The Junkies were on location with the Wizards on Friday, and got a visit from Corey Kispert, who had 11 points in 24 minutes off the bench in Wednesday’s season opener.
Kispert thinks he could knock down at least 80 percent if he shot 100 three-pointers from his favorite spot in the corner, which is unfortunately kind of close to the percentage (or number) the Pacers put up in that game Wednesday.
“It’s kind of what I get paid to do,” Kispert laughed. “You have to do that at a minimum to play in the league pretty much across the board.”
The guys got to know Corey a little bit, asking about his Instagram and golf proclivities, his recent wedding, and when basketball became his sport of choice (around age 16, as his dad played college basketball, so he gravitated there even after playing just about everything).
He’s got a new teammate that’s not much older than that in 19-year-old first-round pick Bilal Coulibaly, and he already likes what he sees from the top pick.
“I’ve seen some pretty special things out of him; even in our game against Indiana, he had some blocks and some steals that were pretty impressive,” Kispert said. “He’s a pro, he’s been a pro for a while now, and he gets it. And so, you know, no matter what time is on the clock, he's gonna play hard. And, being 19, sometimes you just don't know any better.”
Impressive, because Kispert wasn’t even sure he was a pro prospect at that age.
“It might have been even after that; my first two years at Gonzaga, I had a lot of people tell me, ‘you're gonna be a great overseas pro,’” Kispert said. “A lot of guys from Gonzaga will play overseas and have a great life and make a bunch of money, and not to be offensive to any of them, but that didn't sit right with me. Obviously, when you go to a place like that, you want to be a pro at the highest level, and it didn't really sit in with me until maybe halfway through my junior year. That’s when I really kind of started to think things through and figure it out.”
He still thinks about the national title game Gonzaga lost to Baylor in 2021 as a missed opportunity, and looks back on it often.”
“I just thought we weren't prepared out of the jump. We weren't prepared for the kind of punch they we're gonna throw,” he said. “The college game isn't as long as an NBA game, so each bucket matters more. I thought we played great the last 30 minutes or so, but not being ready to go for that first seven minutes of that game, like that's what still haunts me.”
Take a listen to Corey Kispert’s entire segment above!