Sophomore guard Kevin Ware was expected to be one of the most improved players for Rick Pitino’s team this season. Ware played very briefly as a true freshman in 2011-12 after arriving on campus in mid-season during the second semester.
It’s tough for someone to arrive midseason and quickly get acclimated to Rick Pitino’s system. It’s simply not something you can pick-up over night.
While Ware has seen an increase in minuets, I think it’s fair to say that some fans expected him to be a more integral part of the team at this point.
Ware is the first guard off the bench if either Peyton Siva or Russ Smith are in foul trouble, but with an increase in minutes, his stat sheet hasn’t’ had much action.
During his radio show last night Rick Pitino was asked about Kevin Ware and what he brings to the team. After raving about how great of a young-man Ware is and how much he enjoys coaching him, Pitino then went on to talk a little bit about what he wants to see more of from Kevin. Scoring points isn’t exactly what Louisville needs from Ware at this point. Coach Pitino said that he would like to see more rebounds, steals and deflections from Ware when he’s in the game.
“There is going to be a time when Russ or Peyton are in foul trouble and we’re going to need big minutes from Kevin,” says Pitino.
I personally expected Ware to be a huge factor this season. Especially after watching him dominate in one of Louisville’s Red-White scrimmages. He hasn’t played exactly as well as I expected, but I still think his future is very bright. Another thing to keep in mind is that he is coming off the bench for the best starting back court in college basketball. If Russ Smith and Peyton Siva aren’t in foul trouble and are playing well, Ware likely won’t be leaving the bench
January 17, 2013 at 4:52 pm
The last comment about Ware not getting much clock if Siva and Smith aren’t in foul trouble is incorrect. One of the things Pitino does is utilize depth to wear out the opponent. You could clearly see that pay off in the second half of the UConn game. Ware will continue to get plenty of minutes resting both Siva and Smith throughout the rest of the season. His quickness and additional length on defense are invaluable to the Cardinals sucess while those other guys are on the bench.
January 18, 2013 at 8:08 am
Living in Atlanta, I got to see Ware play several games in HS. He is a player I followed very closely and REALLY wanted at Louisville. This guy is a FREAK athlete and for the life of my I can’t figure out why he hasn’t played the way everyone here in ATL knows he can. This guy can flat out fly!!!! I don’t have a major issue with how he is playing right now but I know what he is capable of and it sounds like Coach P does too. Much like Russ being Russ, Kevin needs to be Kevin and Wayne needs to be Wayne for us to cut down the nets in April….
January 18, 2013 at 9:53 am
Yea Ware is a great athlete so is Blackshear and like Mandrae said just play your game cause we need both of them to contribute so yea well be cutting these nets down in Atlanta…ILL be there
#birdgang