The Miami Heat NBA Summer League roster will have some IU flair next month.
Former Hoosiers center Kel’el Ware will be playing a second season with the Heat, and he’ll be joined this summer by his successor on the low block in Bloomington.
Multiple outlets have reported Oumar Ballo will play for the Heat this summer as he vies for a professional role.
Ballo averaged 13 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 62.3 percent from the field for Indiana last season. The 22-year-old 7-footer started his college career at Gonzaga and Arizona before transferring to IU for his final college season.
As a rookie for Miami, Ware averaged 9.3 points and 7.4 rebounds a game. He also shot 55.4% from the field and was voted to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. The Heat seem to be very encouraged by Ware’s potential. According to ClutchPoints’ NBA insider Brett Siegel, Miami “had been unwilling” to include Ware in any trade offer for Kevin Durant.
Meanwhile, former Hoosier Tamar Bates went undrafted but signed a two-way deal with the Denver Nuggets, meaning he’ll be able to bounce between the G-League and NBA. Bates was right on the bubble when it came to the possibility of being drafted in the second round.
Bates began his career at Indiana before transferring to Missouri ahead of the 2023-24 campaign. He was a team captain and played a key role in getting Missouri to the NCAA Tournament in 2025.
While he struggled to carve out a major role at IU, Bates was a major producer at Missouri, nearly posting 50-40-90 shooting splits while averaging 13.3 points and 2.8 rebounds over his two seasons in Columbia.
At nearly 6-foot-4 with more than plus-6 wingspan, Bates has a good chance to play professionally for a long time, and he’ll likely see NBA action next season.
Finally, it’s worth mentioning new IU coach Darian DeVries had a player get drafted on Thursday.
Javon Small thrived under DeVries at West Virginia in 2024-25. He was named to the All-Big 12 First Team and was an AP All-American Honorable Mention with 18.6 points, 5.6 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 36.1 minutes as a senior for the Mountaineers.
An Indiana native, Small was selected by the Grizzlies with the No. 48 overall pick in the draft. DeVries and his staff can point to Small’s season at West Virginia to prospective recruits as an illustration of a path to the league.
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