Kentucky Wildcat Basketball 2011 Recruiting: Ex Vol Kevin Ware could be a possibility for John Calipari

I know, the Kentucky Wildcat’s Final Four run is barely over, but now the big question in the Bluegrass is “Who is going to fill out the 2011 recruiting class”?  Despite it closing in on mid-April, there are still a few quality candidates out there and a new name has emerged for the 2011 class.

Kevin Ware was a member of Bruce Pearl’s 2011 class at Tennessee but he recently asked for and was granted his release from the Vols when Pearl was fired.  Ware, at 6’4, is the 14th best shooting guard in the 2011 class and is ranked by Rivals as the 56th best prospect overall.  He hails from Conyer, Georgia, and the recent news that Trey Thompkins will not return to Georgia and that Travis Leslie may not certainly will open up a roster spot for him with the Bulldogs. 

“That’s big for my decision with those guys leaving.  It definitely opens up a scholarship for me, and if [Leslie] sticks with the NBA, then it would give me the opportunity to compete for more playing time next year.”

The big schools are already lining up for Ware and as of now, he says that Louisville is a leader for his services, followed (in order) by UCLA, Georgia and Central Florida. All four of those schools have offered, as well as Georgetown, Florida State, Baylor, and Virginia. Kentucky seems to be interested and according to Ware, the Wildcat coaches expect Brandon Knight to leave for the NBA:

“I know Kentucky is interested. They expect Brandon Knight to leave for the NBA, and if that happens, then they would be interested in offering a scholarship. I’m not sure how I feel about Kentucky. It’s a great school, but they already have a lot of guards.”

As we always do when we introduce a new prospect, here is what ESPN has to say about Mr. Ware:

"Strengths:Ware is a tremendous pure athlete who is learning every day how to play the game of basketball. Many have compared him to Randy Moss who has been one of the better athletes of his time. Ware has consistently improved his overall game and shooting ability over the past year. When he has a good point guard with him that allows him to get out on the break there could be none better in the class at finishing above the rim. Ware is the true meaning of slasher who has made himself a more consistent pull-up jump shooter inside the arc. Weaknesses:Kevin has struggled at times with his perimeter stroke behind the arc. He has been very inconsistent which must improve. Most of those shots came off the dribble where he was responsible for creating for himself. At times this summer when put into a primary ball-handling role his struggles with ball-handling were revealed. The pressure sped him up at times and he was turnover prone when the ball was in his hands. The one surprise was his lack of great hands. He seemed to struggle catching balls and grabbing rebounds because he lacks soft hands. Bottom Line:Kevin is a high-flying athlete. When you put him in a fullcourt press where he can use his wing span and quick twitch athleticism the sky could be the limit. He’ll need to find a a situation where he can hide his deficiencies in skill level long enough to let them develop."

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