DANA and JOE KLEINE

Big Joe from Slater, Mo., needs no introduction in Arkansas. Almost 40 years following his all-star collegiate basketball career in Fayetteville, Joe Kleine is at home in The Natural State.

He met wife, Dana, while both were UA students. As Joe followed his NBA dreams with Dana (and eventually, family) in tow through seven NBA cities over 15 years, including an NBA championship run in Chicago with Michael Jordan, the Kleines always knew Little Rock would be the final stop.

Since settling down in central Arkansas, the Kleines have been active givers to their adopted community and are co-owners of two Corky’s restaurants in central Arkansas.

Joe has also dabbled in coaching — as an assistant at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and as a volunteer coach at Catholic High School in Little Rock. And Dana is his biggest supporter, as well as the force that keeps him grounded.

The Kleines also have remained active in supporting the Hogs and Joe regularly appears on KATV to discuss Razorback basketball. The former 1984 Olympian and gold medal winner also provides color commentary for college basketball on ESPN and the SEC Network.

Dana is in her 10th year as a foundation trustee for the Chi Omega Fraternity and is an independent consultant at Rodan + Fields, for whom she has worked since 2012.

Though neither Dana nor Joe is originally from Arkansas — Dana was raised in Dallas — Arkansas is home.

As devout Catholics, faith is a big part of their lives. Joe once described to Arkansas Catholic the transition from the NBA to the dad life in Little Rock.

“I went from the NBA, where it was kill or be killed every night, straight into coaching a sixth-grade team at Christ the King School, where we all held hands and prayed before every game,” he said. “Needless to say, I was a little confused for a while. I was pretty intense.”