Kispert

[Reborn]

i just feel a deep need to start a thread for Corey Kispert because he has become a phenom. The way he is playing is just phenominal. His play this year is a really good reason why It's really valuable to play for 4 years.

I saw Corey play a couple times when he was in high school because my grandson who played for Selah played in tournaments that Kispert's AAU team played in. I knew he was special way back when, and was so happy when he signed to play at Gonzaga. He was really high on Few's list, even as a freshman. And then he got hurt, and he never quite came back that year. Kind of reminds me of what has happened to Watson. The next couple years Corey played as a role player because of the awesome play of Hachimura and Clark. Last year he played a somewhat better role, but I'd say he was strictly a 3 point shooter, and really not too good on defense.

And now this year, and he's a senior, and he has turned into one of the All-Time Best Zag players. I'm not sure what he has done, but I'm pretty sure he has worked on his game in ways he has never before. He seems bigger but quicker. He gets to the rim in ways he never could before, and he's shooting the 3 with the confidence that he had in high school, but he's doing it against the best college teams in the country. That block he had on that Virginia guard who was penetrating to the basket was really really beautiful. The refs just had to ruin a great defensive play and call a foul.

Kispert just kept blowing my mind today as he kept canning one 3 after another, and with each he seemed to go out a little further just to challenge himself. And dang if he didn't hit it, and go out further and hit it too. He finally missed as he went out all the way to Tim Buck Tu. I thought Gonzaga was going to really have a really tough game. I was pretty nervous at the start of the game. But my confidence grew just about at the same rate Corey's did. He hit one, then two, then three. And I began to think of Suggs' game against West Virginia when he made like 5 first half 3's. And by God, Corey just kept hitting them and I think had 7 by half time and the Zags had just blown the game wide open. He hit a couple more, and then Few took him out. I really wish Few had let him break the record because he deserved it.

And there is one more word I want to say about Corey. He's humble. And that's one thing that Zagness is all about. That and THE HAIR.

Go Zags!

[Larryzag]

How did Corey get this good? I know he has worked on his game, but I've never seen this much improvement from one year to the next. He has gone from probable second round pick to first round I believe.

[willandi]

i just feel a deep need to start a thread for Corey Kispert because he has become a phenom. The way he is playing is just phenominal. His play this year is a really good reason why It's really valuable to play for 4 years.

I saw Corey play a couple times when he was in high school because my grandson who played for Selah played in tournaments that Kispert's AAU team played in. I knew he was special way back when, and was so happy when he signed to play at Gonzaga. He was really high on Few's list, even as a freshman. And then he got hurt, and he never quite came back that year. Kind of reminds me of what has happened to Watson. The next couple years Corey played as a role player because of the awesome play of Hachimura and Clark. Last year he played a somewhat better role, but I'd say he was strictly a 3 point shooter, and really not too good on defense.

And now this year, and he's a senior, and he has turned into one of the All-Time Best Zag players. I'm not sure what he has done, but I'm pretty sure he has worked on his game in ways he has never before. He seems bigger but quicker. He gets to the rim in ways he never could before, and he's shooting the 3 with the confidence that he had in high school, but he's doing it against the best college teams in the country. That block he had on that Virginia guard who was penetrating to the basket was really really beautiful. The refs just had to ruin a great defensive play and call a foul.

Kispert just kept blowing my mind today as he kept canning one 3 after another, and with each he seemed to go out a little further just to challenge himself. And dang if he didn't hit it, and go out further and hit it too. He finally missed as he went out all the way to Tim Buck Tu. I thought Gonzaga was going to really have a really tough game. I was pretty nervous at the start of the game. But my confidence grew just about at the same rate Corey's did. He hit one, then two, then three. And I began to think of Suggs' game against West Virginia when he made like 5 first half 3's. And by God, Corey just kept hitting them and I think had 7 by half time and the Zags had just blown the game wide open. He hit a couple more, and then Few took him out. I really wish Few had let him break the record because he deserved it.

And there is one more word I want to say about Corey. He's humble. And that's one thing that Zagness is all about. That and THE HAIR.

Go Zags!

There was a video of Corey' pandemic, summer training.
His Dad has a full sized outdoor court built for him and he had to practice dribbling against the family bulldog.

[White lightning]

He's been this good. It just wasn't his time.

I remember when someone criticized his shot because it always hit iron on the way through. Never a swish in his opinion. Haven't heard anything lately

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[gueastcoast]

He's been such a joy to watch this year and it's wonderful to see a great young man enjoy well-deserved success.

He was touted as the second coming of Thunder Dan Majerle on his way into the program, and as Reborn noted in the OP he had early setbacks with his injury and finding a role on teams loaded with frontcourt talent. He has now come into his own and it's been a thing to behold. He's got the eye of the tiger and I love watching it.

[23dpg]

He started on a stacked team as a freshman, ahead of Norvell. Then He got hurt and sort of lost his spot, lost his confidence maybe.
. He played his role for the last two years but now he’s the man.
I thought back then he had a chance to be real good. I thought he had a chance to be a great college player. Turns out he’s even better. Now I think he’s got a legitimate shot at the NBA. I’d bet that he’s a first rounder next year.

[zagsfanforlife]

I feel quite confident in saying that CK will be a top 20 draft pick. Shooting 3's is at a premium high these days, he is one of the best if not best shooters in the draft... and he is 6'7, stocky and is actually very athletic. Also has great character and will be coming off a national championship

[Spink]

He's been this good. It just wasn't his time.

I remember when someone criticized his shot because it always hit iron on the way through. Never a swish in his opinion. Haven't heard anything lately

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

Haha! That was a huge thread. We need to resurrect it. Not to make the user "look bad" but just the amazing journey Kispert has come!

[SorenTodd45]

He's been such a joy to watch this year and it's wonderful to see a great young man enjoy well-deserved success.

He was touted as the second coming of Thunder Dan Majerle on his way into the program, and as Reborn noted in the OP he had early setbacks with his injury and finding a role on teams loaded with frontcourt talent. He has now come into his own and it's been a thing to behold. He's got the eye of the tiger and I love watching it.

That's a great comparison. I was a huge Suns fan back in the day (living in Tempe) and I actually met Dan a couple of times. Yes, I see so much of Dan in Corey. I love Corey, he's one of my favorite Zags. I'm so happy he was able to show his mad skills on NATIONAL TELEVISION.

As to taking him out in the 2nd half, we do have another game in two days. And a game after that. A tired Corey is no good for us.

[katman50]

Haha! That was a huge thread. We need to resurrect it. Not to make the user "look bad" but just the amazing journey Kispert has come!

It wasn't that long ago when Corey was pilloried by many on this board. Fans can sure be fickle.

[Larryzag]

“They are,” Few agreed. “But Corey’s a legendary Gonzaga player. He’s not only done it on the floor, but you literally could not have a better leader or representative of your program than Corey Kispert. He’s a walking poster child, not only of Gonzaga basketball but why we have college sports.”

This is it. Corey's leadership is why this team is unselfish and has such good chemistry, why there are so many assists with this team. It all starts at the top and Corey is the leader of this team.

[Shanachie]

In addition to hitting over half his threes this year, Corey is shooting 79% on twos, both on higher volume than last year. For comparison, he shot 44% on threes and 52% on twos last season.

Link

[Martin Centre Mad Man]

There is a long list of Zag players who improved significantly from year to year, but I can’t remember a player who improved as much as Kispert has between his junior and senior seasons. He was an immediate contributor and part-time starter as a freshman. He improved incrementally over his first two seasons to become a first team all-conference player in his role as the team’s best outside shooter. I honestly thought he had reached his ceiling as a junior, but he has improved every facet of his game over the past year. He is visibly quicker and more agile, but he doesn’t seem to have sacrificed strength or power to gain speed or agility. He is a faster, more confident dribbler. He is more aggressive when moving toward the rim and has become a much more dangerous threat to score off the dribble. His defense is better near the rim and on the perimeter. Even his outside shooting, which was always his greatest strength, has improved. His offseason training program must have rivaled Kelly Olynyk’s to have improved that much so late in his career.

I expect that he will be the next Zag to earn the Dan Dickau double double: First Team AP All-American and First Team Academic All-American.

[JPtheBeasta]

In addition to hitting over half his threes this year, Corey is shooting 79% on twos, both on higher volume than last year. For comparison, he shot 44% on threes and 52% on twos last season.

Link

Incredible.

He is pretty much automatic when he takes it left to the rim.

[MickMick]

All time Zag list for improvement from freshman to Junior/Senior.

Olynyk
Pargo
Sacre

And now add Kispert.

And honestly, I thought all of them were not that great as freshman, but I will give Kispert the nod as the best freshman of the bunch. Cory isn't driving into the forest and picking up his dribble or drawing offensive fouls like he did as a freshman. The improvement has been remarkable. He is certainly quicker and has more lateral twitch. He also seems to have improved upon his main skill strength.....perimeter shooting or "catch n shoot". Man he gets the ball up quick. A defender has to practically smother him at all times, which is tough because Cory is 6'7" and is a length mismatch for the shorter, quicker guys needed to keep up with him. A quicker, leaner, lengthier, more athletic, more accurate version of Matt Boldin with equivalent BB IQ. Very versatile like Boldin was, can play 1-4 with no noticeable drop off in contribution from any given role. I also need to mention that although Adam Morrison is in his own unique category, I think Kispert comes close enough to start thinking of him in those terms. When you can start taking over games on a consistent basis, you are in Adam Morrison territory.

The term "positionless basketball" is the most overused term in hoops nowadays, but Kispert certainly fits the bill in that regard. In fact the entire team fits within the latest concepts of modern basketball. Mark Few isn't just keeping up with the times, he is instead creating the precedent that everyone else is trying to follow.

I am very hopeful that Ballo will make this list as well.

[WallaWallaZag]

Incredible.

He is pretty much automatic when he takes it left to the rim.

he's also developed a euro-step crossover going from the left-to-right that he uses now to avoid the charges he used get

[Zagricultural]

Rui has to be on this list. We forget how much he grew. Replying to Mick above.

[23dpg]

Rui has to be on this list. We forget how much he grew. Replying to Mick above.

Maybe add Brandon Clarke. His shot as San Jose St was hideous. There’s a clip out there somewhere that showed the before and after.

Also, I may be in the minority but i’m Not entirely sure CK belongs on the “incredible improvement” list.
Again, he started his first game as a freshman.....for GONZAGA. I maintain that injury and circumstance limited his exposure. I remember before he got hurt I marveled at the way he attacked the rim. He looked like a TE in football.

[MickMick]

Rui has to be on this list. We forget how much he grew. Replying to Mick above.

I stand corrected. Although Rui showed next level athleticism as a freshman, his mid range shot was an amazing development.

As far as Kispert is concerned, I did concede he was the best freshman on the list, but he did routinely make bad decisions when driving to the hoop. He always was, however, a very good shooter. Not even close to the level he is at now. If he was, Norvel wouldn’t have taken, and kept, the “catch n shoot” role.

[zagamatic]

Kispert has definitely hit another level this year. I honestly think it stems from his much improved defense. He's no longer missing rotations and closeouts as badly as he has before and I think that is leading to more confidence on the offensive end. Kispert strikes me as the type that beats himself up for the mistakes he makes and kills his own confidence.
On a side note, I think that Karnowski has to be on the overall most improved from freshman to senior year. It could be argued that he had to overcome more poor officiating than anyone in college basketball over the last 20 years and still managed to become the winningest men's basketball player.

[zag67]

I think that Cory's improvement is his speed on both the offence and defense end of the court. He looks like he feels comfortable and looks to be in the correct position to make plays. His dribbling with the ball when he drives shows that his dog did a great job preparing him for this year. This is going to be a great year to follow this team. GO ZAGS

[bballbeachbum]

all 9 of CK's 3's here, all catch and shoots but the first one, Suggs with a few assists. The first CK 3 was great decision by Suggs early in the game, he didn't attack out of control in transition against 2 defenders, like the coaches maybe had coached him all week, instead checked and found CK for his only 3 that wasn't a catch and shoot, but an early stage-setting dagger all the same. Zags did that all game, only 12 fast break points, but hyper efficient on O anyway, under control. Would Bennett allow CK that space consistently ever again if there's a rematch? Idk, but CK moves well off the ball sliding to get open and putting pressure on any D so far this season, and as so many have noted, the passing and selflessness and teamwork has been special to exploit whatever d

[StatsZag]

all 9 of CK's 3's here, all catch and shoots but the first one, Suggs with a few assists. The first CK 3 was great decision by Suggs early in the game, he didn't attack out of control in transition against 2 defenders, like the coaches maybe had coached him all week, instead checked and found CK for his only 3 that wasn't a catch and shoot, but an early stage-setting dagger all the same. Zags did that all game, only 12 fast break points, but hyper efficient on O anyway, under control. Would Bennett allow CK that space consistently ever again if there's a rematch? Idk, but CK moves well off the ball sliding to get open and putting pressure on any D so far this season, and as so many have noted, the passing and selflessness and teamwork has been special to exploit whatever d

Really amazingly perfect passes straight into the pocket. Nembhard's last one was a teeny bit low, but on #3 Suggs hit him with a bullet while motion (backing up). You'd almost think Suggs had experience throwing a ball to a moving target. Jordan Matthews famous WVU three was all the more impressive since he gathered it from his ~knees after a deflection.

[jazzdelmar]

All time Zag list for improvement from freshman to Junior/Senior.

Olynyk
Pargo
Sacre

And now add Kispert.

And honestly, I thought all of them were not that great as freshman, but I will give Kispert the nod as the best freshman of the bunch. Cory isn't driving into the forest and picking up his dribble or drawing offensive fouls like he did as a freshman. The improvement has been remarkable. He is certainly quicker and has more lateral twitch. He also seems to have improved upon his main skill strength.....perimeter shooting or "catch n shoot". Man he gets the ball up quick. A defender has to practically smother him at all times, which is tough because Cory is 6'7" and is a length mismatch for the shorter, quicker guys needed to keep up with him. A quicker, leaner, lengthier, more athletic, more accurate version of Matt Boldin with equivalent BB IQ. Very versatile like Boldin was, can play 1-4 with no noticeable drop off in contribution from any given role. I also need to mention that although Adam Morrison is in his own unique category, I think Kispert comes close enough to start thinking of him in those terms. When you can start taking over games on a consistent basis, you are in Adam Morrison territory.

The term "positionless basketball" is the most overused term in hoops nowadays, but Kispert certainly fits the bill in that regard. In fact the entire team fits within the latest concepts of modern basketball. Mark Few isn't just keeping up with the times, he is instead creating the precedent that everyone else is trying to follow.

I am very hopeful that Ballo will make this list as well.

Freshman to soph, the Bonus. No one close.

[willandi]

all 9 of CK's 3's here, all catch and shoots but the first one, Suggs with a few assists. The first CK 3 was great decision by Suggs early in the game, he didn't attack out of control in transition against 2 defenders, like the coaches maybe had coached him all week, instead checked and found CK for his only 3 that wasn't a catch and shoot, but an early stage-setting dagger all the same. Zags did that all game, only 12 fast break points, but hyper efficient on O anyway, under control. Would Bennett allow CK that space consistently ever again if there's a rematch? Idk, but CK moves well off the ball sliding to get open and putting pressure on any D so far this season, and as so many have noted, the passing and selflessness and teamwork has been special to exploit whatever d

If Bennett had someone that stuck like glue to CK, someone else would have been open...and probably hot instead.