Lance Ware in walking boot ahead of Kentucky-Duke

Kentucky’s frontcourt depth might be taking a hit later tonight. According to multiple reports out of Madison Square Garden, Wildcat forward Lance Ware is wearing a walking boot ahead of UK’s matchup against Duke. Kentucky is set to take on the Blue Devils at approximately 9:30 p.m. EST on ESPN.

Ware, a 6-foot-9 sophomore out of Camden, NJ, was first spotted in a walking boot on Sunday when the Kentucky Men’s Basketball Twitter account posted a photo of the team at the New York Knicks game.

Lance Ware is still in a walking boot at Madison Square Garden. Not great.

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) November 10, 2021

Ware played in both of Kentucky’s two exhibition games against Kentucky Wesleyan College and Miles College. He finished with averages of 2.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 13.5 minutes per outing.

Wildcat head coach John Calipari recently said that he’s only expecting to run with a 7-to-8 man rotation against Duke, and Ware did not figure to be one of them. However, Calipari did add that more players could see the floor if injuries or foul trouble become an issue. If foul trouble creeps in for the UK big men, Ware might not be an option as a replacement.

With Ware potentially out, Kentucky’s frontcourt depth just got a little bit weaker against a Duke team that is led by its bigs.

[UPDATE: KSR’s Jack Pilgrim says that Ware is out of his boot and dressed in uniform.]

Lance Ware is dressed in his normal warmups and uniform, no longer wearing a boot.

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) November 10, 2021