Captain Korby

2007-08 BCR Player of the Year

by Brad Martin

March 18, 2008

2007-08 BCR Player of the Year
Captain Korby
Hall's leader earns his title for the Red Devils
By Brad Martin
bmartin@bcrnews.com
Tuesday, March 18, 2008 12:35 AM CDT

SPRING VALLEY — Countless hours in the hot, sweltering heat helped Hall senior Korby Kasperski fine tune his love of the game and his game on the court. His play this year for the 22-7 Red Devils has earned Kasperski the honor as the 2007-08 BCR Basketball Player of the Year.

Along with talent, it takes a lot of time in the offseason to not only make your game better for yourself and your team, but also, if you have dreams of playing at the next level.

Kasperski talked about his time in the gym and how that helped him prepare for this season with the Red Devils.

“We (Hall) went to some camps over the summer, and then even after that and after football practice, I would go into the gym and just shoot as long as I could,” Kasperski said. “When you get to the regular season, all those hot summer days in the gym help out a lot.”

Kasperski had been getting some looks at Division III schools and now says he has narrowed his choices, which appear to be aimed a little higher.

“I absolutely want to play basketball in college,” Kasperski said. “I have narrowed my choices to IVCC, and if I go there, I can work on a couple of things on my game and maybe go to a bigger college. I also am considering Wisconsin-Parkside which is a Division II school.”

For the season, Kasperski was the top scorer for the Red Devils with 375 points for an average of 13 a game. He also led the area in three-point shooting, hitting 28 shots out of 92 for an average of 42 percent.

“If you ask me, Korby should be an all-state selection,” Hall coach Mike Filippini said. “He was our leader out there on the court. He did lots of things on offense, but he is a very good defensive player as well.”

Kasperski’s leadership over the course of his four-year varsity career was a huge plus for the Red Devils, Filippini said.

He has been a captain since his junior year,” Filippini said. “That just goes to show the type of leader he is. That title and respect is a lot of times for the seniors. He did anything you asked and then led by example.”

Over Kasperski’s four years on the varsity level, he has been asked to do many things, and over the past two seasons he has handled the point guard duties on many occasions.

“My junior year I was asked to handle the ball more,” Kasperski said. “I figured anything that could help the team and help me to get some looks from colleges is worth the effort. Also, I love playing the point guard position. I love being able to shoot the ball or drive the lane and make the no-look pass to guys like Ryan Nett.”

Fans who have seen him play would say that, maybe, his strongest point is his shooting ability. Kasperski says he feels his strong point lies in another area.

“I think, maybe, the best part of my game is that I am unselfish and very dedicated,” Kasperski said. “Sure, I like to shoot if I get the chance, but, like I said, I love making the nice pass and watching the big guys finish off the play.”

The Red Devils could not have started the season any better than they did when they went to Seneca and defeated the Irish on their home court to take the Thanksgiving tournament.

“To start out the season 4-0 was great itself,” Kasperski said. “To beat a team like Seneca on their home court was amazing. Then we turn around and beat them again in the Plano Christmas Tourna-ment. That is a very good team, and we beat them twice.”

Even though the Red Devils had a solid season, they had their troubles, too, like any team. Kasperski says there were some more highlights that made up for some tough losses.

“Going to Rock Falls and winning there was incredible,” Kasperski said. “I think Rock Falls had won 20 NCIC games in a row at home, and to beat them felt great.”

Kasperski says that he may join IVCC to work on his game, and says that to be even more effective he would like to work on getting quicker and jumping higher.

“Yeah, I would say I have to work on those two aspects,” Kasperski said laughing. “Jumping for sure. That’s not a big plus in my game, right now, but I’ll work at it.”

Despite losing to Eureka in the regional finals, Kasperski has a unique way of looking at the loss.

“Sure, it stunk losing in the regional finals,” Kas-perski said. “The way I look at it, though, is when I got up the next morning, the sun was up, and it’s all a good day after that.”