Lance Ware says Kentucky newcomers are eager to learn, bonding

The entire 2022-23 Kentucky basketball roster has arrived on campus, with the majority of the players moving into their dorms early last week. Oscar Tshiebwe was the lone exception, with the standout center getting back to Lexington on Tuesday.

Last week was dedicated to breaking the ice and getting settled in. This week, the real fun began, as the team participated in its first official workouts of the summer as a complete unit. All ten scholarship players hit the floor for the first time together, the unofficial start to the season.

Right after it. Summer workouts are a go 😤 pic.twitter.com/bvL56Z65JD

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) June 9, 2022

How have things gone? Kentucky junior forward Lance Ware is impressed, specifically with just how hard everyone is working.

“Everybody is back on campus, we had a few workouts together,” Ware said at his Players First Satellite ProCamp on Thursday. “One thing I do notice every time I come into the gym is there are three, four guys always in the gym. It’s to the point where everyone is shooting on their own goal and there’s not enough room. If you want to do individual stuff, you have to work with someone else.”

It’s the time of year when individual growth is most significant, with conditioning, body training and skill work all top priorities. The entire roster is taking it upon itself to capitalize on the opportunity, focused on one common goal.

“All of the baskets are taken up, somebody’s shooting, whether it be shooting free throws or going through a full workout,” said Ware. “People are in the weight room, gaining weight, losing weight, whatever they have to do to become better players. Everybody is really focused. Summertime is about getting yourself right and bonding with the team. I see everybody working on their game and bonding.”

Any individual standouts of note? Ware says he’s impressed with Kentucky’s crop of new talent, highlighted by Antonio Reeves, Cason Wallace, Chris Livingston and Adou Thiero.

“All of the new guys,” Ware told KSR. ”When you leave high school, you kind of don’t really know a whole lot about high school players unless you’re familiar with them or they’re close to your town or whatever. They’re all good, you know, Antonio (Reeves) down to the freshmen, they can all play. It’s going to be different, because even Antonio, he didn’t play at Kentucky, he played somewhere else, and transferring is always hard.”

Ware says the new group of Wildcats is extremely coachable, always looking for advice and taking notes from the veterans. It’s certainly a positive sign going into the season.

“They want to learn, they all have open ears,” said Ware. “In the workouts, if I tell them something, something a coach might like or want, they listen and do it to the best of their ability. When you want to learn, it makes stuff easy.”