Kevin Ware grabbed the rebound and before anyone could even turn to begin running back up the court, he took off.
With unmatched speed Ware blew through Georgia Southern’s transition defense. As he got into the free-throw lane, he gave a head fake to the one defender who realized what was happening before drawing a foul from another as he gently put the ball into the basket.
It was just two of the 18 points Ware scored on Sunday to lead Georgia State to the Sun Belt tournament title and into the NCAA tournament.
It was just the type of basket that many thought Ware would produce when transferred from Louisville.
It was also the type of basket he has rarely produced.
“I kind of feel like I didn’t’ believe in myself like I’ve believed in myself these past two games,” Ware said. “I’m not sure exactly why.”
Ware played defense with a fervor as the Panthers dispatched nemesis Louisiana-Lafayette in Saturday’s semifinals. Then his offense came alive in the championship game, which led to him being named the tournament’s most outstanding player.
“He’s been through a lot that none of us have gone through,” coach Ron Hunter said. “Every place he goes, people watch everything he did. It has been a major-league struggle for that kid. I’m so happy for him. You guys have no idea.”
Ware hit layups. He hit long jumpers. He even hit a wade-away jumper from behind the basket.
“It was frustrating for him to drive the ball,” Georgia Southern’s Mark Byington said. “That’s something we knew he could do. We tried to take that away and that was probably the one slippage in our game plan that didn’t work out. He’s quick. He’s long. He’s athletic. He stepped up in a big game. He stepped up.”
Moreover, Ware finally played with an emotional edge.
“Coach always talked about me not being as aggressive on offense and defense as I need to be,” he said. “I felt like these last two days is how Kevin Ware really plays. I showed it (Saturday) defensively and showed it (Sunday) offensively. That’s my game.”
That such a weekend took more than 30 games — and in the most important part of the season — exemplifies the mystery that has been Ware.
When he announced he was transferring from Louisville, two thoughts dominated social media: By virtue of his pedigree, combined with Ryan Harrow and R.J. Hunter, the Panthers were certainly NCAA tournament-bound. The second thought was much darker: What kind of player will Ware be after the incident?
Ware infamously suffered a horrifying broken leg during Louisville’s run to the NCAA championship two years ago. He returned to the Cardinals the following season and played a few games before it was mutually decided that he should stop.
The broken leg is the first thing people recollect when they think of Ware and it will likely dominate storylines leading into Thursday’s NCAA first-round matchup with Baylor in Jacksonville, Fla.
Ware said he’s sure that even his mom, Lisa Junior, is going to bring it up.
Ware may have guessed wrong.
Junior said she no longer worries about her son and the possibility of another injury because she knows the broken leg was an accident that no amount of prevention could have stopped. She takes solace in knowing that her son is doing everything he can to take care of his body and his academics.
But she agrees with her son that something has been missing this season and she was glad to see him find it in the Sun Belt tournament.
“The lone thing I miss is seeing him enjoy the game,” she said. “He enjoyed himself and that was good to see. It was so good.”
Some of that joy may have been lost when Indiana Pacers forward Paul George suffered a similar injury in August. Through Georgia State’s sports information department, Ware earnestly handled most interview requests, answering question after question about the shared experience with George.
Hunter said a few months ago that Ware’s talking about his injury over and over may have affected his confidence during workouts, a lull that lasted well into the season.
After starting the first five games, Ware became Georgia State’s sixth man. He didn’t score a lot after the 12 points he put up in the opener against an overmatched Tennessee Temple. Nor did he generate a lot of assists.
He moved in and out of the starting lineup and while he scored 21 points against Arkansas-Little Rock, there were a lot of games in which he didn’t crack 10.
While he admits that things haven’t gone quite like he anticipated, he said the conference tournament in New Orleans was the time to start making things better. It can continue now that the Panthers are in the NCAA tournament for just the third time in school history.
“I felt tournament time was a fresh start,” he said. “Me coming to Georgia State was a completely fresh start. That season was behind me. Now it’s time for the tournament. That’s how I took it.”
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