Corey Kispert established himself as one of the elite 3-point shooters in college basketball over his four seasons at Gonzaga and the 6-foot-7 forward studied some of the best in the game to reach that level.
Kispert was a Consensus All-American First Team player last season after averaging 18.6 points, five rebounds and 1.8 assists in 32 games. He shot a career-high 44% from 3-point range on 6.5 attempts per game and ranked fifth in the country in points (595) and seventh in 3-pointers (91).
“I take a lot of pride in that,” Kispert said on Tuesday after working out with the Orlando Magic. “It’s kinda my trademark. It is what has gotten me to this point and it is what will continue to help me build my career. It is what I work on every day and it is like my little baby. It is what I love doing.”
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In order to improve his game, Kispert took it upon himself to watch film on some of the elite shooters in the game. He pointed to Joe Harris of the Brooklyn Nets and Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors as some of those guys he watched.
“I watched a ton of Joe Harris and a ton of Klay Thompson,” Kispert said. “Those are the two guys that I watched film of a ton. Thankfully, Klay is a West Coast guy so I watched a lot of him when he was healthy. I’ve developed a pretty good relationship with Joe, too.”
While he is perhaps the best shooter in the draft, Kispert is also working hard on proving to teams that he is more than just a shooter.
He has been working heavily on improving his defense, speed and ballhandling during the pre-draft process. He even tied Florida State forward Scottie Barnes for the second-fastest shuttle run after clocking in at 2.99 seconds.
Corey Kispert worked out for the #Magic today. He said you should know him for much more than his shooting: pic.twitter.com/x3N0k5CQxZ
— Orlando Magic Daily (@OMagicDaily) July 6, 2021
Kispert is most commonly projected to be a mid-first-round pick. He still needs to prove to teams he is more than a shooter, but given that ability alone, Kispert figures to be able to step into any team and immediately fill a need as a floor spacer.
The NBA draft is scheduled to take place on Thursday, July 29.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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