Kaleb Korver wants to play a more active role this season for Creighton’s basketball team.

By his own admission, that won’t be difficult.

“I’m looking to do more things when I’m out there,’’ he said. “I’m not just sitting in the corner like I used to, waiting for people to penetrate and kick (the ball) to me.

“I’m trying to be more involved in the offense and make plays for others.’’

The early stages of that transformation have caught his coach’s eye and drew rave reviews from his teammates.

“He’s moving around a lot more,’’ point guard Antoine Young said. “He’s actually getting into the lane and creating things for other people. He’s changing it up a lot and moving a lot more.’’

And just not on offense.

“Kaleb is going to be really, really good for us this year,’’ guard P’Allen Stinnett said. “Not only with his shooting but defensively and with his rebounding.

“He’s definitely more aggressive. He wants it.’’

Of course, Korver’s forte remains his ability to shoot the basketball. He has made 43.5 percent of his shots from beyond the 3-point arc in his first two seasons in the program, averaging 1.9 points as a freshman and 3.7 points last season.

His accuracy from beyond the arc could prove invaluable for a team that is trying to replace the country’s No. 2 3-point shooter. Booker Woodfox made 47.6 percent of his 3-point attempts in a senior season that saw him lead the Bluejays in scoring and earn the Missouri Valley player of the year award.

“Kaleb has had a good fall, and I sure hope he continues that because we have to start somewhere in trying to replace Booker,’’ Creighton coach Dana Altman said. “No one is going to give us everything Booker did a year ago, but I think Kaleb, because of his experience and his stroke, can really spread the floor for us.’’

It’s experience, gained while playing a reserve role the past two seasons, that has infused confidence into Korver. He also is seeing the benefits of supplementing strength coach Zach Duval’s rigorous offseason conditioning program with some work with older brother Kyle, now with the NBA’s Utah Jazz.

Kaleb accompanied Kyle to California for some specialized conditioning work in Santa Barbara.

“The people we worked with really looked at how you moved and the mechanics of your upper body,’’ Kaleb said. “We really didn’t do a lot of lifting. With me, I have more balance with my left leg than my right. So I worked on centering by balance.

“It was different that what we did here with Zach, but the two things combined really worked well for me.’’

Korver’s offseason work has left him more confident. His teammates sense there’s something different about the 6-foot-5 junior’s approach.

“The first two years, he had a hesitancy to shoot the ball sometimes,’’ forward Chad Millard said. “That’s what he does best. When you’re getting open looks, you have to let them go, and he’s doing a much better job of doing that.

“There have been a couple of practices already when he’s just been on fire. We really need him to knock down shots for us.’’

Contact the writer:

679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com

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