What happened to Kel’el Ware’s production on the Oregon men’s basketball team?
A guy who showed promise in the former part of the 2022-2023 season with his four double digit shooting performances and stints of multiple blocks per game has seen his role diminish this month.
“I was disappointed in his effort. I let him know that. He’s going to have to make some adjustments, or I’ve got to make some decisions,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said. “His time has been reduced. That doesn’t help us, because he is talented.”
Over the last 14 games, he has averaged a modest 9.6 minutes and 32.7 field goal percentage per game.
This has been a stunning realization to Ducks fans.
Ware arrived in Eugene on July 1, 2022, as the prized recruit of the 2022 class.
The Little Rock, Arkansas, native towers over defenders with his 7 feet, 210 pound frame. According to 247 Sports, he was a 5-star recruit, ranked No. 7 overall in his class and was considered to be a one-and-done NBA prospect.
Ware had four double-digit scoring outings in the beginning of the season albeit in the first month of play, where he posted 13, 16, 17 and a career-high 18 points.
Since then, he only produced double-digits once, which came in the Dec. 31, 2022 victory over in-state rival Oregon State University.
In the postgame conference, Altman made sarcastic remarks about Ware’s showing, conveying that he hadn’t been pleased with the efforts of the heralded freshman.
“At least [Ware] acted like he wanted to be here tonight,” Altman said. This came in part to a compliment about Ware’s energy on the floor.
“At this level you have to play way harder than high school, of course,” Ware said. “It’s all mental really. You got to pick it up.”
When asked about his transition from high school to college, Ware responded candidly.
“Like coach Altman would say, ‘You got to just play with energy. Just play like you want to be there,’” he said. “I feel like if I do that and bring the motor every game, then I feel like we’ll be good.”
The subsequent matchup against the Colorado Buffaloes — where Oregon got blown out 68-41 — was when Altman reduced Ware’s minutes by half.
Prior to this occurrence, he played 22.5 minutes per contest during the months of November and December.
It’d be unfair to discount the emergence of sophomore center Nate Bittle of Central Point, OR. Another former 5-star recruit from the 2021 class, he was viewed as a project when he signed and has averaged 19 points since the Colorado contest.
Bittle’s 7-foot, 215 pound physique provides the Ducks with a long and wiry rim protector next to star center N’Faly Dante (5-star in ‘19 class).
Bittle has posted 19.3 minutes, 6.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks while he’s provided a veteran presence after riding the pine most of his freshman year.
Perhaps this is Altman’s strategy toward Ware, if the center decides to stay another year.
It will be interesting to see if the Ducks can secure a bid to go dancing this mark or if they make some noise in the National Invitation Tournament.
Stay tuned to see if Ware provides a promising glimpse of what the future holds, when Oregon (16-13, 10-8) hosts the Stanford Cardinal (12-17, 6-12) on March 4 at 1 p.m.
