Lauren Ware admits that she’s a bit of an introvert at first. It takes a while, she says, for her outgoing personality to burst through.
Still, it likely won’t be long until Ware — the Arizona Wildcats’ top recruit in both volleyball and women’s basketball — is a household name in Tucson.
Ware tore her left ACL in August, an injury that kept her from playing the sports she loves at Bismarck, North Dakota’s Century High School.
This would be enough to get most people down. Not Ware: Over the last nine months, she has relied on her parents, Kristi and Joe, as well as UA coaches Adia Barnes and Dave Rubio to stay focused — and positive.
Ware can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. On May 16, nine months after surgery, Ware will take a Biodex test that measures strength in her legs, quads and hamstrings.
Last month’s Biodex test showed the difference between her right leg and her surgically repaired leg was 15%. If she can get that number down to 10%, she can start preseason training.
Ware said she’s expected to arrive on campus with other volleyball players on July 1.
“I’m feeling good; rehab is good,” Ware said. “I am excited for this test. I am doing everything now. Once you get to this point (in rehab) it drags on. I feel like I am ready to go. And I am very excited — I can’t wait to go on campus.”
Ware goes to rehab three times a week — fortunately, her specialists are still considered essential by her state. A shutdown that included medical personnel “would have set me back,” Ware said. “I’m lucky.”
When she’s not undergoing rehab, Ware practices a training program that includes stretching, agility moves and jumping mechanics. She also runs, shoots hoops and walks her two dogs — Luna is a Siberian husky and Buddy is a Pomeranian poodle — a lot. Anything to stay active.
“They’ve both kept me really busy by playing with them … and are always cheering me up,” she said.
After surgery, in which doctors used her patellar tendon to repair her ACL, Ware was on crutches and couldn’t put weight on her leg for three to four weeks. A few days in, she started the painful stuff — working on her range-of-motion exercises.
During this time, Ware lifted light weights and used a rowing machine to work on her arms and shoulders. Then she moved onto cutting, jumping and starting to lift more and heavier weights.
Like with almost all recoveries, Ware has faced some setbacks. The glue used around her surgically repaired knee split apart. She soon learned she was allergic to it, requiring a second surgery.
“It definitely has been a test of my mental toughness,” she said. “I learned it’s not all about basketball and volleyball. I was constantly going and never got a break. And I learned that taking care of my body is important.
“It’s motivated me. It’s a lot of hard work, the toughest thing I’ve ever done. I’m hoping to carry this forward — trying my best every day and trying to get better. I think it helped me in that way.”
The 6-foot-5-inch Ware was North Dakota’s high school player of the year three times — twice in basketball and once in volleyball. Two years ago, Ware led her basketball team to a 27-0 record, while the volleyball team went 34-5; both teams won state championships. Ware finished the volleyball season with 586 kills, 187 digs, 86 blocks and 48 aces. She averaged 17.3 points, 11.1 rebounds, 4.6 blocks and 2.1 assists per game in basketball.
Prep Volleyball lists Ware as a top 50 recruit in the 2020 recruiting class. With her leading the way, Arizona’s recruiting class is ranked No. 7 in the country — and No. 1 in the Pac-12.
Ware is also a five-star basketball recruit, rated No. 3 nationally among post players and No. 26 overall by ESPN.
Once healthy, she could get even better. Barnes said Ware “hasn’t even scratched her potential at all.”
“(Had she been healthy) she would have been invited to USA Basketball, she would have been a McDonald’s (All-American), Jordan Brand (All-American) — without even ever playing a full year of basketball,” Barnes said. “I think the interesting thing is she is impactful for basketball, and also impactful for volleyball. … She can be an All-American in volleyball. She can be an All-American in basketball.”
Ware plans to split her time between the two sports, with a two-week break between the end of the volleyball season and the start of her basketball season, a plan supported by both Barnes and Rubio.
Things could change, however, if the volleyball season is pushed to January or February because of the coronavirus pandemic. Should that happen, Ware could choose to redshirt in volleyball while she plays basketball. Given the logistics and physical requirements, it’s unlikely that she’d play both at the same time.
Barnes and Rubio said they’ll talk Ware through her options if the volleyball season is delayed.
“I hope that doesn’t happen,” Ware said. “We’ll wait and see. I won’t stress myself out too much. I’m focusing on what I’m doing now. We are going to stick to the plan we have and if that doesn’t happen, we’ll figure it out.
“We do weekly calls on Zoom with my coaches and my teammates. They keep telling us that everything is going to be OK. They are planning and making sure everyone is safe and healthy.”
