With basketball fully underway at all levels, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo updated their 2024 NBA mock draft.
In 2023 Indiana placed two players in the draft, and the ESPN duo believes the Hoosiers will see another player chosen next June.
IU big man Kel’el Ware is off to a strong start for coach Mike Woodson, averaging 17.7 points and 8.8 rebounds while shooting 63.9 percent from the field and showing off a diverse skill set.
ESPN projects Ware will be chosen in the first round next June, with the 22nd pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. That spot belongs to the Brooklyn Nets.
For Ware, the projection reflects a solidification of an outlook many had for the now 19-year-old coming out of high school.
Ware arrived in Bloomington after a freshman season in Oregon. The former McDonald’s All-American was widely expected to be a one-and-done performer for the Ducks.
But instead the 7-foot North Little Rock, Ark. product transferred to Indiana after one season with a reputation for not always playing with a high motor.
IU coach Mike Woodson said on Thursday he likes what he sees from Ware thus far early in the 2023-24 season.
“You have to come to practice with energy. You have to play hard. That was a knock on him,” Woodson said. “He is starting to figure that part of it out. So far this young season he’s been playing well for us.”
The Indiana men’s basketball program ranks seventh among all Division I programs with 27 players selected in the first round of the NBA Draft since its inception in 1947.
Indiana has produced two No. 1 overall picks, tied for third in the NCAA. In total, IU has had 79 players selected in the NBA Draft.
See also — A film study of Ware vs. Harvard:
IU basketball film study: The many facets of Kel’el Ware’s offensive skill set
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