Lance Ware's maturity is reflective of Kentucky's growing chemistry

Kentucky Men’s Basketball has its core players who soak up the majority of the team’s minutes, but depth is one of UK’s underrated strengths.

Head coach John Calipari is running 10 players deep this season. This isn’t a platoon system though. Far from it, actually. Kentucky’s top six players are clearly the best and then there’s talent a gap between the next four. Those four–consisting of Jacob Toppin, Lance Ware, Daimion Collins, and Bryce Hopkins–are all fighting each other for the reserve minutes. All four bring something different to the table, and Calipari needs them all for different situations.

For some teams, this is where egos can take over; where one player is hellbent on playing as many minutes as possible to raise his individual stock. That isn’t the case with this Kentucky team, though. In fact, it appears to be the opposite. Let’s touch on why.

Calipari has been praising sophomore Lance Ware in recent days for his mentality and efforts off the bench. The 6-foot-9 forward isn’t pouring in double-digit points, but he is playing with a ton of energy, attacking the glass, and trying hard on defense. There is a clear role for Ware on this team, just a limited one. Every minute for him is more important than, say, any of the starters.

The last two games for Ware have been especially impressive. He posted five points and three rebounds in seven minutes against Missouri earlier this week, then followed that up with two points, five rebounds, and two blocks in eight minutes against High Point on Friday. Not ground-breaking stats by any means, but necessary minutes for what UK needs out of its backup big man.

Lance Ware is giving Kentucky very solid minutes lately, carving out a clear role on this team. High-energy rebounder, exactly what UK needs when Oscar Tshiebwe isn't on the floor.

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) December 31, 2021

Ware understandably could have asked for more playing time against High Point. But Calipari approached him at halftime and said that Daimion Collins needed his second-half minutes. Instead of sulking, Ware embraced the opportunity to sit so Collins could grow on the court.

“Let me give you what happened today that may be the beginning of us changing,” Calipari said after beating High Point 92-48. “Do you know how Lance (Ware) played? Just thumbs up, thumbs down. How do you think Lance played today? …Okay. So he played really well. In three minutes, he had five rebounds and two blocks.

“That was at half. I walked in and when I was talking, I said, Lance, ‘I’m going to play Daimion (Collins), even though you played well because I’ve got to get him on the floor, and I want him to play.’ He gave me a thumbs up. ‘I’m good.’ Can you imagine the maturity?“

Ware is perfectly fine with sitting on the bench if it benefits the team in the long run. Because it’s true that Collins needs as many minutes as possible to help break him of some of his rawness. In turn though, it put some pressure on Collins to perform. So what did the freshman pogo stick do? Drop six points and eight rebounds in 11 minutes.

“Then I was able to tell Daimion–and if you saw I made them hug each other on the bench, start of the second half–I said, ‘(Ware is) giving up minutes and he’s playing unbelievably but he’s willing to give the minutes. You’d better go in there and play hard.'” Calipari added. “Well, look how Daimion played. Now they start playing for each other.”

Ware and Collins aren’t going to decide the ceiling of this team, but the bigger picture involves these two sacrificing at times for the greater good of the program. It makes coaching easier for Calipari and the game more fun for everyone involved, whether they’re playing in the game or cheering from the bench.

“It’s fun,” Calipari said. “I’m telling you, I’m enjoying this team, because they want to be coached. They are pushing away the clutter that comes at them.”