Kevin Ware chooses a school, finally

It finally appears as if Kevin Ware's recruitment is over.

Ware, who ranks 88th in the country in the consensus recruiting rankings, is headed to Louisville.

The 6'4" product of Rockdale County High School in Georgia had one of the stranger recruiting processes. He originally committed to Tennessee as a sophomore in high school, signing his NLI back in November. But with the shenanigans that Bruce Pearl found himself tied up in, Ware eventually got a release from the school. He then committed to Central Florida, but de-committed just 10 days later when Pete Thamel and Pat Forde exposed potential recruiting violations, including Ware's.


"It has been a long journey, with a few twists and turns, and now it’s all done,” Ware’s stepfather, Wesley Junior, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“Kevin is excited about the opportunity to learn the game of basketball from Coach Pitino, who has been successful on every level. Kevin couldn’t pass on that opportunity. Kevin’s excited, we’re excited and Coach Pitino is excited."

Louisville never let up on Ware, and now it is finally paying off. Ware joins a recruiting class that includes two all-americans in Wayne Blackshear and Chane Behanan, four-star center Zach Price, and three-star wing Angel Nunez.

It is worth noting that this commitment by Ware may have some ripple effects. The Cardinals are thought to be the favorite for Juwan Staten. Staten, if you remember, started at the point for Dayton as a freshman -- leading the A-10 in assists -- before opting to transfer when Brian Gregory left. He committed to Penn State, but with Ed DeChellis taking the job at Navy, Staten is reopening his recruitment. He would be eligible in 2012-2013.

Ware's commitment may also have an effect on sophomore-to-be Russ Smith. Smith was supposed to be Peyton Siva's back-up this past season, but he lost the job to Elisha Justice.

Since Ware was released from his Letter of Intent to Tennessee, he cannot sign another LOI with another school. That means that when he finally does put his pen to paper at Louisville, he will only be signing an athletic-aid agreement. Athletic-aid agreements are only binding for the school, not the athlete, which means that if Ware once again gets cold feet, he will be able to reopen his recruitment.

Again.

Let's hope it doesn't come to that.