Kel'el Ware's former College Basketball Coach Mike Woodson joins us to discuss Miami's 1st round pick Kel'el Ware Mike. He credits the Heat as the perfect organization for the 7 footer. Coach Woodson discusses Draft day and what Ware's mother told Coach Woodson on Day 1. We find out what Coach Woodson did to help develop him into a 1st round talent and his take on how he will Mesh with Spo's style and where he can improve.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00I've been looking forward to doing this one after the Miami heat made their selection
00:05of Colell wear in the first round and man, he has had a summer lighten up for the Miami
00:11heat.
00:12They take the summer.
00:13He has been good and we are excited.
00:14We got his college head coach joining us here on the program.
00:18The great Mike Woodson, head coach of Indiana university coach.
00:22Thank you so much for the time.
00:23We appreciate it.
00:25And thank you for spending some time to talk about Colell here with us this, uh, this morning.
00:29Thank you for having me.
00:30How you guys doing?
00:31Oh, we're doing great.
00:33We're doing great.
00:34How have, uh, how have you thought Colell summer has gone?
00:36You know, the heat had a great summer league and, uh, he was a big part of it.
00:40What had been your impressions getting to watch him immediately in the program?
00:43Well, I thought he had a great summer, you know, I, I spent a little time out in Vegas
00:48and watched him a few times and, um, you know, it is a major jump from college to, to the
00:56NBA, as well as high school to college.
00:58And, um, he's still got a lot to learn.
01:01Um, you know, I thought from a team standpoint, he couldn't have picked a better organization,
01:07you know, with Pat Riley sitting at the top and, and Mickey Erickson and, and, and coach
01:14bolster, it doesn't get much better than him, man, because he's figured it out a long time
01:19ago and has been very successful with that organization.
01:22So I just think sky's the limit for the young man.
01:26I mean, he just got to come in and listen and learn and, and, uh, and continue to grow
01:30as a basketball player.
01:32You were, uh, you were with him coach at his, uh, draft intro press conference there with,
01:36uh, with, with Spoe and with Riley, like what was that day like, uh, with, with Kalel and,
01:41and just kind of getting his feet wet, uh, being with an NBA organization.
01:45Nerve wracking up, you know, I'm sitting there trying to be calm as hell for him and his
01:52mom and his loved ones that were sitting there at the table and, uh, cause you just
01:57don't know.
01:58And, um, when he got the call at 15, man, I couldn't have been more proud for a young
02:05man in his, in his family, man, his mom has been great for, to me, you know, when I made
02:12the commitment to bring him and they committed to me, the one thing she said to me was work
02:19his ass and, and, and we did, and she never said one thing, man, she was, she was a great
02:31parent with the one at the best for his son.
02:34And we, you know, we tried to teach him on and off the court to do the right things,
02:39man.
02:40And he, he bought in and he worked and he put himself in a great position, man, to be
02:45drafted.
02:46I'm glad Miami heat, you know, picked him because I think it's a great spot for him,
02:51a great organization, a great way for him to learn the NBA game the right way.
02:58You, uh, they, they had said, uh, Adam Simon, their, their GME had said that they had done
03:02a lot of talking about Kalel before they ended up selecting when they reached out to you
03:06guys, what did they want to know about the young man that they were potentially going
03:10to select?
03:11Well, just like most organizations, you know, they want to know what, you know, what is
03:16his habits are like?
03:17What do you, what, what did, what he likes to do off the court?
03:21Um, uh, does he work hard on the basketball floor?
03:26Uh, how high is his IQ?
03:30Can he pick up things quickly?
03:32Um, and you know, all I could tell him was the kid was very skilled.
03:37When I got him, you know, there was that rap that he didn't work hard and play, play at
03:43a high level.
03:44And, and, you know, we all forget, you know, these, these are young kids, man, and it takes
03:51time.
03:52And when I got him, it took about a month, man, to, to, to break him and, and, and get
03:58him where we thought he could help us win basketball games and play at a high level.
04:04And, um, you know, and as the season went on, he got better, you know, that's how I
04:09judge guys.
04:10I mean, from when we're, from where we start and, and, and where we finished and when you
04:16look at his numbers based on what he did is his, his year at, um, at Oregon, um, it's
04:27just a big jump, big jump.
04:30What was, uh, you say it took like a month.
04:33Was there just like getting used to your demands as, as, as you know, as coach, you're, you're
04:39a guy who demands a lot of your players defensively, all that type of stuff.
04:41So like, was that the thing that you just needed to get him as far as like up to speak
04:45as he was, was he relying on skill too much, maybe in previous stuff, uh, at pre at his
04:49previous stop, or what were the things that you were just like, that was the click moment
04:53for him?
04:54Well, it, it was, it was really effort given second and third, you know, effort, you know,
05:03I mean, he just, you know, early on, you know, he, he didn't run the floor hard.
05:08He didn't go after shots and block shots.
05:11And, you know, he didn't rebound out of his space, you know, things that big men should
05:18do.
05:19Um, and you know, once we got him over that hump and where he was making second and third
05:27effort plays and, and running the floor and blocking shots and rebounding the ball, um,
05:35uh, it'd be, it started to become easier, you know, and when we got him, he just physically
05:42he wasn't fit.
05:44You know, we had to put weight on him and, uh, I find when you, when guys come in, not
05:51physically ready to play and they start to develop that part of their body mentally,
05:58you know, they're in a good space, man.
06:01And they start probably doing things that they didn't think that they were capable of
06:05doing.
06:06And, um, I mean, he, he did everything from a basketball standpoint that we needed him
06:14to do on and off the court, man.
06:16And he was rewarded for it.
06:19Is there something that a lot of people don't know about Kalel personality wise, or like
06:23he is off the court that, that like you, uh, you, you just like about him?
06:27Like, is there, there's just something that's just not known about him that you find interesting.
06:32What was really unusual, you know, and I mean, you, you deal with a lot of parents and a
06:37lot of, a lot of young men at this level.
06:41But when I got him, he, when I challenged the man, everything was yes, sir, no, sir.
06:51Yes, sir.
06:53I mean, he never wants what, you know, I don't mind players barking back as that's healthy
06:59to me, you know, from a coach's standpoint, you know, you know, it lets me, lets me think
07:05you're ticking, you know, but, uh, he was just so gentleman-like in his approach.
07:12To wanting to learn how to play basketball, man.
07:14And that was, that was pleasant, man, for me, from a coaching standpoint, because I
07:18did challenge him early and, and tried to push him in the right direction.
07:23And, and he responded.
07:25Can you talk about, uh, you know, in this modern game, bigs are kind of asked to do
07:29everything, him adding that three point shot that he had with you guys.
07:33Like he didn't shoot a ton, but he shot it effectively.
07:35Uh, what do you think is, I guess the, the, the ceiling for that?
07:39Do you feel like he's a guy who's going to always shoot a ton or just a capable
07:42shooter?
07:42Cause people are wondering about like the offensive matchup with him and bam on a
07:46plan on a court together and what that could be.
07:49Well, again, uh, you know, that's going to be up to Spole and, you know, his staff
07:54and how they develop him and the things that they want him to do.
07:58Um, you know, but if he becomes a, a big time three point shoot shooter, you know,
08:05at his position, uh, it just opens up things for a lot in terms of what they're,
08:11they're trying to probably do from a basketball standpoint, but only time
08:15would tell.
08:16I mean, the bottom line is he's shown he can make, uh, threes, uh, you know, for
08:22us, he had to, when I look at his stats, he's, you know, he's got to get better
08:26and making free throws cause he's going to get filed.
08:29Uh, he shot, I think 60 some percent for 63 for us.
08:33I don't know what he's shot in the summer league, but his
08:36numbers were pretty good there.
08:38Um, but it's all about Spoles style in, you know, I think he fits his style.
08:45Uh, and the one thing I do know, uh, they're going to work his butt
08:50off and make him a better player.
08:52And that's, you know, that's all you can ask for, man.
08:55You just got to go along for the ride and, and do your part.
08:59That was something that was, uh, it was noticeable.
09:01You mentioned getting fouled a lot.
09:02Like no, I know it's summer league, but like, man, it definitely
09:06is that nobody could corral him.
09:08Like everybody had, they were sending him to the line a ton.
09:10Cause he's just such a forest coach.
09:12Like, was that just something noticeable last year?
09:15Like, man, nobody can seem to get this, uh, can defend this kid clean.
09:18Cause he's got so much, I guess, offensive ferocity and firepower to him.
09:22Well, I didn't go, you know, I didn't really go to him a lot on the low
09:27post, you know, when I had him, I rarely sell them, which was, that's
09:31why his numbers are so amazing.
09:33You know, I look at almost 16 and 10 rebounds and I really never, I
09:38didn't milk him like I did trace Jackson Davis, you know, on the block.
09:44And, uh, I put him in a lot of picking roles.
09:48Um, um, you know, he got offensive putbacks, you know, that was his way of
09:55scoring, but the picking roles, we were able to learn not to always, you know,
10:00throwing pocket, you know, pocket passes and stuff.
10:03I mean, there's times when you have to throw them, but a lot of times we were
10:07able to just put them up, put the ball in the air and he was able to go get it
10:11and either dunk it or come down and finish it.
10:14So, I mean, um, and then he, he got early strikes is what we call in transition
10:20by just running the floor and we were able to find him that way, but, you
10:26know, I didn't run a lot of plays for him, but his numbers indicated
10:30probably I did, but I really didn't.
10:32So I think just, just from a skillset, he he's, he's capable of doing pretty
10:38much anything on the basketball floor.
10:40He just got to learn the NBA game and, and the way Spohn likes to play.
10:45You, you have any sense of like how long a transition like that
10:48for, for a guy of his talent?
10:50Do you, do you have any sense of, of how long it could be till he's
10:53going to be at that comfort level?
10:54Like, I guess what you think his rookie year, uh, how, how big of an
10:58impact do you think you could make?
11:00Well, you know, I don't, you know, you can't judge that only time will tell,
11:05you know, he's got to get in there and learn what he, what they want him to
11:08do and, and, and put the time in, man.
11:12And if he does that, I mean, you know, I look at all of the players
11:15that pretty much play for the heat.
11:18They all work hard and they get better, man, and they win.
11:21So, you know, I don't see that being a problem for him.
11:25You, uh, your program just announced you're putting Victor Oladipo into
11:28your, uh, your basketball hall of fame.
11:30Uh, how did you guys come to that?
11:32He's got a lot of love down here, even though, you know, it ended
11:34short with injuries for him.
11:35A lot of, uh, heat fans were big Oladipo fans.
11:38He deserves to be there based on the body of work that he did
11:41here at Indiana university.
11:43And, and he's had a hell of a pro career as well.
11:49So, I mean, I'm happy.
11:50I spoke to him about a month ago and congratulated him.
11:55If I'm around him, I stick my head in there and, and, and watch some of the
12:00ceremonies, but he definitely belongs in the hall here, coach.
12:03We appreciate the time.
12:04Thanks so much.
12:05And, uh, thank you for giving us some insight into color.
12:08We're very excited to watch him this year.
12:09Best of luck for your upcoming season.
12:11We love him here in Hoosier land.
12:13Ain't no doubt about that.
12:15Take care guys.