{"id":33800,"date":"2025-02-15T09:45:08","date_gmt":"2025-02-15T09:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=33800"},"modified":"2025-02-15T09:45:08","modified_gmt":"2025-02-15T09:45:08","slug":"news-heat-cash-in-dropped-lottery-ticket-with-rising-star-kelel-ware","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=33800","title":{"rendered":"NEWS: Heat cash in dropped Lottery ticket with rising star Kel’el Ware"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN FRANCISCO<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 Kel\u2019el Ware\u2019s rookie season with the Miami Heat snuck up on more than a few NBA fans, insiders and casuals alike.<\/p>\n

Bobby Portis wasn\u2019t one of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cHeard about him when he was in sixth grade,\u201d Portis said after his Milwaukee Bucks played host to Ware and the Heat late last month. \u201cHe had a lot of raw talent but at first his biggest thing was, he didn\u2019t have a motor. He didn\u2019t really play hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite their age gap, Portis, 30, had an early line on the 20-year-old Ware because his younger brother Jamaal Summons played on the same AAU team as the Miami rookie. The Portises are from Little Rock, Arkansas. Ware? North Little Rock.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like that he\u2019s with the Heat because obviously they\u2019ll instill that [motor] in him,\u201d Portis said. \u201cHe\u2019ll work and then he\u2019ll just keep getting better. His upside is limitless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ware had to be doing some things right along the way. He helped North Little Rock High to a 70-10 record in his last three years there, won two consecutive state championships and averaged 20.3 points, 12.0 rebounds and 5.7 blocked shots per game as a senior.<\/p>\n

By the way, Ware\u2019s unusual first name came straight out of the DC Comics universe. His parents Tamika and Cedrick Spaight liked\u00a0the name Superman was born with\u00a0\u2014 Kal-El \u2014 up on the fictional planet of Krypton. They tinkered with the spelling a bit, and here we are.<\/p>\n

Ware, asked when he started to think about the NBA as a possibility, told NBA.com: \u201cI\u2019d probably say 10th grade. That\u2019s when I first started to receive offers from schools.\u201d<\/p>\n

The one he chose was Oregon, where Ware ran into some tough coaching from the Ducks\u2019 Dana Altman. At one point, addressing Ware\u2019s lackadaisical approach, Altman said: \u201cIf he\u2019s playing hard, that would help us. But if he\u2019s not, that hurts us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The freshman averaged 15.8 mpg, 6.6 ppg and 4.1 rpg, then decided to take his talents to Bloomington, Ind., and the Big Ten. Hoosiers coach Mike Woodson \u2014 who was a former NBA player and coach \u2014 challenged Ware to rev up, warning him about the reputation he was getting.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the second effort,\u201d Woodson said. \u201cWhen we first got him, that didn\u2019t even exist in terms of him making second and third efforts to try to go get the basketball. A lot of it was he just hadn\u2019t been taught and pushed to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taking fewer possessions off, Ware\u2019s production at Indiana soared. Last season the 7-footer averaged 15.9 ppg and 9.9 rpg and 32.2 mpg on 58.6% shooting.<\/p>\n

Yet for the first half of this season, Ware\u2019s wares stayed hidden under a bushel. As the\u00a015th selection in the Draft, he fell just outside the lottery. He played well in Summer League, but that guaranteed him nothing once Heat training camp opened. Only those in the practice gym knew what was happening.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best quality he has away from the games is, he stays in that gym,\u201d veteran Heat big man Kevin Love said. \u201cIt is part of the culture here, but every time we\u2019re in the gym, he\u2019s there. He\u2019s putting the time in, in the weight room, on the floor with [assistant coach] Malik Allen, with Bam [Adebayo], with myself. He\u2019s facing this head-on.\u201d<\/p>\n