Last week we researched Kentucky's three arriving five-star performers: B.J. Boston, Terrence Clarke, and Isaiah Jackson. We compared their national ranking and position rankings to others throughout the past decade, and we will do that again today.
This time it will be Lance Ware. The power forward ended up ranked 34th overall in the final Rivals national ranking for the 2020 class, and fell just outside the five-star perimeter. He is also rated as the fourth best power forward in his class. We go back to 2010 and look at each 34th ranked player as well as each fourth rated power forward, and see who Ware's peers are.
National ranking
2010 - Cameron Clark, 6-foot-7, Oklahoma. Clark played four seasons with the Sooners. The first three were rather pedestrian although he did start sixty games. Clark capped thing off with a strong senior season going for 15.6 points and 5.5 rebounds. He went undrafted and has spent his entire professional career in Europe.
2011 - Ben McLemore, 6-foot-5, Kansas. McLemore was a steal at No. 34. He averaged 15.9 points in his one season at Kansas. He was First Team All-Big 12 and Second Team All-American. McLemore was drafted seventh overall by Sacramento. He has started in 252 games in the NBA, and has a career 9.0 point average.
2012 - Marcus Paige, 6-foot-0, North Carolina. Paige had an outstanding career with the Tar Heels. He had 1,844 points and 602 assists. He made First Team All-ACC, and was even named the league's preseason player of the year in 2015-16. Paige was drafted 55th by the Brooklyn Nets, and has spent his career in the G-League and internationally.
2013 - Connor Frankamp, 6-foot-0, Kansas. Frankamp played one season at Kansas then transferred to Wichita State. He averaged 10.6 points as a senior and was named the league's tournament MVP. Frankamp was undrafted and plays in Greece.
2014 - Trevon Bluiett, 6-foot-5, Xavier. Bluiett had a legendary four-year career at Xavier. He scored over 2,250 points and grabbed over 750 rebounds. He was Second Team All-American in 2018. However, he went undrafted and currently plays in the G-League.
2015 - Kerwin Roach, 6-foot-4, Texas. Roach was another four year player. He averaged 12.3 and 14.6 points respectively in his final two seasons. He was Honorable Mention All-Big 12 as a senior. He was undrafted and currently plays in the G-League.
2016 - Alterique Gilbert, 6-foot-0, UCONN. Gilbert had a 10.3 point career average at UCONN and started 51 games. He is transferring to Wichita State for his final season.
2017 - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 6-foot-5, Kentucky. If Ware turns out to be anything like Gilgeous-Alexander, Wildcat fans will be giddy. He blew up as a freshman to the tune of 14.4 points, 5.1 assists, and 4.1 rebounds. He made the SEC All-Freshman Team and was Second Team All-Conference. The one-and-done guard was drafted No. 11 by the Charlotte Hornets in 2018. His first two seasons have been tremendous. He averaged 10.8 points as a rookie and 19.3 this past season at Oklahoma City.,
2018 - Brandon Williams, 6-foot-2, Arizona. Williams averaged 11.4 as a freshman at Arizona. He sat out this past season with a knee injury.
2019 - Johnny Juzang, 6-foot-7, Kentucky. Juzang is the third Wildcat to be ranked No. 34. He appeared in 28 games and averaged 2.9 points per game. Juzang transferred to UCLA after the season concluded.
Position ranking
2010 - Terrence Jones, 6-foot-7, Kentucky. Jones was ranked thirteenth overall. We can certainly with there is a comparison here. The 6-foot-9 power forward was a force at times in his two seasons with the Cats. He averaged 15.7 points and 8.8 boards as a freshman and 12.3 points and 7.2 rebounds as a sophomore. He was SEC Rookie of the Year, All-Conference, and an NCAA Champion. He was chosen 18th overall by the Houston Rockets in 2012. Jones had a very solid NBA career over his first five seasons in which he averaged 10.4 points per game. He has played sparingly since 2016-17.
2011 - Khem Birch, 6-foot-8, Pitt. Birch was ranked ninth overall. Birch played one season at Pitt and two at UNLV. He averaged 11.5 points and 10.2 rebounds in his final year. He was undrafted and as played in the G-League and in Europe.
2012 - Brandon Ashley, 6-foot-8, Arizona. Ashley was ranked twenty-third overall. Ashley played three seasons at Arizona, where he had a consistently good career. He averaged 11.5 points as a sophomore and 12.2 as a junior. He was the Pac-12 Tournament MVP in 2015. Ashley was undrafted. He made the G-League All-Star Team as a rookie, and has played internationally since then.
2013 - Jarrell Martin, 6-foot-9, LSU. Martin was ranked thirteenth overall. Kentucky fans will remember Martin from his two seasons at LSU. He averaged 10.2 points as a freshman and posted 16.9 points and 9.2 rebounds his sophomore year, in which he was First Team All-SEC. Martin was drafted 25th overall in 2015 by the Memphis Grizzlies. Martin has played 184 games in the NBA, but has went back and forth between there and the G-League.
2014 - Chris McCullough, 6-foot-9, Syracuse. McCullough was ranked nineteenth overall. McCullough played one season at Syracuse and averaged 9.3 points and.6.9 rebounds. He was taken with the 29th pick by the Brooklyn Nets in the 2015 draft. He has played 59 games in the NBA, and has spent a vast majority of his time in the G-League and overseas.
2015 - Ivan Rabb, 6-foot-9, California. Rabb was ranked seventeenths overall. Rabb averaged 13.2 points and 9.4 boards in his two years at Cal. He was chosen with the 35th pick by the Washington Wizards in the 2017 NBA Draft. He played in 85 games in his first two seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies, but has been in the G-League since then.
2016 - Wenyen Gabriel, 6-foot-9, Kentucky. Gabriel was ranked thirteenth overall. We actually listed Gabriel as the third ranked post player in the Isaiah Jackson review, but that should have been Jonathan Issac who played at Florida State
Gabriel was ranked thirteenth in his class. Another Wildcat, Gabriel averaged 5.7 points and 5.1 rebounds between 2016-18. He went undrafted but is currently playing with the Portal Trail Blazers.
2017 - Jarred Vanderbilt, 6-foot-8, Kentucky. Vanderbilt was ranked fourteenth overall. Another power forward from the past that Kentucky fans would like for Ware to emulate. His 2017-18 season was marred by two separate injuries. He only averaged 5.9 points, but he was a force on the boards with 7.9 rebound per game. He was drafted with the 41st pick in 2018 by the Orlando Magic. Vanderbilt has only played in 28 NBA games in three seasons, and has spent virtually all of his time in the G-League.
2018 - Emmitt Williams, 6-foot-8, LSU. Williams was ranked twenty-third overall. Williams had a fair freshman year, but averaged 13.3 points and 6.6 rebounds this past season as a sophomore. Williams has declared for the NBA Draft.
2019 - Trendon Watford, 6-foot-8, LSU. Watford was ranked sixteenth overall. Watford continued the LSU roll at this spot with a 13.6 and 7.2 freshman campaign, Watford has put his name in this year's NBA Draft.
Other Kentucky Wildcats in the Calipari era ranked in the top thirty-four
Lance Ware is the forty-ninth highest ranked player to sign with Kentucky during the John Caliapri era.
No. 1 John Wall, (2009) Skal Labissiere (2015)
No. 2. DeMarcus Cousins (2009) Anthony Davis (2011) Nerlens Noel (2012) Julius Randle (2013)
No. 3. Enes Kanter (2010)
No. 4. B.J. Boston (2020)
No. 5. Marquis Teague (2011). Andrew Harrison (2013). Karl Anthony-Towns (2014)
No. 6. Brandon Knight (2010) De"Aaron Fox. (2016)
No. 7. Aaron Harrison (2013). Bam Adebayo (2016) Terrence Clarke, (2020)
No. 8. Alex Poythress (2012)
No. 9. Dakari Johnson (2013). Jamal Murray (2015) Malik Monk (2016)
No. 10. Isaiah Briscoe. (2015). Kevin Knox (2017) Tyrese Maxey (2019)
No. 11. James Young (2013) E.J. Montgomery (2018)
No. 13. Terrence Jones (2010) Trey Lyles (2014) Wenyen Gabriel (2016) Ashton Hagans (2018)
No. 14. Archie Goodwin (2012) Jarred Vanderbilt (2017) Kahlil Whitney (2019)
No. 15. P.J. Washington (2017) Keldon Johnson (2018)
No. 17. Nick Richards (2017)
No. 19. Marcus Lee (2013)
No. 21. Doron Lamb.(2010). Tyler Ulis (2014)
No. 22. Kyle Wiltjer (2011) Quade Green (2017) Immanuel Quickley (2018)
No, 24. Sacha Killeya-Jones (2016)
No. 26. Isaiah Jackson (2020)
No. 29. Devin Booker (2014). Keion Brooks (2019)
No. 33. Stacey Poole (2010)
No. 34. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2017). Johnny Juzang (2019). Lance Ware(2020)
This time it will be Lance Ware. The power forward ended up ranked 34th overall in the final Rivals national ranking for the 2020 class, and fell just outside the five-star perimeter. He is also rated as the fourth best power forward in his class. We go back to 2010 and look at each 34th ranked player as well as each fourth rated power forward, and see who Ware's peers are.
National ranking
2010 - Cameron Clark, 6-foot-7, Oklahoma. Clark played four seasons with the Sooners. The first three were rather pedestrian although he did start sixty games. Clark capped thing off with a strong senior season going for 15.6 points and 5.5 rebounds. He went undrafted and has spent his entire professional career in Europe.
2011 - Ben McLemore, 6-foot-5, Kansas. McLemore was a steal at No. 34. He averaged 15.9 points in his one season at Kansas. He was First Team All-Big 12 and Second Team All-American. McLemore was drafted seventh overall by Sacramento. He has started in 252 games in the NBA, and has a career 9.0 point average.
2012 - Marcus Paige, 6-foot-0, North Carolina. Paige had an outstanding career with the Tar Heels. He had 1,844 points and 602 assists. He made First Team All-ACC, and was even named the league's preseason player of the year in 2015-16. Paige was drafted 55th by the Brooklyn Nets, and has spent his career in the G-League and internationally.
2013 - Connor Frankamp, 6-foot-0, Kansas. Frankamp played one season at Kansas then transferred to Wichita State. He averaged 10.6 points as a senior and was named the league's tournament MVP. Frankamp was undrafted and plays in Greece.
2014 - Trevon Bluiett, 6-foot-5, Xavier. Bluiett had a legendary four-year career at Xavier. He scored over 2,250 points and grabbed over 750 rebounds. He was Second Team All-American in 2018. However, he went undrafted and currently plays in the G-League.
2015 - Kerwin Roach, 6-foot-4, Texas. Roach was another four year player. He averaged 12.3 and 14.6 points respectively in his final two seasons. He was Honorable Mention All-Big 12 as a senior. He was undrafted and currently plays in the G-League.
2016 - Alterique Gilbert, 6-foot-0, UCONN. Gilbert had a 10.3 point career average at UCONN and started 51 games. He is transferring to Wichita State for his final season.
2017 - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 6-foot-5, Kentucky. If Ware turns out to be anything like Gilgeous-Alexander, Wildcat fans will be giddy. He blew up as a freshman to the tune of 14.4 points, 5.1 assists, and 4.1 rebounds. He made the SEC All-Freshman Team and was Second Team All-Conference. The one-and-done guard was drafted No. 11 by the Charlotte Hornets in 2018. His first two seasons have been tremendous. He averaged 10.8 points as a rookie and 19.3 this past season at Oklahoma City.,
2018 - Brandon Williams, 6-foot-2, Arizona. Williams averaged 11.4 as a freshman at Arizona. He sat out this past season with a knee injury.
2019 - Johnny Juzang, 6-foot-7, Kentucky. Juzang is the third Wildcat to be ranked No. 34. He appeared in 28 games and averaged 2.9 points per game. Juzang transferred to UCLA after the season concluded.
Position ranking
2010 - Terrence Jones, 6-foot-7, Kentucky. Jones was ranked thirteenth overall. We can certainly with there is a comparison here. The 6-foot-9 power forward was a force at times in his two seasons with the Cats. He averaged 15.7 points and 8.8 boards as a freshman and 12.3 points and 7.2 rebounds as a sophomore. He was SEC Rookie of the Year, All-Conference, and an NCAA Champion. He was chosen 18th overall by the Houston Rockets in 2012. Jones had a very solid NBA career over his first five seasons in which he averaged 10.4 points per game. He has played sparingly since 2016-17.
2011 - Khem Birch, 6-foot-8, Pitt. Birch was ranked ninth overall. Birch played one season at Pitt and two at UNLV. He averaged 11.5 points and 10.2 rebounds in his final year. He was undrafted and as played in the G-League and in Europe.
2012 - Brandon Ashley, 6-foot-8, Arizona. Ashley was ranked twenty-third overall. Ashley played three seasons at Arizona, where he had a consistently good career. He averaged 11.5 points as a sophomore and 12.2 as a junior. He was the Pac-12 Tournament MVP in 2015. Ashley was undrafted. He made the G-League All-Star Team as a rookie, and has played internationally since then.
2013 - Jarrell Martin, 6-foot-9, LSU. Martin was ranked thirteenth overall. Kentucky fans will remember Martin from his two seasons at LSU. He averaged 10.2 points as a freshman and posted 16.9 points and 9.2 rebounds his sophomore year, in which he was First Team All-SEC. Martin was drafted 25th overall in 2015 by the Memphis Grizzlies. Martin has played 184 games in the NBA, but has went back and forth between there and the G-League.
2014 - Chris McCullough, 6-foot-9, Syracuse. McCullough was ranked nineteenth overall. McCullough played one season at Syracuse and averaged 9.3 points and.6.9 rebounds. He was taken with the 29th pick by the Brooklyn Nets in the 2015 draft. He has played 59 games in the NBA, and has spent a vast majority of his time in the G-League and overseas.
2015 - Ivan Rabb, 6-foot-9, California. Rabb was ranked seventeenths overall. Rabb averaged 13.2 points and 9.4 boards in his two years at Cal. He was chosen with the 35th pick by the Washington Wizards in the 2017 NBA Draft. He played in 85 games in his first two seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies, but has been in the G-League since then.
2016 - Wenyen Gabriel, 6-foot-9, Kentucky. Gabriel was ranked thirteenth overall. We actually listed Gabriel as the third ranked post player in the Isaiah Jackson review, but that should have been Jonathan Issac who played at Florida State
Gabriel was ranked thirteenth in his class. Another Wildcat, Gabriel averaged 5.7 points and 5.1 rebounds between 2016-18. He went undrafted but is currently playing with the Portal Trail Blazers.
2017 - Jarred Vanderbilt, 6-foot-8, Kentucky. Vanderbilt was ranked fourteenth overall. Another power forward from the past that Kentucky fans would like for Ware to emulate. His 2017-18 season was marred by two separate injuries. He only averaged 5.9 points, but he was a force on the boards with 7.9 rebound per game. He was drafted with the 41st pick in 2018 by the Orlando Magic. Vanderbilt has only played in 28 NBA games in three seasons, and has spent virtually all of his time in the G-League.
2018 - Emmitt Williams, 6-foot-8, LSU. Williams was ranked twenty-third overall. Williams had a fair freshman year, but averaged 13.3 points and 6.6 rebounds this past season as a sophomore. Williams has declared for the NBA Draft.
2019 - Trendon Watford, 6-foot-8, LSU. Watford was ranked sixteenth overall. Watford continued the LSU roll at this spot with a 13.6 and 7.2 freshman campaign, Watford has put his name in this year's NBA Draft.
Other Kentucky Wildcats in the Calipari era ranked in the top thirty-four
Lance Ware is the forty-ninth highest ranked player to sign with Kentucky during the John Caliapri era.
No. 1 John Wall, (2009) Skal Labissiere (2015)
No. 2. DeMarcus Cousins (2009) Anthony Davis (2011) Nerlens Noel (2012) Julius Randle (2013)
No. 3. Enes Kanter (2010)
No. 4. B.J. Boston (2020)
No. 5. Marquis Teague (2011). Andrew Harrison (2013). Karl Anthony-Towns (2014)
No. 6. Brandon Knight (2010) De"Aaron Fox. (2016)
No. 7. Aaron Harrison (2013). Bam Adebayo (2016) Terrence Clarke, (2020)
No. 8. Alex Poythress (2012)
No. 9. Dakari Johnson (2013). Jamal Murray (2015) Malik Monk (2016)
No. 10. Isaiah Briscoe. (2015). Kevin Knox (2017) Tyrese Maxey (2019)
No. 11. James Young (2013) E.J. Montgomery (2018)
No. 13. Terrence Jones (2010) Trey Lyles (2014) Wenyen Gabriel (2016) Ashton Hagans (2018)
No. 14. Archie Goodwin (2012) Jarred Vanderbilt (2017) Kahlil Whitney (2019)
No. 15. P.J. Washington (2017) Keldon Johnson (2018)
No. 17. Nick Richards (2017)
No. 19. Marcus Lee (2013)
No. 21. Doron Lamb.(2010). Tyler Ulis (2014)
No. 22. Kyle Wiltjer (2011) Quade Green (2017) Immanuel Quickley (2018)
No, 24. Sacha Killeya-Jones (2016)
No. 26. Isaiah Jackson (2020)
No. 29. Devin Booker (2014). Keion Brooks (2019)
No. 33. Stacey Poole (2010)
No. 34. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2017). Johnny Juzang (2019). Lance Ware(2020)
