Get to know Gonzaga's newest commit, Corey Kispert

Bulldog fans received great news when rising senior Corey Kispert announced his commitment to Gonzaga, one week after taking his official visit to Spokane. Although we'll have to wait a little while to see the 2017 commit hit the floor for the Zags, no wait is needed to get to know more about him now.

Kispert is an excellent shooter, with a versatile skill-set that allows him to play multiple positions on the floor. It came as no surprise then when I asked him which player he identified himself with. "The guy I try to model my game after the most is probably Klay Thompson," said Kispert. "He can shoot it from anywhere, gets the ball off quickly from anywhere, and he's really good at coming off screens and catching and shooting. He's also really good at getting into the lane and being deceptive and getting to the free throw line. That's kind of where I'm most effective. He's a pretty good athlete, tall, long, lanky, and he can play with the best of them; and that's who I kind of try to model my game after."

Although Notre Dame and Virginia offered Kispert the opportunity to play in the much ballyhooed ACC, Gonzaga's work in the non-conference schedule did not go unnoticed, "It's huge," Kispert commented. "No matter what way you look at it, the WCC is a mid-major. It's not one of the Power 5 conferences or whatever, and so, in order to make up for what they lack a little bit in conference play, you gotta play really really good teams outside your conference, and Gonzaga loads up the out-of-conference schedule. And it's huge for me to really see them working hard to get the players games against some really high-level, elite NBA-level athletes and teams outside of their conference. It might be a lot of work, but it's impactful and it's definitely worth it."

More than just a basketball player, Kispert carries a 3.96 GPA while still maintaining interests off the court. "When it gets warm, I really enjoy heading out to the lake. Anything having to do with water and water sports, I am totally down for. I love to inner tube, water ski, wakeboard, jet-ski, anything that's on the water, you name it I'll do it. I also love baseball, watching it, following it. I'm a huge Mariners fan, and baseball is probably my second favorite sport other than basketball."

Not just limited to feats of athleticism, Kispert has some musical ability as well, "I love to play guitar, I picked up playing the guitar last summer and it just kind of caught on. It has been a really good alternative stress-relief for me from playing basketball and being on the court all the time.  Also, I'm a strong believer. I have a faith in Christ that's at the core of my values."

Mark Few and his staff have been working on acquiring the Seattle product's commitment for some time now. With Kispert joining Jesse Wade in the 2017 class, along with the large influx of talent arriving in Spokane this fall, the future keeps getting brighter for Gonzaga.