Adam Himmelsbach

USA TODAY Sports

The indelible image of last season's NCAA tournament was not a dunk or a celebration or a shining moment. It was Louisville guard Kevin Ware's right leg snapping in two after one faulty step against Duke. The grisly fracture was one of the most horrifying sports injuries we've ever seen, a break more common in bad motorcycle accidents.

The nation swiftly embraced Ware, partly because people felt badly for him, and partly because they found his gentle, positive manner so endearing. No one wants to be defined by an injury, but everyone wants to be loved, and everyone loved Kevin Ware.

And now exactly one year later, the Cardinals are improbably headed back to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, the place where Ware's life was forever changed.

"The team being back there all over again is kind of crazy," Ware's mother Lisa Junior said by telephone Monday afternoon. "But we're just, we're moving forward now. We're trying to get him back on the court."

Ware will not be on the court when Louisville faces Kentucky in a Midwest Region semifinal on Friday. He won't be on the bench, either.

The year since his injury has been a roller-coaster, with a triumphant return followed by a somewhat mysterious absence that sparked questions of whether Ware would ever wear a Cardinals uniform again.

He no longer attends games or practices and has not been available for interviews since January, and another request was turned down by Louisville on Monday. But Ware's mother does not believe this is the end.

"I think he'll be back with Louisville next year," Junior said. "That's where he is and that's where he wants to be. I just think that once he gets healthy enough, he'll be able to get back."

After Ware broke his leg last March, his recovery was projected to last 6-to-12-months. He made an unscheduled and emotional return during the Nov. 7 exhibition game against Pikeville, splashing a three-pointer on his first shot.

Even though he appeared reluctant at times, we assumed he would be a force soon enough. But the regular season began and it was clear Ware was still not himself.

He gained attention not for basketball, but for missing a court date for a reckless driving charge he received after borrowing a car from a friend. Then during the Dec. 17 game against Missouri State he was inadvertently kicked in his tender right leg, sidelining him once more.

In January it was announced that Ware would seek a medical redshirt. He went to games and went through warm-ups and sat on the bench, and then after a while he stopped coming to games altogether.

"It was very hard for him, you know, just to have to sit on the sidelines and watch," Junior said.

A Louisville spokesman said Ware has not been attending practices, but added that Ware is still enrolled in classes and still attends most team study halls.

Junior said she speaks to Cardinals coach Rick Pitino fairly often and has been given no indication that Ware will not be welcomed back next year.

He has been tirelessly working out by himself, hoping for a comeback that is more successful than the previous one. But missing out on the Cardinals' latest postseason surge has been difficult.

"He just wishes he could help," Junior said. "He wishes he could be out there with the guys, making a difference, making it easier."

Instead, when Friday's game begins and CBS inevitably alludes to Ware's gruesome leg injury, Ware will probably still be in Louisville, watching on a television somewhere, waiting to see what comes next.

Adam Himmelsbach writes for The (Louisville) Courier-Journal.