Kim Sun-Hyung
Is he a point guard? No, he is not a pass first point guard as he is more inclined to tunnel vision than floor vision. Then again, his height is ideal for playing the point guard. Is he a shooting guard then? No, he does not fit the mold of South Korea’s classic definition of shooting guard. Kim does not play the catch and shoot game, because it is not his nature. No, he does not have the extra inches to play shooting guard.
Ask Kim Sun-Hyung those questions and argue with a fellow fan on which is the identity of Kim’s natural position. He will tell you straight: “I play guard. I try not to think about positions too much, I just play to my strengths and help my team win.” There you have it, Kim is not really a point guard nor a shooting guard. He is and plays guard.
A speedy dazzling point guard that turns a fast break situation into a cool poster like finish. Kim running at mach-5 has defenders gasping for that extra mileage just to be able to say that he tried to atleast challenge Kim for a layup or a flush. That’s right, a break-away dunk. Kim can do that while running at full speed. The transition is a blur out of the mad dash into a gather and elevation for a finish. Kim makes it look easy. You can replay it for a slow-mo to even begin appreciate the tremendous leg power it needs to run like hell and finish.
Coaches from Lee Sang-Beom’s stint in the 2012 Venezuela Olympic wildcard qualifiers and currently, Yoo Jae-Hak’s 2013 South Korean national team saved themselves the trouble in asking what is really Kim Sun-Hyung’s position so they can plan for a depth chart for the guards as a start. Kim is a guard and can fill in your depth at point guard or shooting guard.
Kim playing point gives you not a pass first point guard, he gives you a point guard that can exploit gaps in the baseline for his scoring or that nifty pass when he slices and draws another defender. Ask Kim Min-Soo, Aaron Haynes and Park Sang-Oh, Kim’s teammates with the Seoul SK Knights and they will claim that Kim has an emerging game that balances the points of attacking spaces and threading the ball to an open man. It keeps defenses honest.
Ask Kim to play shooting guard and he’ll gladly do so like a good soldier. Sure, he may give up a number of inches of vertical height, but do you really expect Kim to be worried? Leave that to the coach. What Kim gives up in size on D, he more than makes up for it with his sheer quickness of staying in front of the defense. More times than not, Kim will reward you with a steal that he will most likely finish with his own one man transition game. He has the foot-speed for offense, and he has even greater foot-speed in defense as he can stay in front of his man. Able to chase shooting guards in those screen. When situation is reversed and a bigger player is matched with Kim, who is sure to be inches smaller, that defender will wish that he was a bit shorter and lighter just to keep up. Kim is difficult to chase around and front given when his team has the ball.
A 2011 stint with the national team in the East Asian basketball tournament, Kim showed flashes of national team material where his speed and knack of exploiting open spaces and gaps within the defense were noted. Kim was not able to suit up for the 2011 Asian championships in WuHan, China as Hur Jae opted for Yang Dong-Geun, Lee Jung-Suk and Park Chan-Hee. When the 2012 Olympic wildcard tournament rolled around, Kim was too good to ignore; knowing that he will give up more inches against Russia and the Dominican Republic. Lee Sang-Beom knew it too, as Kim was the second best rookie in the 2011-2012 KBL season and was an all-star. Indications that he was national team material.
Kim gave up a lot size and heft against the western teams, but he showed that his speed was still his most dazzling weapon. It is also his tenacity that fuels his speed to furious levels.
2013, Kim Sun-Hyung’s inclusion is no longer a surprise. He was an MVP for the 2012-13 KBL season where his SK Knights finished atop the regular standings. Kim’s SK would eventually lose in the finals, but Kim showed that he can lead his team to wins given that he is not a pure point nor a true undersized shooting guard. He just plays guard and he plays it well. Razzle and dazzle, Kim does not burden himself of thinking on how will he be utilized in Manila on August, he just knows that he plays guard and wants to help his team. Let’spare ourselves that trouble too.
Sakerland 