Kentucky loses another basketball player to the transfer portal as roster remains in flux

A week before the transfer portal closes, another Kentucky basketball player has decided to seek out other opportunities.

Veteran forward Lance Ware — a 6-foot-9 junior from Camden, N.J. — announced Thursday morning that he will enter the portal and assess his options as his college career nears its end.

“My time at Kentucky has been a journey that has shaped me not only as a basketball player, but as a man,” Ware began in his departure announcement on social media. “... However, with every journey there comes a time when we need to make an important decision on which direction to turn towards next. That time is now for me.

“Although I have loved being part of Kentucky, being coached by a Hall of Famer and his tremendous staff and battling alongside my brothers day in and day out, it is time for me to take my next step.”

Ware — the No. 39 recruit in the 2020 class, according to the 247Sports composite rankings — played relatively sparingly in his three seasons with the Wildcats, but he gained the reputation as a high-energy, team-first player and emerged as a leader on this past season’s squad.

The 22-year-old came to Lexington amid the COVID-19 shutdown and actually received more playing time during his freshman year — 12.2 minutes per game — than in his two most recent seasons with the team. That freshman campaign ended with a 9-16 record, however, one of the lowest points in modern Kentucky basketball history.

Following that season, Ware’s classmate and close friend, Terrence Clarke, was killed in a car accident. Ware still has a photo of himself and Clarke on his Twitter profile and mentioned his late friend in Thursday’s announcement.

“I’ve really been through it all — COVID, the loss of my brother Terrence Clarke, amazing charity work, big wins, electric atmospheres in Rupp Arena, and during every step Big Blue Nation has been behind me,” Ware said. “Your support has easily been the best part of the journey.”

Ware averaged just 2.0 points and 2.0 rebounds in 9.9 minutes over 28 games during the 2022-23 season, mostly playing behind reigning national player of the year Oscar Tshiebwe but sometimes sharing the court with the fellow big man.

While not as polished as many of his Kentucky teammates, Ware’s energy was infectious, and his hard-playing, do-whatever-it-takes style — along with his outgoing personality off the court — made him a fan favorite.

UK Coach John Calipari left the door open for Ware to return to Kentucky in a statement later Thursday morning.

“Lance has gotten better every year,” Calipari said. “He’s an exceptional leader and as good a teammate as I’ve ever coached. He knows he is welcome to return if he doesn’t find the opportunity he’s looking for.”

Calipari then noted that Ware is the favorite player of his wife, Ellen.

“So I’m really not looking forward to telling her the news,” he said.

The UK coach named Ware a co-captain — along with senior teammate Jacob Toppin — going into the NCAA Tournament, saying then that the junior forward had earned the respect and trust of his teammates and emerged as a player that others listened to, even though his playing time was limited.

Ware told the Herald-Leader that it was “an honor” to receive that responsibility.

“I don’t know. Maybe everybody just likes me,” he quipped when asked why teammates look to him for direction. “I’m a fun guy. I’m fun to be around. … But I take that with great respect. It’s not something that comes easy. Especially when you meet new people, you have to earn their respect. And I’m happy that Cal thinks that I’ve earned everybody’s respect. That’s something that I take seriously — being able to have a mutual respect between me and my teammates.”

Ware was also named to the Southeastern Conference Community Service Team after last season.

What’s next for Kentucky?

Ware tallied 140 points and 170 rebounds over his 77 games as a Kentucky player, and he played double-digit minutes in just one game over the final eight weeks of the 2022-23 season.

His departure — assuming he follows through with a transfer and plays elsewhere next season — adds more questions to Kentucky’s frontcourt for the 2023-24 campaign.

The Cats missed out on No. 1-ranked transfer Hunter Dickinson — a 7-footer and former star player at Michigan — earlier Thursday morning, with the veteran center announcing that he would play at Kansas next season.

UK does get freshman center Ugonna Onyenso back. Onyenso flashed tremendous promise as a shot-blocker last season — 16 blocks in 110 minutes — but received limited playing time behind Tshiebwe. Five-star big man Aaron Bradshaw — a versatile 7-footer from New Jersey — is also one of the most highly touted players in UK’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class.

It’s also still possible that Tshiebwe will return for a third season with the Wildcats.

The All-American is currently going through the NBA Draft process and has until May 31 to make a final decision on his basketball future. The Herald-Leader was told this week that Tshiebwe has not yet received the kind of guarantee it would take to go all-in on the draft, and he has a few more workouts with NBA teams scheduled in the coming days. A decision on his future is expected in the next couple of weeks and sounds unlikely to stretch all the way to the May 31 deadline.

If Ware does leave, he would be the fourth Wildcat to depart via the transfer portal this offseason. Point guard Sahvir Wheeler has committed to Washington, and shooting guard CJ Fredrick recently announced that he will transfer to Cincinnati. Sophomore forward Daimion Collins — a former McDonald’s All-American — is also in the transfer portal.

Tshiebwe, senior guard Antonio Reeves and freshman forward Chris Livingston are all still testing the NBA Draft waters. Projected lottery pick Cason Wallace and Toppin have already announced that they will stay in the NBA Draft.

Onyenso and fellow freshman Adou Thiero were UK’s only other scholarship players going into last season. They are both expected to return next season, joining five incoming freshmen, prominent walk-on Brennan Canada and whoever else ends up on the Wildcats’ final 2023-24 roster. The deadline to enter the transfer portal is May 11.

If Tshiebwe stays in the NBA Draft, the Cats will probably be looking for more frontcourt help from the transfer portal.

While Ware’s accomplishments on the court at Kentucky were far from major, he clearly earned the respect of Calipari and his teammates. The UK coach often highlighted any positives by Ware during his postgame press conferences, on multiple occasions getting off topic to utter the phrase, “How about Lance?” while talking about Ware’s progress on the court.

The junior forward ended his announcement Thursday by referencing those instances.

“Being a member of the Big Blue family has been a dream come true,” Ware said. “And I’ll forever say, ‘How about those Cats?’”

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