Gonzaga's Corey Kispert the rare senior who could be an NBA lottery pick
By Sean Merriman
FOX Sports Senior Editor
When Corey Kispert's name is called in Thursday's NBA Draft, a recent trend will be bucked.
He won't be the first Gonzaga player to be drafted in the first round, and he won't be the first Zag selected in the opening round who had long, beautiful flowing locks (hello, Kelly Olynyk!).
Kispert played four years of college basketball and is projected to be a lottery pick. In this day and age – to use an analogy from another sport – that is like an NFL running back playing into his mid-30s. You just don’t see it too often.
Yet here is Kispert, fresh off an outstanding senior campaign when he was named the WCC Player of the Year and a consensus first-team All-American. He is viewed as a player who can come in and make an immediate impact in the NBA, and he’s not 18, 19, or even 21.
He is a 22-year-old college graduate, who has excelled both on and off the court.
Growing up in Edmonds, Washington, located a little less than 20 miles north of Seattle. Kispert starred at King's High School, where he played on the varsity team all four years and led the Knights in scoring as a freshman, despite coming off the bench.
"You could tell right away that he was a phenomenal basketball player, but an even better person," King's basketball coach Rick Skeen said of Kispert. "I remember when I first began coaching him and I said to myself, ‘This kid is going to either play in the NBA or be the President of the United States.'"
Kispert would go on to sign with Gonzaga where he started seven games as a true freshman and was a regular in the starting lineup by the time his sophomore campaign got underway. But it wasn’t until his junior season that he broke out and became a nationally recognized name, averaging 13.9 points per game while leading the WCC in 3-pointers made and being named a first-team all-league performer.
Following his junior season, Kispert made the decision to declare early for the NBA Draft without hiring an agent, which allowed him to return to school for his senior season. It turned out to be the right decision, as he put together a memorable campaign while leading the Zags to an undefeated regular season and a spot in the NCAA Championship game, where they fell to the Baylor Bears.
It was a painful loss for both Kispert and the Bulldogs, who saw their quest to become the first undefeated national champion in 45 years come to an end in the final game. However, what Kispert said following the loss spoke volumes to the type of individual he is.
"In the end, I just want people to remember how much I cared about the red and blue," Kispert told reporters. "Being a Zag is much more than just the 40 minutes you put into the time you spent on the floor. It means being a great person off the floor. It means being a great son, a brother, a great friend.
"I want people to remember me for being able to do all those things as good or better than I’ve played on the floor. And I’m hoping that little kids out there look at our team and look at me and realize they can kind of make it and do it the right way, too."
That quote says something about the former Gonzaga standout. It says he’s mature beyond his years and has a understanding of what it means to be a role model.
That became evident to Keen early in Kispert's high school career, when following a Friday night game, the two ran into each other at a fifth-grade game the following morning.
"I remember bring surprised to see him there. I thought maybe he had a cousin or something playing there," Keen said. "It turns out some of the kids went to watch Corey play the night before and asked him if he could come to their game, and sure enough, he did."
That next journey has not included a traditional path, as Kispert is expected to be the rare senior to hear his name called in the first 14 picks of tonight's draft. Of the 30 prospects listed in FOX Sports’ Jason McIntyre’s latest NBA Mock Draft, only one other player – Oregon’s Chris Duarte – played four years of college basketball.
"For years now, the mentality of teams and the NBA Draft has been that if you’re a player who has stuck around for three or four years, you’re too old, and that’s that," FOX Sports bracketologist Mike DeCourcy said. "I don’t think that’s been productive, and if you look at a guy like Cam Johnson or now (Corey) Kispert, you can see why."
Since 2017, there have been a total of 10 seniors selected in the first round of the NBA Draft, and the highest draft pick of that group was Johnson, who was the No. 11 selection in 2019 by the Phoenix Suns. The former North Carolina standout played an integral part in the Suns’ run to the NBA Finals this year, a path Kispert hopes to follow.
"He’s a tough kid, a lights-out-shooter, and a really smart individual," said DeCourcy of Kispert, who graduated from Gonzaga in three years with a 3.49 GPA and is currently working toward his MBA. "That right there will make him a valuable commodity in the NBA."
Unlike his former Gonzaga teammate, Jalen Suggs – who is projected to be a top-five pick Thursday night – Kispert was not ready to make the jump to the NBA after his freshman or sophomore years. But that hasn’t stopped others from doing so. Had they stayed all four years, we would have been watching the likes of Deandre Ayton, Trae Young and Collin Sexton in this past year’s NCAA Tournament. Instead, all three are looked at as part of the next crop of NBA superstars.
Perhaps the new "NIL" era, which allows college athletes to now profit off their name, image and likeness, will change the thought process when it comes to making an early jump to the league. Making the leap after a year of college basketball has worked out well for plenty of current NBA players, but Kispert is on the other end of the spectrum.
"I’m grateful for being able to wear this name on my chest," Kispert said of his time at Gonzaga. "I wouldn’t trade it for the world."
For more up-to-date news on all things Gonzaga basketball, click here to register for alerts on the FOX Sports app!
