Q&A with Lance Ware: 48-hour reset, UK winning out, and more

Kentucky freshman Lance Ware represented his teammates in Tuesday afternoon’s press conference before the team departed for Missouri where the Cats hope to get back in the win column against the 18th-ranked Tigers.

The first to speak publicly since the team’s shutdown, Ware faced questions about the status of the locker room and what it was like behind the scenes the last couple of days, in addition to all of the regular basketball questions.

A condensed version of Ware’s comments (key points numbered 1 through 5 for readability) can be read below and then you catch watch the entire press conference at the very bottom.

 

(1) The team “took the time off and kind of used it as a refresh.”

With everything shut down for the weekend as the team underwent a 48-hour quarantine, players could only get in limited work on their own time, not with teammates or coaches. It allowed the players the rare time to decompress in the middle of a season, and Ware believes it was good for their minds.

“We all took the time off and kind of used it as a refresh and, you know, got our minds right,” he said in Tuesday’s pre-Missouri press conference. “It gave us some time even though we were still working out. It wasn’t practice. It wasn’t a two-hour long practice. So, we kind of like got to decompress and just kind of refocus on the main goal and what we need to do to play and obviously win games.”

Asked how Kentucky benefited mentally, Ware replied, “We’ve been here for a while. We’ve been like practicing, practicing, practicing. So, if anybody just gets a few days off to just, you know, relax it’s helpful. We had two days, I think. It helped. Guys came into practice yesterday, energetic, fresh, bouncing and just happy. When you take something away that we’re used to I was like, ‘Wow, we don’t have any practice today. I’m so used to practicing.’ So, it gave us kind of like an excitement to get back out on the court.”

(2) “Coach has been changing some things up in practice for the offensive end.”

Changes to UK’s offense, you say?

Explaining what Kentucky needs to do to beat Mizzou at Mizzou tomorrow night, Ware said, “We’re just going to need to continue to play hard like we have been doing. Coach has been changing some things up in practice for the offensive end. So, just apply everything he’s been telling us in practice yesterday and then the stuff he’s going to go over today, and just really emphasize that and bring that into the game. I think that we should be OK if we just lock in and, you know, do what we have to do.”

Ware said the changes to the offense are, “just so we can attack differently. Instead of the ball just standing in one person’s hands, just attack differently.”

(3) Oscar Tschwiebe, “I know he’s going to help me get better.”

Ware and UK’s new incoming transfer, Tschwiebe, crossed paths briefly on Monday; a quick “what’s up,” Ware said of the interaction. The two power forwards will get to know each other soon when Tschweibe joins the team and begins practicing against Ware and everyone else in UK’s frontcourt.

Ware thinks that’s a good thing. He said, “From what Cal says he plays really hard. Obviously, I play hard so it’s going to be great competition in practice. I know he’s going to help me get better. I know those type of people, they help me get better. He’s going to help Olivier get better, Isaiah.

“So, he’s going to be a great addition for these few weeks or months that he’s here to help everybody get better for next year.”

(4) The NCAA Tournament is still the goal.

Bracketologists may tell you Kentucky’s tournament chances are out, but dancing in the big dance is still the goal in UK’s locker room.

“I mean, it’s obviously super important,” Ware said of making the NCAA tournament. “Every team obviously wants to play in March and get to the tournament. That’s kind of the goal. That’s been the goal since the beginning of the season. Like you guys asked earlier, what are some goals? That’s one of the goals that we still have and we still believe that we can make. We’ve just got to turn things up.”

One of the other goals is to keep improving, “to keep getting better,” Ware said.

“I mean, just keep on getting better. That’s the same thing we said at the beginning of the season. I mean your goal should never change whether you win or you lose. They’re goals for a reason, so if you just keep on changing them, it’s never a goal. The same goals that we had set on day one are the same goals that we’re still looking forward to having now.”

(5) Can Kentucky win out? “Absolutely.”

Nine games left to go, four against ranked opponents, can UK run the table?

“Absolutely,” Ware replied. “I mean, I know that our team thinks we can win the rest of the games. I mean, we believe in each other, so honestly that’s what it is about. We believe in each other. I know our coaching staff believes in us. So, we all believe we can win the rest of these games.”

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