Klayton Korver And I Interrupt Our Busy Lives For A Little Chatterbanter

New exciting news! I have a new undertaking and a new partner. Joining the WebMaster and I in this blog, we’re planning on incorporating one Mr. Klayton Everett Korver. Hopefully the excessive banter Klayton and I exchange in real life will translate well into the written format. For a little opening and background on Mr. Korver, we exchanged the following emails.

Ok Klayton, to start, what are you doing now?

Newbie Klayton Korver:

Well Adam, I am planning to pick up Kyle’s car from the dealership after some minor problems. Then, hopefully I will get to catch a few minutes of Bill Raftery doing Big East games today. Which brings me to something I have been thinking about for some time now. We discussed this for a minute the other day, the NBA is so much better to watch than College Basketball. Now I feel like I am a decent judge here, as I played five years at Drake and saw plenty of college games. Now that I live with Kyle, see him everyday, and watch nearly 100 games, I can’t help but notice the skill level of NBA players. Their skills are so much better it makes it difficult to watch the college game.

I love the passion you see in college. But, even those guys can’t sustain it night in and night out. The major complaint about NBA players, “They don’t care til the 4th quarter”… may be valid, but there is a reason. Many times they played the night before, then flew for a few hours, arrived home around early in the AM, and have practice in morning before heading back to the gym for game time. I don’t know about you Adam, but when I fly it can take a lot out of me. My joints get swollen and sore worse than they normally would. It just takes a little bit more to feel healthy and energized again. These guys do it everyday. And they do it against the best athletes in the world. They don’t miss open jump shots. They are all physical freaks. When you sit close, you see just how fast the game is. So… that’s my start, what do you have to say, you with me or against me old friend?

Blogger:

Well here’s the thing Klayton, I wasn’t asking what you were doing at this moment. To be honest, I really don’t care. I was more looking for an update of what you were doing in Mormon country out in Salt Lake City Utah. I mean, if you’re going to be mentioned, I think people will at least want to know why they don’t see your pretty face on the streets of Des Moines. So please, inform our audience (or just humor me because we don’t exactly have an audience) what you’ve been up to since college. You know, a little background. You do that and maybe, just maybe, I will tell you my thoughts. Your move.

KEK:

Well Adam.. I first went overseas to Treviso, Italy, to tryout for some teams in Europe. I had a few offers, the best being in Serbia, but decided that my knees would not be able to handle the daily grind. As you know we didn’t practice a ton our senior year because of injuries (Adam’s note – For those unfamiliar with Klayton’s injury history, the kid’s had more knee surgeries than most people have doctor’s appointments. He spent his entire career, well last three years anyway, dealing with swelling and chicken legs. In his defense he couldn’t really lift, but still.)

So I decided to hang up the sneakers and join the rec- ball leagues. Kyle asked me to move out to Utah and help him with his foundation work, and also a clothing line he was starting up. About halfway through last year, we started Seer Group, a non-profit construction group providing labor and materials to families in desperate need of home repairs. We have done roofs, kitchens, bathrooms, doorways, window wells, pretty much anything necessary. Now, we are finding our passion is in handicap ramps and making homes handicap friendly.

All while we were going through the paperwork on that, we also threw a Dodge Barrage with Deron Williams and his foundation, Point of Hope. We had 40 teams join in, one with Kyle, Deron, and Ronnie Price, and raised over $20,000 for the Christmas Box House, a group assisting in housing children who have been taken from their homes because of dangerous situations with their parents.

In December of this year, we started up Seer Clothing, a for profit clothing line. Even though the clothing line is for profit, we donate all the proceeds to the Kyle Korver Foundation. We have 8 guys shirts and 8 girls shirts, all with different meanings. My personal favorite is Strength, not being the bully on the block, but its being confident in who you are, and being able to stand for what you believe when times are tough. Inspiration for many of the T-shirts comes from Kyle’s experience with the ministries in Philly. Located on the North side with a lot of under-privelaged inner-city kids, Kyle had themes he wanted to get across to them. I’m really excited about what we are doing and the direction of Seer Clothing. Check it out.

So that’s about what I have been up to, catching a lot of NBA games too, and enjoying the mountains, which is a little change from the hills of Iowa, aka “God’s Country”.

Blogger:

Klayton, thanks for finally answering my question. From what I hear you are quite a roofer. But believe me, after talking to you the other day as you were staring at a leak I’m not so sure. Anyway, onto your first message…

I agree in a way with your opinion of the NBA, but college basketball is still more exciting. Playing professionally opened my eyes to the difficulties associated with playing so many games. Mentally and physically it is without question much more difficult than high school or college. That being said, the college game represents a dynamic all its own. Players play hard every game (good ones do anyway). They play hard because they want to be there. They play hard because of the love of it sport. Even during my professional endeavors my love for the game suffered.

Now it is true, watching the NBA is amazing. No one misses. Even the people that can’t shoot don’t miss open looks (unless your name is Bruce Bowen or you are a member of the Detroit Pistons this year. Oh wait, they don’t get open looks). Athletically, its unbelievable watching such large, physical specimens devour the open floor. I get that. And my background now allows me to understand just how great it is. However, there is nothing better than college basketball. If nothing else, the fans make it a better game. The NCAA tournament is the best sports action on television. Period.

Next up for Korv and I will be our attempts to podcast. We’re both working on it, but found out through the WebMaster that posting on wordpress is not the way to go. Hopefully we can figure this out (Three Drake degrees later its still a struggle. Maybe after the tournament is over we’ll get this moving.)

My other favorite D-team.

Earlier today, the WebMaster sent me a link to a very interesting article. As many of you know, I am a Piston’s fan, though I’ve been more die hard in recent years. That does not mean I’m a fair weather fan, but I do not enjoy watching this year’s team play. A lot of that is because of team personnel. Team personnel is one of the responsibilities of Joe Dumars, President of Basketball Operations for the Pistons.

Now I have always been a big Joe D fan. I loved the Bad Boy Pistons teams who scrapped and fought for every victory in the late-80’s early-90’s. I remember Isiah, Mahorn, Laimbeer, The Microwave, John Salley, Dennis Rodman, and Joe D’s rainbow jumpers. That team locked people down defensively and even though they were controversial, played the game the right way. After that team aged and disbanded, we were blessed with Grant Hill and a few more good years. However, we did not reach the pinnacle again until Joe D reached his current position.

Taking over in 00-01, Dumars revitalized the franchise. He dealt the beloved but increasingly injured Grant Hill and brought in a new wave of talent. It started with Ben Wallace, then adding Richard Hamilton and Chauncey Billups, drafting Tayshaun Prince, and making a deadline trade for Rasheed Wallace. Dumars built a defensive-minded roster that dominated the Eastern Conference for 6 years. In this era, keeping a team together like that for so long, and earning that much success without having a “superstar” player is almost unheard of. But, all good things come to an end.

It started with the Chauncey trade – trading Billups for Allen Iverson. Chauncey was a fan favorite and the heart and soul of the team. Trading him cemented the end of the Pistons dynasty. But, as fans, we knew something need to chance because the players were getting older. It was time to retool and reload. We could see the possible benefits of trading for Iverson – one of the greatest individual players of all time (notice I said individual), a great scoring threat, and a guy who plays as hard as anyone (when he starts and gets a lot of minutes). Maybe the team needed a jolt to move in the right direction. Plus, Iverson’s contract expired at the end of the year. If the experiment didn’t work, he would be released to free agency and the Pistons could go in another direction. I didn’t like the trade, but I could see how it might work.

But, this past offseason I was skeptical to say the least.

Positives: Sign Richard Hamilton – has been the team’s leading scoring for years, fans love him, may have overpaid a little, but good move. Let Sheed sign elsewhere – needed more production from the 4-spot than Sheed’s body and mind could offer on a consistent basis.

Negatives: Sign Ben Gordon – I’ve talked about him enough already. I hate this signing as much as anyone. Especially such a long and large deal. Ugh. Trade Afflalo – read the article. The 2009 draft – Austin Daye, DaJuan Summers, and trading Chase Budinger. That article shows the possibilities. But not only that, these were questionable picks at the time. Joe D’s picks came as a surprise to many. (While many point to picking Darko overall as a terrible decision in 2003, I will still defend Joe D for that pick. The obvious top-3 picks in that draft were LeBron, Carmelo, and Darko. If you are the Pistons at number 2 and cannot get LeBron, already have Tayshaun Prince and a great nucleaus, you can afford to take a risk on a foreigner like Darko. Plus, if he drafted Melo, I don’t think the Pistons make it to 6 straight conference finals, and probably don’t even win a championship. Sure, I would rather he drafted D Wade or Chris Bosh, but those two were not listed in the same breath as the top-3.)

The 2009 draft gave them very little value and didn’t address team needs. The Pistons need a backup point guard to change the pace of the game, you’re telling me Ty Lawson couldn’t fill that role and play more than Austin Daye?

Anyway, read the article and let me know what you think. But I agree with the author, as long as the Pistons are built around Rodney Stuckey, Ben Gordon, and Charlie Villanueva, they will be destined for mediocrity.

Das Mailbag

“Hey Adam,
Glad to hear that you are enjoying the experience in Germany. Good luck to you and your teammates in the up coming playoffs.
 My son Nile and I went to one of your father & son camps last summer and had a great time. Nile was able to talk to Leonard Houston before one of the Iowa Energy games while he was w/ that team, and he wondered if you guys had plans for another camp this summer?? We’d love to see you or hear from you if you come back to DSM this summer.
 Best wished,
 Lars & Nile”

Thanks for the comment Lars and Nile! I do remember both of you from our father-son camp. The camp was a lot of fun. Hopefully both of you found a few things to help improve your game. Sadly, being overseas severely increases the difficulty in planning a camp. It would be hard for me to do all the little things necessary to get one set up. Though I do not have one in place for this year, I am hope next year I will get some help and have one. I will be sure to let you two know. Thanks again!

“Nice blog. I will say you’re much better about keeping current on yours than I ever was on mine. It was good to talk to you this morning. I see you online a lot, we should talk more often. As far as the Relays are concerned, you missed one really nice day and one really crappy day, but it was fun. Once again, good luck in your final game and then the postseason. I’ll be watching the NBA playoffs and cheering for my Nugs; if I knew where or how I could watch your games, I would. Greg”

Thanks to Greg, my freshman roommate, for the wall post. And yes, since the Nuggets now have former Detroit Piston Chancey Billups, I am a Nuggets fan. I don’t normally get to watch the games due to the time difference, but occasionally I can catch a quarter or two. I really like the way the Nuggets are playing. You gotta love Bird-man. They play hard, they play together, and they play good defense. They remind me a little bit of the Pistons of old (sniffle, sniffle). At least the Red Wings seems to be holdin’ it down for Detroit Sports. No matter what has happened with the rest of Detroit, Hockeytown always shines.