We continue our brief profiles of each member of the 2010-11 Creighton men’s basketball team. Join us each weekday from now until the men’s exhibition game against Northern State for an introduction to this year’s Bluejays, from freshmen to seniors.
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Kaleb Korver and Sam Schuett won the 3-point contest at Bluejay Madness.
Expectations are hard to live up to. Try following a family member to a school where he is remembered as one of the best basketball players in program history. Kaleb Korver has faced unique pressures since the day he stepped foot on the Hilltop, with a fan base hoping he could contribute immediately and even perhaps lead the Bluejays like his brother, Kyle, did from 1999 to 2003.
But Kaleb Korver comes into this season, his last at Creighton, with his own expectations; namely, an expectation to win. “Especially for all of us seniors, the main drive is to get to the NCAA Tournament,” Korver told WBR. “The last three years have been the NIT and CIT, and I think we are really disappointed in that. No matter what, we want to get to the NCAA Tournament.”
Korver played his freshman year buried in a roster full of players at his position — Nick Bahe, Pierce Hibma, Booker Woodfox, Cavel Witter, and P’Allen Stinnett. Playing time was hard to come by, but head coach Dana Altman thought he needed to find a way for Korver to play right away. Through the first 15 games of the season, Korver was up and down on minutes; he ranged from 4 minutes against Missouri State to 20 minutes against Savannah State. But through the second half of the season, Korver’s minutes dwindled to little or no time on the court, and he didn’t hit double digit minutes again until the final game of the season in the NIT against Florida. Many wondered if he should have redshirted.
Heading into his sophomore season, Korver appeared ready to go thanks to that limited exposure during his freshman year. He played in all 35 games and his minutes doubled. His 3-point percentage improved, and he proved to be a deadly shooter when given the opportunity. During a stretch early in the season, Korver was 11-of-15 from downtown against Dayton, St. Joseph’s, and Northern Colorado. Later in the year, against Southern Illinois, Korver went 4-6 from 3-point range.
What a difference a season makes. Korver struggled as a junior. His minutes went down, he struggled to find consistency in his 3-point shooting, and he lost confidence. Korver went 4-21 from 3-point range during the conference season, and fans were quick to point out when he wasn’t taking shot opportunities. “At times I lost confidence,” he said. “I wasn’t getting shots in the offense where I was expecting to get them and were kind of forced, which kind of leads to a bad percentage.”
Heading into his senior season, with a new coach and a new attitude, Korver wants to make a difference for the Bluejays. During his offseason workouts he worked on his strength, agility, foot speed and a quicker shot, which he hopes will translate to the court.
“I think this year with a new offense, we are going to have a lot more screens and things like that, and that will really help me out a lot,” he said. If it is any indication, Korver looked pretty sharp at Bluejay Madness as he teamed up with women’s player Sam Schuett to win the bracketed 3-point contest.
The upcoming season promises to be much more difficult than a fun 3-point contest. But at the same time, Korver said, it doesn’t help to take the game out of context. “We are still just playing basketball, the same old stuff,” he said, adding that while there are fundamental changes playing for Greg McDermott as opposed to Altman, there aren’t huge changes.
Korver also eyes a change in the amount of leadership he brings to the team as a senior, similar to what his brother Klayton did at Drake. During Klayton’s senior season, Drake won the MVC regular season and tournament championships. It is just the kind of way Kaleb Korver would like to go out in his last year at Creighton.