From in the key to on the keys
Raptors assistant coach finds new musical hobby during basketball break
For years, he’s been grinding it out every day. As many hours as his eyes would stay open is how many hours he was working on figuring out the game of basketball. Days off were about as rare as knock-knock jokes in a Dr. Tam press conference.
It worked. His relentless work ethic landed him a job as an assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors and earned him one diamondslathered championship ring that’s as big as some compact cars and worth more than some starter homes.
But what does a self-acknowledged basketball junkie do when basketball shuts down? The answer — of course — is that he moves back into his mom’s Stoney Creek house with his siblings to ride out the selfquarantine. And teaches himself to play piano.
“I just started,” says John Corbacio. “I’m getting pretty good at it.”
He’d never played any instrument before the NBA season shut down. But he noticed how fast his fingers were on his computer as he was cutting film for the Raptors and figured he might be cut out for it. So he bought a keyboard at Long and McQuade right before the quaratine kicked in, used a Sharpie to write the letters on each key, downloaded an app that teaches him how to play and got after it. A buddy who teaches music is also lending a hand online.
He’s only a few weeks in but already he’s playing a passable version of Bruce Hornsby’s The Way It Is, some Elton John and even Hotline Bling by Drake.
John Corbacio? More like John Arpeggio.
Of course, going from playing in the key to on the keys is still just his side gig. Most of his days are still filled with basketball, which is hardly unexpected for a guy who got where he did through sheer hustle.
For those who don’t remember his story — or never heard it — after his NCAA career ended, he took coaching job after coaching job as far away as Thailand to learn the craft. He even worked a year for free just to get his foot in the door with the Raptors.
Eventually, he was brought on as video coach and then bumped up to assistant coach which had him working with Kawhi Leonard in California prior to the championship season. And then celebrating on the court when it all came together last spring.
During the COVID-19 season, he’s been spending huge chunks of his day sitting at the kitchen table watching Raptors’ games and sending clips to players. Mostly stuff they’ve done well. No detail is too small. But he’s also been digging into other teams’ games to learn what he can, including watching a ton of film from the old LakersCeltics rivalry.
Magic and Bird?
“Kobe and Paul Pierce.”
Hey, he’s 30.
The point is, whatever edge he can find to improve himself and the team is what he’s after. If you’re going to have free time, you should probably use it. Coming back empty handed after being given an unexpected opportunity to grow would seem like a waste.
Yes, that included watching all the games from Toronto’s title run as they were being replayed on TSN and Sportsnet a few weeks back. It became part of the family’s routine. They’d finish dinner, move to the TV room and settle in to remember the greatest of great times.
Funny thing, though. He was so focused on what was happening at those moments in real time that he didn’t really grasp how exciting the entire thing was.
“You get into it,” he says. “I couldn’t imagine what it was like watching it live from a fan’s perspective.”
But, even for a guy like him who would inject hoops directly into his veins if he could, there’s only so much you can do from home. So he’s found himself taking hourslong bike rides, lengthy runs. And getting after it on the piano.
No, he says, there will not be any command performances for the team. But he’s showing promise. And he’s got some stuff he’d still like to try. Billy Joel has a few tunes he’d like to figure out. The first piece he ever tried was Hallelujah. That could still use a little refining.
And, he’s been working hard on
We Are The Champions.
“I’ve got that one down,” he says. Naturally.