Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
By ADAM ZAGORIA & RICH FLANAGANLance Ware, the 6-foot-9, 220-pound Class of 2020 forward from Camden (N.J.) High School and the NY Rens AAU Program, has cut his list to five schools.
Ware is down to Providence, Miami, Ohio State, Michigan and Kentucky.
“Lance has turned himself into an energized player,” Camden coach Rick Brunson told ZAGSBLOG recently. “He’s a rim-runner as well as a shot-blocker and rim protector. The best thing he does is be a high character player and a leader.”
Ware said he’s looking into a program that fits his style.
“What I do when I receive an offer is look at the school and
try to see if their playing style fits me,” Ware said. “I don’t want to go into
not knowing that. Every coach that recruits me is going to say, ‘You fit into
our system’ but that might not be true all the time. I take it upon myself to
do my own research and see if their game fits me.”
After averaging 11.6 points per game and 9.6 rebounds per
game as a junior for a Camden team that fell to eventual state champion Haddonfield
in overtime of the South Jersey Group 2 final, Ware is primed for a big senior
season. Brunson is allowing Ware to expand his game more on the perimeter but
wants him to remain focused on the inside.
“I truly believe all big guys should start inside,” Brunson
said. “Still, he actually has the ability to bring the ball up. Right now, he
won’t be doing that but during the season he will handle the ball a little bit.
It all depends on the mismatch. He’s able to get the ball on the short post
then go one on one because of his quickness and athleticism.”
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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
