appeared for the Ducks, but his role diminished over the course of the season. He shot 53.4 percent from two, 27.3 percent from three (on 55 attempts), and 71.2 percent from the free throw line. His block rate of 8.9 percent as a true freshman is comparable to Trayce Jackson-Davis’ senior season 9.0 percent, and his offensive/defensive rebound rates of 7.3/21.9 aren’t far off from TJD’s 10.1/24.8.
Ware attended North Little Rock High School in Arkansas. There he helped the Wildcats to consecutive state championships and averaged 21.2 points, 12.0 rebounds and 5.7 blocks. He was one of 10 players in the country to be named to the USA Basketball Nike Hoop Summit team. Ware was also a McDonald’s All-American, and earned trips to the Iverson Classic and Jordan Brand All-Star games. He was ranked sixth overall in the final 247Sports class of 2022 individual rankings.
Arkansas, Auburn, Memphis, Ole Miss and Duke seem to be other legitimate contenders for Ware. Assistant coach Yasir Rosemond is leading the way for IU.
Ware has three years of eligibility remaining.
For a complete recap of Indiana’s transfer portal targets and other IU and Big Ten roster activity, GO HERE:
IU basketball/Big Ten roster tracker: departures, additions and prospects (updated 6/9)
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