Former IU star Kel'el Ware not playing much with Miami yet but embracing development

INDIANAPOLIS -- Being back in Indy didn't bring back a ton of memories for Kel'el Ware, as he only played one game here in his college career. His performance was spectacular -- he scored 28 points on 12 of 13 shooting against Harvard on Nov. 26, 2023 -- but a one-off quasi-neutral site game against an Ivy League opponent doesn't tend to feature too prominently in the memory of a Big Ten player.

So the former Indiana center made a point to make the journey down to Bloomington a few times while he was in town with the Miami Heat for two games with the Pacers over the weekend, visiting on Thursday for practice and then Saturday for IU's win over South Carolina. He and several teammates, including fellow former IU center Thomas Bryant, visited Assembly Hall for that game.

"It felt good being back in Bloomington," Ware said. "I didn't get to spend much time in Indianapolis. ... It was nice just being around the coaches who were there when I was there and even the players. It was a great experience."

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Ware obviously wasn't in Indiana long, spending his sophomore year here after playing his freshman season at Oregon and then entering the NBA draft after. However, Ware's lone season with the Hoosiers clearly did a lot to make him NBA ready. He arrived at Oregon as a blue-chip recruit out of North Little Rock High School in Arkansas, ranked No. 7 nationally in the recruiting class of 2022, but he started just four of 35 games as a freshman and averaged a modest 6.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. Questions were raised about whether the 7-foot, 210-pounder had enough of a motor to be a successful professional.

But Ware found a different gear in Bloomington, averaging 15.9 points and 9.9 rebounds per game while shooting 58.6% from the field and 42.5% from 3-point range, turning himself from an afterthought in the 2023 draft to a first-rounder in 2024. He was selected by the Heat with the 15th pick, the exact halfway point of Round 1.

"It was really just all-around," Ware said when asked what about his time in Bloomington prepared him for the NBA. "Getting stronger, working with (strength coach Cliff Marshall). Being on the court, learning from (Mike Woodson) and his coaches."

Playing time hasn't been very easy to come by on a team as established as the Heat who reached the NBA Finals in 2023. In Bam Adebayo, they have a three-time All-Star, five-time All-Defensive Team pick and two-time Olympic gold medalist as their starting center and veteran starting power forward Kevin Love can also play the 5. Ware has appeared in just seven games and is averaging 6.7 minutes per game so far, scoring 2.6 points per game in those outing.

But in situations where Ware has had more opportunity, he's played well. He was spectacular in the Heat's eight summer league games in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas as well as two games in the California Classic, averaging 18.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. In preseason play, he averaged 8.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, scoring 16 points and grabbing seven rebounds in the Heat's final preseason game.

"I really like the way he's developed," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "He's embraced us and the structure. He's responded well to it. He's already responded very well in the weight room, gotten a lot stronger and then he's just been diligent, working. Is it going to be perfect? You know, no. He still has a lot of things to learn and figure out where he can be most effective in his role. But if he continues to stack days with intention the way he has been, he's going to improve very quickly."

And even though he isn't playing much, Ware said he's making a point to be as much of a sponge as he can, taking in the Heat's well-regarded culture and to lean from Adebayo specifically.

"It's just being willing to learn everything I can," Ware said, "and being willing to add it to my game."