Kevin Ware Jr. (born January 3, 1993) is an American professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
player who last played for
Club Deportivo Hispano Americano
Club Deportivo Hispano Americano is a professional basketball club based in Río Gallegos, Santa Cruz, Argentina. The club currently competes in the Liga Nacional de Básquet league.
On August 1, 2018, the club officially announced that it will c ...
of the
Liga Nacional de Básquet
The Liga Nacional de Básquet (abbreviated LNB, and literally in English, "National Basketball League"), also commonly referred to as "La Liga de Básquet" ("The Basketball League"), is the top-tier level of the Argentine basketball league system ...
. He is a former player for the
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one o ...
. Ware received widespread
media attention
In marketing, publicity is the public visibility or awareness for any product, service, person or organization ( company, charity, etc.). It may also refer to the movement of information from its source to the general public, often (but not always ...
when he suffered an
open fracture
An open fracture, also called a compound fracture, is a type of bone fracture in orthopedics that is frequently caused by high energy trauma. It is a bone fracture, also known as a broken bone, associated with a break in the skin continuity which ...
of the
tibia
The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...
in his right leg during an
Elite Eight
In the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight teams, representing the regional finals, or national quarterfinals. In Division I and Divis ...
game against the
Duke Blue Devils
The Duke Blue Devils are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association ...
on March 31, 2013.
He had also represented
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
at the
2022 Arab Basketball Championship
2022 Arab Basketball Championship for Men National Teams was the 24th edition of the Arab Basketball Championship, a men's basketball regional championship of Arab world that ended with Lebanon being crowned winner. The tournament was hosted by ...
.
Early life
Ware was born on January 3, 1993, in
Bronx, New York, to Lisa Junior and Kevin Ware, Sr. Ware grew up with three sisters: Donna, Brittney, and Khadijah. Ware and his family moved to
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
when he was 14, but shortly after, they moved to
Rockdale County, Georgia
Rockdale County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 93,570 up from 85,215 in 2010. The county seat is Conyers.
Rockdale County is included in the ''Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metr ...
, so the family could live in "more of a quiet area."
Scout and
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel.
History
Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...
both listed Ware as a four-star prospect out of a possible five stars, while
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
gave him a 92/100 rating. He had a broken hand in July 2010. Ware had signed a
letter-of-intent with Tennessee, but changed his mind after
Bruce Pearl
Bruce Alan Pearl (born March 18, 1960) is an American college basketball coach, and the head coach of the Auburn Tigers men's basketball team. He previously served as the head coach at Tennessee, Milwaukee, and Southern Indiana. Pearl led Southe ...
was fired as Tennessee's basketball coach. His choices were down to Georgia and Louisville before picking the Cardinals.
College career
In his freshman season, Ware played limited minutes. In his sophomore year, his minutes began to increase as Louisville's first guard off the bench to relieve
Peyton Siva
Peyton Robert Siva Jr. (born October 24, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Illawarra Hawks of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for Louisville, leading the school to two Final Fours in ...
or
Russ Smith. Ware had disciplinary issues, however, and
Rick Pitino
Richard Andrew Pitino (born September 18, 1952) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach for Iona College. He was also the head coach of Greece's senior national team. He has been the head coach of several teams in NCAA ...
suspended him for a game against
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
. After his return, Ware's production and minutes increased for the remainder of the season. In consecutive games in the
NCAA tournament, Ware dished a career high 5 assists against
Colorado State, then scored a career high 11 points against
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
.
Injury
On March 31, 2013, in the first half of an
Elite 8
In the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight teams, representing the regional finals, or national quarterfinals. In Division I and Divis ...
game against
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...
, Ware landed awkwardly on his right leg after attempting to block a shot, causing an
open fracture
An open fracture, also called a compound fracture, is a type of bone fracture in orthopedics that is frequently caused by high energy trauma. It is a bone fracture, also known as a broken bone, associated with a break in the skin continuity which ...
which protruded several inches out of his shin. Players and coaches on both teams were visibly shaken at the sight of the injury.
While lying on the floor of the court, Ware repeatedly said, "I'm fine, just win the game."
After being tended to courtside for several minutes, Ware was carried off on a stretcher and was taken by ambulance to
Methodist Hospital of Indianapolis. Surgeons inserted a rod into his
tibia
The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...
in a two-hour operation. In a performance the players dedicated to Ware, Louisville beat Duke 85–63. As the game concluded, Louisville forward
Chane Behanan
Chane Xavier Behanan ( ; born September 24, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for Santeros de Aguada of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). Behanan, who won a, now vacated, NCAA title at Louisville, was going to transfer to ...
wore Ware's jersey in a show of solidarity for his teammate.
Many NBA players showed their support for Ware and shared their sympathies through
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
, including
LeBron James
LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest p ...
,
Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo Kyam Anthony (born May 29, 1984) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been named an NBA All-Star ten times and an All-NBA Team ...
,
Kobe Bryant and
Kevin Durant
Kevin Wayne Durant ( ; born September 29, 1988), also known by his initials KD, is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball for t ...
. Former
NFL quarterback
Joe Theismann
Joseph Robert Theismann (born September 9, 1949) is an American former professional football player, sports commentator, corporate speaker and restaurateur. He rose to fame playing quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) and Canad ...
and the
Louisville Cardinals
The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...
former running back
Michael Bush
Michael Warren Bush, Jr. (born June 16, 1984) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Louisville.
In addition to the Raiders, B ...
, who both have gone through the same kind of injury, called to give their support. Ware traveled with the team to the
Final Four in Atlanta, where he sat alongside his teammates as they won the national championship game (which was later vacated due to the
2015 sex scandal).
2013–14 season
Ware returned to competitive basketball for the first time during an exhibition game against the
University of Pikeville
The University of Pikeville (UPIKE) is a private university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Pikeville, Kentucky. It was founded in 1889 by the Presbyterian Church and is located on a campus on a hillside overlooking ...
, entering the game midway through the second half. Ware received a standing ovation upon entering the game, and another after making his first shot, finishing with six points and four rebounds. He played in nine games that season.
Ware announced that he would
redshirt
Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi
* Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after ...
the 2013–2014 season in order to continue his recovery. He later decided to transfer in order to "move on," and move to a school closer to the state of Georgia such as Tennessee, Georgia State, or Auburn.
On April 12, 2014, Ware officially transferred to
Georgia State University
Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the largest institution of hig ...
. He started the 2014–15 season with two years of eligibility, and the NCAA granted Ware a waiver from its rule requiring transfers to sit out a year. Ware was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2015
Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament
The Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament has been played every year since the formation of the Sun Belt Conference for the 1976–77 academic year.
The winner of the tournament is guaranteed an automatic berth into the NCAA Division I ...
in which he led
Georgia State to victory in the championship game, earning GSU a ticket to the
NCAA tournament where they upset third seeded
Baylor in the first round, before falling to
Xavier in the second round.
Professional career
On November 25, 2016, Ware signed with the Czech team
BC Brno
Basketball Club Brno ( cs, Basketbalový Klub Brno), for sponsorship reasons Brno Next Generation, is a Czech professional basketball club based in the city of Brno. The team plays in the Czech National Basketball League – the highest competit ...
, after having started the season with the Finnish team
Kauhajoen Karhu.
On July 30, 2017, Ware joined
Faros Larissas of the
Greek Basket League
The Greek Basket League (GBL), often also referred to as the Greek A1 Basketball League, or Greek Basketball Championship (originally called Panhellenic Basketball Championship), and also known as the Stoiximan Basket League for sponsorship reaso ...
. Ware averaged 12.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists for Faros Larissas. He signed with the
London Lightning
The London Lightning is a Canadian professional basketball team based in London, Ontario, Canada, with home games at the Budweiser Gardens. The team is a charter member of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBLC) that began play for the 201 ...
of the
National Basketball League of Canada
The National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada; french: Ligue nationale de basketball du Canada) is a Canadian professional men's minor league basketball organization. The NBL Canada was founded in 2011, when three existing Premier Basketb ...
on August 29, 2018.
On August 12, 2020, Ware signed with the
London Lions for the
2020–21 BBL season. He joined
Novi Pazar
Novi Pazar ( sr-cyr, Нови Пазар, lit. "New Bazaar"; ) is a city located in the Raška District of southwestern Serbia. As of the 2011 census, the urban area has 66,527 inhabitants, while the city administrative area has 100,410 inhabit ...
of the Serbian league in 2021, averaging 15.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.8 steals per game. On January 3, 2022, Ware signed with
Al Naft Baghdad of the
Iraqi Basketball League.
References
External links
Georgia State Panthers bioESPN video covering Ware's injury and decision to transfer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ware, Kevin
1993 births
Living people
American expatriate basketball people in Canada
American expatriate basketball people in the Czech Republic
American expatriate basketball people in Greece
American expatriate basketball people in Finland
American expatriate basketball people in Serbia
American men's basketball players
Basketball players from Georgia (U.S. state)
Basketball players from New York City
Basketball League of Serbia players
BC Brno players
Georgia State Panthers men's basketball players
Gymnastikos S. Larissas B.C. players
Kauhajoen Karhu players
London Lightning players
Louisville Cardinals men's basketball players
OKK Novi Pazar players
Point guards
Shooting guards
Sportspeople from the Bronx