Blum is winning in Las Vegas

By Nancy Olinger

Most of us begin our summer days with views of the rolling Midwestern landscape. The summers for Kirkwood men's basketball assistant coach Taylor Blum are a little different. That's because he packs his bags and heads across the country to Las Vegas!

His days start with the sights of the world-famous Las Vegas Strip with the mountain ranges of the Mojave Desert filling in the background, all of which comes into view just mere steps outside of Blum's residence. Gone is the humidity of Iowa and welcomed is the dry heat of southern Nevada.

It's not the slot machines and headliner shows that draw Blum to Las Vegas though, but the opportunity to assist in the development and training of National Basketball Association (NBA) players, McDonald's and NCAA All-Americans, foreign professionals, and NBA Draft hopefuls.

Basketball was always in the cards
Growing up with an enjoyment for all sports, Blum found his favorite to be basketball. For him, the fast pace of the game and being creative in his moves was the attraction. "I'd spend hours practicing by myself at our hoop in the driveway," said Blum. "Even in the winter, I'd shovel off the driveway so I could shoot around."

All that practice was worth it as Blum went on to earn numerous basketball awards, trophies, and recognitions in both high school and college. His name can be found in the schools' records books while his jersey and photos can be found hanging in various establishments around his hometown of Dubuque, Iowa.

Rolling the dice for a new opportunity
With a lifelong love of the NBA, Blum always looked for a shot to get his foot in the door. That opportunity came during Kirkwood's 2015-16 basketball season. Former Kirkwood student-athlete Ajay Lawton was a member of the team and, in a stroke of luck, Ajay's brother, Al Harrington, who had played 16 seasons in the NBA, came to spend a week in Cedar Rapids to watch Ajay play. Blum seized the opportunity to talk to Harrington about his NBA dreams, peppering Harrington with questions and offers of advice. Harrington noticed Blum's coaching techniques and training methods, and could tell that he had a true dedication to the game and players.

Blum saw his shot - his link to the NBA - and took it. The two had a conversation about Blum's NBA goal. At the end of the conversation, Harrington was impressed enough with Blum to put him in touch with his former trainer, Joe Abunassar.

Abunassar founded and operates basketball training company IMPACT Basketball, where they have trained over 200 NBA professionals, men's and women's national teams, McDonald's and NCAA All-Americans (the best high school and college players in the country, respectively), and foreign professionals.

Through long-distance phone conversations with Abunassar, Blum was invited to join the 20-year training veteran in Las Vegas during the summer of 2015.

When he first arrived at the training facility, Blum was on his own. "Nobody held my hand and told me what they wanted me to," said Blum of his first day. "I just hopped in and made myself useful and did anything that needed to be done. I overhead one of the head trainers telling a summer intern, 'these guys need to hear only my voice so show up, shut up, and work hard,' and that really stuck with me, especially the first summer.

"You really have to set aside any ego and be prepared to do anything asked of you. I spent a lot of time that first summer chasing rebounds and getting water bottles. You're working with professionals - they want to see you work, not hear what you have to say, especially early on until you've proven yourself."

Doing the little things paid off for Blum as he was granted the opportunity to do his own workouts with the McDonald's All-Americans, NCAA All-Americans, and various other college players to prove himself as a trainer.

"The head trainers would watch my workouts so it was a little nerve-racking at first," said Blum. "If they [the trainers] didn't say anything to me afterwards, I knew they were satisfied with the workout." As more workouts went by without any intervention, Blum earned his way up to working with more high profile clients and assisting in the NBA workouts.

"Eventually I requested a sit down with the Joe [Abunassar] and one of the other head trainers to get their thoughts on my workouts and my ability," said Blum. "I wanted them to critique me so that I could improve and eventually be able to run workouts for the pro players. They had good things to say so that gave me a lot of confidence."

After the sit down and a couple more days of college player workouts, Blum was given the opportunity to work with his first NBA player, Lance Stephenson. Blum took the reins and never looked back.

^{Blum (left) going through a drill with NBA player Lance Stephenson (middle).}

Today, Blum has accumulated an impressive list of players that he has worked with, which includes over 20 NBA players, highlighted by NBA All-Stars DeMarcus Cousins and Kyle Lowry. Other noteworthy names that Blum has worked with are Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers, Kristaps Porzingis of the New York Knicks, and Justin Anderson of the Philadelphia 76ers, among many others.

In addition to working out current NBA players, Blum also aids in the development of future NBA players with IMPACT's NBA Pre-Draft Training program. Blum will put college and foreign players that are dreaming of having their names called in the NBA Draft through workouts in order to get them ready to perform when NBA teams come calling.

All of that work for the Draft hopefuls culminates in what is called IMPACT's "Pro Day". This is a day where all of the Draft prospects come to work out in front of NBA personnel at the IMPACT training facility. The Pro Day is attended by not only NBA teams but also major media outlets including ESPN.

Blum will help put the players through various drills and workouts in order to showcase their best skills and qualities to all 30 NBA teams in attendance. "It's an amazing feeling knowing that you're helping these players achieve their ultimate dream," said Blum. "Working with the Pre-Draft guys all summer and then watching on TV as some of them get their name called, walk across the stage and shake the Commissioner's hand is an incredible feeling; you sit there and know you had a small part in that. It's pretty rewarding."

He's all-in
The head trainers at IMPACT Basketball have invited Blum back for the past three summers. He has worked his way up from his first summer of "do-all-the-little-things" to now planning and running his own workouts for all levels - high school to NBA.

Even though he is within walking distance of the bright lights of the Las Vegas Strip, he doesn't have time to visit the casinos as his days are full from morning to night. "It's a full-time job. We have three workouts a day, six days a week, with an optional workout on Sunday morning that I am there for. About the last thing I want to do in my free time is be on my feet even more [walking the Las Vegas Strip]. Also, once you've been in Las Vegas as much as I have, the Strip kind of loses its luster," said Blum with a laugh.

Blum knows his roots though and brings everything that he learns and experiences back to Kirkwood and the basketball program. "I am very appreciative of Kirkwood and Coach Petersen for allowing me time each summer to be in Las Vegas and work with these players and have that experience," said Blum.

Maybe his dream of working at the NBA level will someday become a reality. After all, anyone can start here at Kirkwood and go anywhere.