Duke is in contact with former 5-star center Kel’el Ware, according to a report.

Per On3’s Joe Tipton, the Blue Devils are 1 of numerous top programs who have reached out to Ware since he entered the portal. Ware spent his freshman season at Oregon.

Ware entered the year as a potential lottery pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. However, things did not go to plan in Eugene. He faced tough competition for minutes and started only 4 games for the Ducks. He averaged 6.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game with Oregon.

However, Ware’s upside as a center is exceptionally high. He was the No. 7 overall player and the No. 3 center in the country for the 2022 recruiting class, per 247Sports Composite rankings.

Duke is expected to lose both Dereck Lively and Kyle Filipowski to the NBA this offseason. Lively and Filipowski were the only centers ranked higher than Ware in the class of 2022.

Duke does have 3 power forwards committed in the class of 2023, but none have Ware’s size. Ware is listed at 7-foot, 210 pounds.