What to expect with the South Korean national team for the world cup and Asian games

A year ago, just before Korea was boarding a flight to Manila for the FIBA Asia tournament, Yoo Jae-Hak was honest in his assertion when he was asked about what are the chances that his team will qualify for the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain. “We have a 50/50 chance in making it,” said the mentor in all honesty. He was not pessimistic but being realistic of his team’s chances knowing the increasing quality of Asian basketball. “It is no longer China that we consider as true rivals, there are equally good teams out there,” said the Yoo. “Iran is a champion, the Philippines is a dangerous team, Taiwan and India are getting good rapidly.”

The team would finish third, being denied by the Philippines in the quarter-finals game and South Korea would make short-work of Chinese Taipei to finish third and book the last tickets to Spain.

 

The road to Incheon is paved with difficulty

 

Since December last year, the Korean Basketball Association was focused in winning at the Asian games. The foundation was there: veteran players, exciting young players, budget and the naturalized player search gave them much optimism. But rarely does the plan come to fruition as we envision it, unforeseen circumstances derail what we hope to build and that is a metaphor for life itself. In sports were player injuries and split chances amongst opportunist would make the slightest difference between glory or gloom bound, South Korea was building a sandcastle to withstand a siege.

First was the great search for the naturalized players was up, they sorted prospects from the foreign players in the KBL, the current naturalized Korean Americans in either Lee Seung-Jun or Moon Tae-Jong and NBA level prospects. First up was Leon Williams of the Goyang Orions who declared his intentions of attaining a Korean citizenship and play for the national team. The KBA made a pass. There were other foreigners in the KBL that would be perhaps better. Seoul’s Aaron Haynes has been playing for five years in the KBL, Courtney Sims provided height and shooting. Davon Jefferson was the athletic bigman and workhorse they admired. Then there is Rod Benson, having won a championship with Yoo Jae-Hak’s Ulsan Mobis the following year. Benson also possessed the rebounding team Korea needed.

Korea was still non-commital towards Haynes, Sims, Jefferson and Benson. Why limit yourself when you can choose from NBA talents abroad? Two names were approached. Eric Dawson, a former player with Jeonju KCC Egis who was playing in the NBA D-League at that time and was recently called up by the San Antonio Spurs. Second prospect with NBA credentials was former Sacramento Kings center Hassan Whiteside, who was playing in Lebanon at that time. Although both were open to the idea, they were trying to go back into the NBA. They were open to playing for Korea in the world championships but were hesitant to play for South Korea for the Incheon Asian Games. This did not struck well for the federation as they placed more value at the Asian Games more than the world championships itself. It was March and May training camp was opening soon. The federation took a step back and looked closer to the qualifications of Haynes, Sims, Jefferson and Benson. Upon laying the groundwork for the naturalization of all four, the Olympic Committee of Asia had informed the federation that all four prospects won’t qualify with their inherent residential requirements. This was a huge fiasco and prompted finger pointing upon which agency was negligent and ignorant of these stipulations. It was April now and training camp will open next month.

The federation was left to choose from Lee Seung-Jun and Moon Tae-Jong. Lee Seung-Jun was still recovering from his ligament tear injury while Moon Tae-Jong was deemed too old to be effective. With Lee being unlikely healthy and ready for camp, Moon Tae-Jong was the only option.

When training camp opened in late May, health was an issue for the veterans who will be the core of the team. Kim Joo-Sung was battling ankle and knee injuries all season long. Yang Dong-Geun was reeling from a hamstring wear and tear after playing

in the KBL finals. Kim Tae-Sol had been troubled by knee injuries since last year and was still recovering from a fractured finger. Lee Dae-Sung is practicing with a ruptured tendon and Yoon Ho-Young too, with an assortment of ankle and knee injuries. Yoo Jae-Hak was tasked to manage and maintain the health of the team while preparing for the big stage in Incheon. Players would be activated and sit out given their status. Players who were cut like Yang Hee-Jong, Park Chan-Hee and Heo Il-Young were called back in due to the shortage with the guards and the perimeter game.

 

A bright star has dimmed

 

Adding to the woes of Yoo Jae-Hak was the unfortunate and untimely injury of Kim Min-Goo, resulting from a vehicular accident. Min-Goo was cited under the influence of alcohol after being sent to the emergency room for treatment. Min-Goo would suffer head trauma, severe concussion and a fractured pelvic bone that had ended his participation for this year. To everyone’s relief and Min-Goo’s luck, the injuries sustained was not career ending, but it would take months to heal with physical rehabilitiation. Under such behavior, Min-Goo would be charged with traffic violation charges, sentenced with community service and a season ban from the KBL.

A career that was taking off could have ended so suddenly with this costly mistake. Barely a year ago, Kim Min-Goo was revelation for team Korea, being named among the best five of FIBA Asia. Before that recognition, he was three time MVP in the Korean University Basketball League as he and teammates Kim Jong-Kyu and Doo Kyun-Ming made Kyung-Hee into a powerhouse university team that captured national attention when they were capable of beating a KBL team. After the FIBA Asia tournament, Min-Goo would be drafted 2nd overall by Jeonju KCC Egis after his close friend, Kim Jong-Kyu, who went first overall. The sky was the limit for Min-Goo, in his first year, he brought excitement and young fans to the KBL, showcasing his versatility and was selected as an all-star in his first year. Despite his team not making the playoffs, there was great optimism and expectation with Kim Min-Goo. Ha Seung-Jin was coming back next year, Min-Goo was cited as an outstanding youth by several media outlets, voted as the youth favorite player award and all the endorsements were flooding in. One so young, at the age of 23 could get lost as they will be mesmerized by the bright lights of fame and sports entertainment. Rolling with the new found status, it seems Min-Goo can’t be stopped but himself. That fateful day in June 06, 2014 was a day that could have ended it all for Min-Goo. Family, teammates and his seniors from the national team would express their concern in their own ways. Some would not talk to the press directly while some would simply wish him well and let the man atone for his mistakes. Yoo Jae-Hak was more than worried about his health and well-being over the upcoming campaign in Incheon. “We are praying for his recovery and wellbeing. He is excused from all practice until we get a medical confirmation that he can resume training.” Yoo said. “Kim Min-Goo’s recovery and health comes first and basketball is irrelevant at this point.”

 

When youth transitions to veterans

So there will be no Kim Min-Goo for the world cup and Asian games. Even with the injuries of Kim Min-Goo, Korea pressed on; although it left Cho Sung-Min as the main shooting guard with very little backup.

Unlike last year’s squad consisting of veterans and upcoming prospects from college, this South Korean team is composed of battle hardened names that are ready to go fierce and reclaim the Asian games gold in Incheon, when the Asian games begins.

There were five amateurs that made the team from last year’s squad. Lee Jong-Hyun and Moon Seong-Gon were teammates with Korea University. Kyung-Hee’s dynamic duo of Kim Jong-Kyu and Kim Min-Goo ran their pick and roll two man game. Choi Joon-Young, the rookie from Yonsei was the intriguing prospect, combining shooting, mobility, ball handling into a slim versatile package. This year and the campaign for the world cup and Asian games, Lee Jong-Hyun is the only amateur amongst his professional seniors. The team got older but experience wise, this team has plenty; refining and perhaps sharpened by all those international games accumulated by its veteran core. Kim Joo-Sung is the venerable one; being a member of the 1998 world championship squad and played for the gold medal winning squad in 2002. Yang Dong-Geun, the co-captain has been with the national team since 2005 and is Yoo Jae-Hak’s most trusted general both in the KBL where they had won multiple championships.

This year, when the stakes are higher and a gold medal being imperative, Yoo Jae-Hak commands a veteran squad with the oldest, being 39 year old Moon Tae-Jong, (Jarod Stevenson) the Korean – American naturalized player of LG being the oldest. Moon, replaces the injured Lee Seung-Jun, (Eric Sandrin) another Korean – American, who was a vital bigman in last year’s FIBA Asia campaign. Lee went down with a ligament tear in his left ankle February this year and would miss the rest of Wonju Dongbu Promy’s games as well as this year’s international campaigns. Lee Seung-Jun provided height and utilizing athletics to score, defend and hold down the middle. Moon Tae-Jong gives Korea another perimeter shooter and defender that can play both small forward and shooting guard. Moon Tae-Jong is regarded as the sixth man of the team; backing up both Cho Sung-Min and Yang Hee-Jong, playing extended starter minutes. Moon’s finest outing so far was game 2 of the Burger King series between Korea and New Zealand’s Tall Blacks, scoring 21 points on 5/9 shooting from three points distance, leading Korea to a 76-75 victory.

Average age of the team is 29.3 compared to last year’s 26.3, a sharp increase as the youngsters like Choi Joon-Young and Lee Seung-Hyun made way for veterans Yang Hee-Jong and Heo Il-Young. Kim Jong-Kyu, who was drafted first overall in the 2013 KBL Draft is transitioning from prospect to mainstay, much like his transition from collegiate revelation to a professional cager. This year, Yoo Jae-Hak remarked the improvement of Kim from last year. “He is more assertive this year, and has worked hard in his conditioning,” said Yoo Jae-Hak. “Playing in the KBL means he was going to tangle with stronger foreign players and this year, against bigger and stronger players from other continents and the rest of Asia.”

There are other youth prospects that have since transitioned to being full time national team members as they accumulate experience under their belt. Park Chan-Hee is now 27 years old, playing for Korea since 2009, but missing the cut for Manila in 2013. Kim Sun-Hyung is now 25, having played for Korea since 2011 and making a good account himself of being mister energy and instant offense; often leading  the break. Oh Se-Keun has returned and after missing the 2013 KBL season and the 2013 campaigns for Korea with a rupture in his patella, is stronger and healthier than ever. Oh Se-Keun known as Korea’s workhorse and glass eater provides toughness and motor inside where he is willing to go body to body with stronger and bigger players.

This is not the first time Se-Keun will be facing tougher foes, he has been to enough cage wars in Asia as well as abroad, being a member of the 2008 Athens Olympic qualifiers and 2012 Venezuela versions of the national team. This year, Yoo Jae-Hak knows Se-Keun’s contributions to the team: “Oh Se-Keun gives us an able rebounder inside, he will be undersized but I can assure you that he will never be outworked, that is what he said to me.”

 

Korean basketball to the world

 

Team Korea has traditionally been a finesse team who’s philosophy was execute and shoot like the Korean teams of old. Over the last decade, Korea has undergone not only personnel changes as the old guard will make way for young ones, so did the philosophy of the team and how it would change. Yoo Jae-Hak would introduce the Mike D’Antoni’s floor spacing and rapid fire sets locally and being at the helm of the national team once more, Yoo Jae-Hak had the tools to make it even more potent compared to what he was instilled with the quick transitioning team ball that Ulsan Mobis Phoebus has been known for.

Yang shoots over a defender

If you have watched an Ulsan Mobis game in the Korean Basketball League, the main weapon of Ulsan is its mastery of the transition game where they can be that patient half-court team that executes a 1 out 4 offense and spacing that will quickly be a running and gunning team that exploits the opposition’s defenses. They use a patient game to assess the opposition’s defense, size them up, play honest defense and when momentum favors, let it rip, culminating to those deadly Ulsan scoring run that reminds you of the Phoenix suns. At the helm of it is Yoo Jae-Hak, who uses Yang Dong-Geun to be his most trusted five star general in the field. Yang, being a veteran of the Asian cage wars and the main weapon of Ulsan, uses decision making as his best weapon. There are certain points of the game where he will not shoot, but would rather dictate, facilitate and exploit gaps made by the defense to make plays for his teammates, but when the crucial moments of the game is fast approaching that is where the cold and calculating Yang emerges as he takes over the team’s offense by shouldering the needed clutch shots for himself; thriving in pressure as the focus of the defense is on him; only for Yang to make that mind boggling pass to a teammate, likened to a miracle find but is just really Yang showcasing his awareness on the court when the game enters the crucial moments.

National team or not, Yang Dong-Geun is still the floor leader that Korea depends on. Even in the systems of Hur Jae and Lee Sang-Beom, Yang was the essential point guard. At 34 years of age, this is the last world cup and Asian games for Yang Dong-Geun. “It will be difficult winning the gold in the Asian games, but when you’re playing at home and your country is cheering for you, you feel like you can do anything,” said the veteran playmaker as he is embarking with the team.

With Yang Dong-Geun in command, Yoo Jae-Hak’s Mike D’Antoni offense philosophy with the national team is well secured. “A luxury in handling the national team is that you get to handpick the best players in the country,” said Yoo Jae-Hak with an enviable advantage. He has picked the players that so far outmathes the talent of any Ulsan Mobis team he had handled. Ulsan team’s strength has been the fear of the spread out shooters that gives Yang Dong-Geun the room to exploit the spread out defense. Space and Shooting has been the core identity of the national team since last year. Yoo Jae-Hak has the KBL’s best shooter in Cho Sung-Min with this squad, alongside other renowned marksmen in Moon Tae-Jong, Heo Il-Young and Yang Hee-Jong. These designated shooters knows their role; stalk the assigned shooting spots, navigate the offense through those timed curls, flares and quick reading of the ball handler to release high percentage ones.

Now that the shooters are spreaded out, the space is optimized for the decision making of Yang Dong-Geun or the other three point guards in the team. Kim Sun-Hyung is the slasher supreme in the KBL, Kim Tae-Sol and Park Chan-Hee can make gutsy plays involving a drive and a quick pass.

Essential to the spacing are the bigman, under Yoo Jae-Hak, the big men must be able to move and respond quickly to guard and wing play through setting a screen, rolling to the basket or diffusing big men agains the basket by being able to consistently making mid-range shots. Kim Joo-Sung has honed his shooting over the years. Oh Se-Keun and Kim Jong-Kyu worked on their shooting as they improved their craft. Lee Jong-Hyun has been working on his shooting since he entered the national scene.

Space and Shooting with Yoo Jae-Hak is not a defiance of the old Korean structure of the finesse game, but it is a sign of transition where Korean basketball can still maintain its classic identity despite the influx of how the modern game is played. It dictates that the game is much more open ended and free-flowing that comes from the multi-faceted skills of today’s players. Guards are now stronger while the big men are much more mobile and athletic compared to the other players that donned the Korean jersey.

Under the environment that Korea will play against, defense too has been a strong focal point for the team’s progress. Pressure defense and full court press has been a defensive mentality that Yoo Jae-Hak was trying to instill with the team. Last year, he envisioned a team that has a strong ball pressure and able to adjust accordingly against Asia’s best. This year, the world’s best factors in the tuning of the team defense. Lessons from last year were certainly a factor that will serve to only make the team defense better. “Last year, we had a complete defensive breakdown against the Philippines in the fourth quarter, we could not stop their guards from scoring against our defense and we were stretched thin,” said Yoo Jae-Hak , citing that quarter-finals game against the Philippines where an explosive guard named Jayson William Castro shredded Korea’s pressure defense and scored successfully despite the help side defense. It dis-coordinated the Korean defense into various breakdowns that opened up the back-breaking threes that ended the title hopes of South Korea.

“Defense is a strong focus this year, we still want to apply pressure but be resilient through constant communication,” Yoo Jae-Hak said about the defense. “We want to be able to adjust right away, without calling a timeout by changing to zone and know how to trap a pick and roll defense,” said the coach who wanted to further refine his team’s defense.

South Korea has been known to be exploited with their perimeter defense and Yoo Jae-Hak is taking measures to improve it. “Defense is played as a team, against the Philippines, we resulted to a lot of team mistakes and started to play individual defense,” this is what we want to make better as a team,” Yoo Jae-Hak citing that defensive collapse against the Philippines.

Being grouped with Angola, Australia, Lithuania, Mexico and Slovenia, it would be more than suffice to say that Korean basketball is in for a re-introduction of what the Olympic qualifiers of 2008 and 2012 had to offer. So far, Korean basketball is unknown to the rest of the world and it is still associated with former NBA player Ha Seung-Jin. It goes not only for the men’s team but also for the women’s team. The women has been far more consistent in qualifying for the world cup compared to the men. For the women’s team, Korea had split the 28 player pool into two teams and the focus is also winning the Asian games gold. A young team will represent South Korea for the women’s world cup in Turkey, lead by the prodigious Park Ji-Soo, who has been making her name known not just in Asia but to the world of women’s basketball as she has played in two world championships in the 2013 women’s U19 championships and the women’s U17 championships this year.

This is a chance to re-introduce the world to how Korean basketball is played if the squad displays the same fighting spirit that it vowed to perform when the Asian Games is played at home.

 

South Korea national team for the FIBA world cup and Incheon Asian Games

Head coach Yoo Jae-Hak disclosed the twelve man roster that South Korea will field for the coming FIBA World Championships (Aug. 30 – Sept. 14) later next month. It will also be the roster that will try to reclaim the Asian games gold medal when South Korea hosts the upcoming event in Incheon, Korea (Sept. 20 – Oct. 3)

The roster is a veteran laiden roster with the youngest, Lee Jong-Hyun aged 20 and is the only amateur amongst his senior professional teammates.

Guards
Yang Dong-Geun (Ulsan Mobis Phoebus)
Kim Sun-Hyung (Seoul SK Knights)
Park Chan-Hee (Anyang KGC)
Kim Tae-Sol (Jeonju KCC Egis)

Wings
Cho Sung-Min (Busan Sonicboom KT)
Moon Tae-Jong (Changwon LG Sakers)
Heo Il-Young (Goyang Orions)
Yang Hee-Jong (Anyang KGC)

Post
Lee Jong-Hyun (Korea University)
Kim Jong-Kyu (Changwon LG Sakers)
Kim Joo-Sung (Wonju Dongbu Promy)
Oh Se-Keun (Anyang KGC)

Recent call ups, Ha Seung-Jin was finally cut due to him being unnable to partake in any basketball activity during his two year public service. Although Seung-Jin lost a lot of weight, he is also recovering from a hip injury sustained during one of his pre-workouts. “We were trying to see if Seung-Jin could immediately come back to form, but two years of non-basketball activities and a recent hip injury means we can’t bring him up to speed with the team’s conditioning,” said head coach Yoo Jae-Hak. South Korea is figured in Group D alongside Angola, Australia, Lithuania, Mexico and Slovenia. The press asked on what will be the mentality heading to the world cup despite the Asian games gold pursuit is the real objective here, which is a not so secret. “Pressure defense, run the offense as we have been practicing and be proud to represent Korea,”said Yoo Jae-Hak.

“It has been 12 years since the last Asian games gold (Busan Asian games) since we won it, and our aim is to reclaim it in Incheon,” stated Yoo. “But we have the world cup coming first and our training will has lead to this, we will be fighting for Korea.”

Kim Joo-Sung

Kim Joo-Sung, the last active member of the South Korean squad that qualified in the 1998 FIBA world championships and was a youth prospect when South Korea won the gold in Busan, is excited to lead his team. “Early in my career, I had elders to look up to, but now I’m the old one and is being looked up to by the youth,” said the 34 year old Kim. Knowing his age, this could be the final tour of duty for the Wonju Dongbu star. “This is my last world cup and Asian games, but I am confident going forward that the youth will elevate Korean basketball to greater heights.”

Ha Seung-Jin rejoins the national team

After more than a week in New Zealand, national team head coach Yoo Jae-Hak once again made adjustments to the training squad after returning to Korea.

Yoo called up former NBA player and now Jeonju KCC Egis center Ha Seung-Jin to add more height and ceiling to the squad. The 29 year old towering center has just recently been discharged from the armed forces and was cleared by the physicians to practice. While the national team was training in New Zealand against the Tall Blacks, Seung-Jin was training and getting into basketball form in the KCC Egis training gym.

“Ha Seung-Jin gives us height and FIBA experience,” said Yoo Jae-Hak in the impending inclusion of Seung-Jin, “Against the Tall Blacks, our bigmen were smaller and lighter, we gave up a lot of size against them,” added Yoo on the experience of his squad going up against New Zealand.

Aside from Ha Seung-Jin, veterans Heo Il-Young and Kim Tae-Sol are coming back to the training squad. Heo Il-Young, the Goyang Orions veteran wingman has been training with his team after being cut from the 24 man player pool. Kim Tae-Sol, the soon to be teammate of Ha Seung-Jin with KCC Egis, missed the New Zealand training due to him recovering from a fractured finger and swollen knees.

“The re-entry of Heo Il-Young and Kim Tae-Sol improves our options at the perimeter,” said Yoo Jae-Hak, “We have been keeping watch on the health of our veterans since training camp,” said the wary Yoo Jae-Hak as training camp will re-open later this week and his squad was undergoing physical rehabilitation from a grueling trip to New Zealand.

With the addition of Ha Seung-Jin, Heo Il-Young and Kim Tae-Sol, Yoo Jae-Hak made the tough decision in shedding personnel from the training squad. Cut from training camp are youngsters Lee Seung-Hyun of Korea University, Yonsei’s Choi Joon-Young, Goyang Orions teammates Choi Jin-Soo and Jang Jae-Seok. It can be noted that four men played sparingly during the three games against the Tall Blacks.

“Being cut from training camp bound for the world cup does not mean you are out of contention with the national team for the Asian Games,” said Yoo Jae-Hak in consoling his players indirectly. The current squad that has Park Chan-Hee, Moon Tae-Jong, Yang Hee-Jong alongside the re-entry of Ha Seung-Jin, Kim Tae-Sol and Heo Il-Young is a proof of Yoo Jae-Hak’s sincerity as one point in time, the said players were cut as the national team had trimmed their ranks as training schedule progressed.

This will be the first time in three years since Ha Seung-Jin will rejoin the national team. He had helped South Korea to a third place finish in the 2011 FIBA Asia London Olympics qualifiers in WuHan, China. “I am quite happy to be able to train with the national team once again,” said Ha Seung-Jin. During that three year period, Ha Seung-Jin chose to take the summer off to heal his body, serve the armed forces and get married. Heo Il-Young finally made it back to the later stages of the national team trials. Heo was a member of the national team that finished first in the 2013 EABC and helped the team to a bronze finish in last year’s East Asian Games.

The squad shake-up leaves team Korea with a 13 man squad:

Guards
Yang Dong-Geun (Ulsan Mobis Phoebus)
Kim Sun-Hyung (Seoul SK Knights)
Park Chan-Hee (Anyang KGC)
Kim Tae-Sol (Jeonju KCC Egis)

Wings
Cho Sung-Min (Busan Sonicboom KT)
Moon Tae-Jong (Changwon LG Sakers)
Heo Il-Young (Goyang Orions)
Yang Hee-Jong (Anyang KGC)

Post
Lee Jong-Hyun (Korea University)
Kim Jong-Kyu (Changwon LG Sakers)
Kim Joo-Sung (Wonju Dongbu Promy)
Oh Se-Keun (Anyang KGC)
Ha Seung-Jin (Jeonju KCC Egis)
The squad will be put to the test when the national teams of Chinese Taipei and New Zealand aka Tall Blacks come to Korea for a scrimmage. Korea will play Chinese Taipei twice, in July 25 (Yonggi Ulsan Gym) & 27 (LG Gym, Seoul). While the Tall Blacks will be testing team Korea twice more in July 29 & 31, both at the Student Gymnasium in Seoul.

Korea to scrimmage with Chinese Taipei National Team

After wrapping up the New Zealand tour and the three friendlies against the Tall Blacks, Team Korea is due to return home via a chartered plane.

“The games against New Zealand was a great fine tuning for us,” Yoo Jae-Hak said, “We were able to assess our team’s strength and weakness based on the game tapes.”

In Korea, the national team will continue to train and prepare for the FIBA World Cup next month. Two scrimmages are lined up against the visiting Chinese Taipei national team and the visiting Tall Blacks who will train in Korea before they embark in Europe for more training.

“This has been a great series for us, as I have said throughout the Korean team is quicker and fitter than us at the moment, that is to be expected as we are only into our second week of preparation. We now have some decisions to make tonight about the 14 players we will take to Asia and Europe to continue our preparation for Spain, but I am happy with this series. While there are plenty of things to work on, this is a good group, the key is going to be to blend the youth with the veterans on this team,” said Tall Blacks head coach Nenad Vucinic.

Chinese Taipei, who Korea defeated in the battle for third place in last year’s FIBA Asia tourney 75-57, was denied by Korea a place in the world cup. Instead, Chinese Taipei is training for the Incheon Asian Games in September. Team Korea will play against Chinese Taipei in July 25 at the Yonggi Gym in Ulsan. Second game is in July 27 at the LG  sports gym.

The Chinese Taipei team is fresh from finishing second in the recently concluded 5th FIBA Asia Cup, losing to Iran, who won their second consecutive crown in the said event. “We are looking forward to test ourselves against Taiwan” said Yoo Jae-Hak, “They have a tremendous inside presence in Quincy Davis and they have good shooters from the outside.”

It can be noted that Korea turned down the invitation to participate in this year’s William Jones Cup that is held annually in Taiwan. “I wish we could participate in the Jones Cup as there are good teams to train against, but fatigue and its near date with the world cup could push us to exhaustion,” Yoo Jae-Hak said, “The World Cup is also close to the schedule of the Asian games that we are hosting and we want to send the best team as much as possible,” Yoo Jae-Hak reiterated the importance of the Incheon Asian games.

Last year, Korea finished third in the William Jones Cup with a 5-2 record, losing to Iran and Chinese Taipei. Korea lost their final game against the host, 73-60 and settled for a third place finish. This year, South Korea will send the reigning Korean Basketball Association reigning champions Ulsan Mobis Phoebus to the event. The team will be without Yang Dong-Geun and Lee Dae-Sung but will have foreigners Rodrige Benson and Ricardo Ratliffe. Moon Tae-Young and Ham Ji-Hoon will banner the team. Ulsan will compete against the Iran, Japan, Chinese Taipei national team, Chinese Taipei national development team, Egypt, USA touring professionals and Jordan in this year’s William Jones Cup.

Korea falls to Tall Blacks in New Zealand clincher

Korea ended their New Zealand sojourn with a 1 Win and 2 Losses card with tonight’s 89-81 defeat against the Tall Blacks.

A slow start by Korea and a hot start by the Tall Blacks allowed the host to operate on a safe net to cover the last two quarters of the game. Korea opened the first quarter with some struggles with their offense against an adjusted Tall Blacks defense as New Zealand raced to a quick 20-12 lead with 2 minutes remaining. Korea would only score 2 more points to end the first quarter where they trailed the host 24-12.

In the second quarter, Tall Blacks would open the game with a quick 10-0 lead and were up 34-14 with the clock at 6:58. Yang Dong-Geun would make a three to break Korea’s scoring drought. Korea sped up their tempo for more scoring opportunities but the Tall Blacks had matched them point against point made. Halftime score read 52-32 with Korea trailing by 20 points.

Third quarter was a high-scoring affair with Korea putting up a scoring effort, almost equaling their scoring outputs for the first half lead by Kim Sun-Hyung’s aggressive attack towards the basket. However, the Tall Blacks were rolling and were able to kept pace with the Korean offense due to Kirk Penney scoring 15  of his game high 26 points in this period.

In the fourth quarter, Korea would stage a last charge in hopes of stealing the game, Moon Tae-Jong cuts New Zealand’s lead to 74-64 after a three pointer with 4:59 remaining. But the Tall Blacks would quickly follow up a three by Tai Webster. Both teams would fight for every point until Korea was down 89-81 under 1:21 remaining at the clock for the game. Moon Tae-Jong would miss two free-throws and Korea was unable to convert their three point attempts and that allowed the Tall Blacks to hold their ground and win the third game.

Speedster, Kim Sun-Hyung was aggressive in this game, scoring 17 points with just 14 minutes of playing time. Kim thrived in getting to the foul lane where he sank 8-10 of his free-throw attempts. Moon Tae-Jong finished with 13 points but was just 1-5 from his three point attempts. Cho Sung-Min playing against Kirk Penney, scored 10 points.

Korea will fly back to South Korea for more training and scrimmages as they prepare for the FIBA World Cup and Asian Games. A somewhat continuation of this Tall Blacks affair will be played in Korea where Team Korea will host the Tall Blacks in the Student’s Gymnasium in Seoul. Games 4 and 5 are scheduled July 29 and July 31 respectively as New Zealand looks to train in South Korea prior to their European training.

Korea edges Tall Blacks in game 2

After a being routed by the Tall Blacks in the first game of the series, South Korea played better and manage to stun the host, 76-75 to tie the series with one win each.

Moon Tae-Jong who admitted to himself that he played terrible in the previous game, had a good shot at redemption in this game. Moon would lead the team in scoring, firing 21 points while shooting 5/9 from his three pointers.

First quarter saw Tall Blacks sharpshooter Kirk Penney draining back to back three pointers, a reminiscent of his hot hand from the previous game and that got the crowd excited, spurning momentum for the Tall Blacks side. Yoo Jae-Hak inserted Moon Tae-Jong and the latter hit a bank shot and a three pointer in two possessions to give Korea the lead 9-8 with 4:47 remaining. With Korea gaining momentum, they would edge New Zealand 23-18 to end the first quarter.

Cho Sung-Min would hit a three to pen the second quarter. A series of fouls, less aggressive rebounding and turnovers by the likes of Jang Jae-Seok and Choi Jin-Soo would allow New Zealand to build a 34-30 lead with 3 minutes remaining. Cho Sung-Min would hit a three to pull in Korea by 1 in 33-34 with 3:13 remaining. New Zealand would eventually tighten their defense and Korea would work for their points as the Tall Blacks were keeping the lead with second chance possessions. First half ended with Korea trailing 38-40 against New Zealand.

Lee Seung-Hyun would tie it with a shot at 40-40 early in the third quarter. Korea would slightly lead 46-42 after successive baskets by Kim Seung-Hyun and Kim Jong-Kyu. A series of fouls to Kirk Penney would send him to the foul line, hitting four free-throws in succession to cut Korea’s lead 46-45 with 7:01 remaining in the third. With 3:36 remaining, the Tall Blacks would inch away 58-51 due to second chance points once more. Moon Tae-Jong would hit a three pointer followed by Park Chan-Hee’s transition basket to pull in Korea 56-58 with 1:53 remaining. Moon Tae-Jong would hit two free-throws with a second remaining in the third for Korea as the visitors trail the host 60-59 to end the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, both teams would exchange baskets and trade free-throws made but Korea was noticeably gaining momentum with second chance possessions but the Tall Blacks were relentless in attacking as Korea could not pull away for more than four points. With 24 seconds remaining, Park Chan-Hee would split his free-throws to give Korea the 76-73 cushion. Corey Webster would miss a game tying three point attempt but after a rebound by Vukona and quick outlet leading to a Penney basket would inch the Tall Blacks by a hairline, 76-75 with 5 seconds remaining and the visitors would run away with a close win.

 

Game 3 will be this Saturday, July 19 in Auckland.

Korea routed by Tall Blacks in Game 1

South Korea was badly beaten by the hosts in the series opener against the New Zealand Tall Blacks.  Korea ended up losing 102-69 in a physical game demonstrated by the hosts.

First quarter saw a competitive start for both teams with Korea trailing only 13-11 with 2:00 remaining, but the Tall Blacks would go on a 9-2 run due to Korea’s foul troubles. Korea trailed New Zealand 22-13.

Second quarter saw the Tall Blacks go on a scoring rampage as the hosts would outscore Korea in that quarter, 34-11 while Korea had no answer against the Tall Blacks’ ball movement with Kirk Penney punching in 8 of his 17 points in that quarter.

Third quarter would see the game simmer down as the Tall Blacks allowed Korea a breather. Second half adjustment featured Kim Joo-Sung scoring 6 points to lead a team effort that has gained ground. Korea would win the 3rd 20-19 in scoring.

For the 4th quarter, with Korea facing a 25 point deficit, Yoo Jae-Hak was not going to throw in the towel yet. Kim Joo-Sung would teach the youngsters on how to score against taller defenders with his composure. This would allow players like Kim Jong-Kyu and Kim Seung-Hyun to follow up with their own moments. Moon Tae-Jong shot 4-17 from the field while sharpshooter Cho Sung-Min was 1-7 and unable to land a three. Korea would lose 102-69 as the buzzer sound.

Korea would be outgunned by shooting 25-70 as a team compared to the efficient 38-66 shooting as a team by the Tall Blacks. Korea went 4-20 from beyond the arc while Tall Blacks were on target 5-13 with their threes hoisted. Despite the presence of healthy big men, Korea was outrebounded 44-21 by the bigger and heavier Tall Blacks.

Game 2 of the three game series will be in Tauranga, ASB Bank Stadium in July 17 where Korea hopes to bounce back.

Team Korea all set for Tall Blacks challenge in New Zealand

A look at Korea’s training roster that will fly and train in New Zealand next week and one could quickly empathize with head coach Yoo Jae-Hak. “We will push on with the training with the current squad and hope no more injuries to follow,” as Yoo unveiled the list of fourteen names that are bound for New Zealand.

Kim Sun-Hyung (Seoul SK Knights)
Yang Dong-Geun (Ulsan Mobis Phoebus)
Park Chan-Hee (Anyang KGC)
Cho Sung-Min (Busan Sonicboom KT)
Yang Hee-Jong (Anyang KGC)
Kim Joo-Sung (Wonju Dongbu Promy)
Moon Tae-Jong (LG Sakers)
Lee Seung-Hyun (Korea University)
Choi Joon-Young (Yonsei University)
Choi Jin-Soo (Goyang Orions)
Kim Jong-Kyu (LG Sakers)
Lee Jong-Hyun (Korea University)
Oh Se-Keun (Anyang KGC)
Jang Jae-Seok (Goyang Orions)

Missing is Kim Tae-Sol who was supposed to fly with the team, but after a medical test, doctors recommended that Kim needs more time to heal. “It is unfortunate that Kim could not join us in time for our New Zealand training, but he should rest and we wish him recovery,” head coach Yoo Jae-Hak said. “We could have used Kim’s defense and playmaking capabilities to make solid our rotation,” added Yoo.

College players Lee Jong-Hyun and Lee Seung-Hyun from Korea University and Choi Joon-Young of Yonsei returned to the national team after playing for their respective schools in the recently concluded Asia Pacific College Basketball Challenge that saw top teams from South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Philippines, Australia and BYU-Hawaii participated. BYU-Hawaii went 1-2 against the national team recently by winning the final scrimmage. BYU-Hawaii lost to Yonsei in the semi-finals and finished third in the tournament. Title game involved Korea University winning over Choi Joon-Young’s Yonsei team 87-80 to capture the crown as Yonsei finished second.

Despite reports that Yoo Jae-Hak is planning to call up Ha Seung-Jin of KCC Egis and Moon Seong-Gon of Korea University to rejoin the national team, but it never happened. “Despite injuries, we are quite contented with the team, but that is not to say we could have been better equipped,” said Yoo.

South Korea will face their New Zealand national team counter-parts popularly known as the Tall Blacks in a three game leg starting July 15 next week.

1st game: July 15 TSB Arena Wellington 19:30
2nd game: July 17 ASB Tauranga Arena 19:30
3rd game: July 19 Auckland North Shore Events Centre 19:30

The Tall Blacks are also preparing for the FIBA World Cup late in August. New Zealand’s head coach Nenad Vucinic recently cut the 24 man training roster into a 17 man squad that is comprised of the following players:

Squad: Thomas Abercrombie, Benny Anthony, Everard Bartlett, Joshua Bloxham, Isaac Fotu, Casey Frank, Nick Horvath, Jarrod Kenny, Kirk Penney, Alex Pledger, Jack Salt, Lindsay Tait, Tohi Smith-Milner, Mika Vukona, Corey Webster, Tai Webster, Tai Wynyard.

The team is bannered by veterans, Thomas Abercrombie, Alex Pledger, Kirk Penney the sharpshooter and rugged forward Mika Vukona. Rising stars like Isaac Fotu and Tai Webster goes to college in the United States and plays in the American NCAA. This squad has really young players in seventeen year old Jack Salt and sixteen year old seven footer Tai Wynard. Missing is Oklahoma City Thunder’s Steven Adams but this squad is formidable that will be an even greater learning experience for Korea.

Vucinic is eager to play with Korea. “They finished third in Asia, which is very high,” says Vucinic. “Good shooters, well drilled, and they’ll be difficult for us.”

Yoo Jae-Hak echoes the same respect and recognition: “New Zealand is quality team and is a world cup fixture for so many years. They play tough and efficient.”

 

Points of observation from Korea’s friendlies

Head coach Yoo Jae-Hak was visibly displeased by the impending loss to their final game against BYU-Hawaii. A team that they had somewhat soundly defeated for the past two encounters; first game was a show of force where Korea won in a furious manner, 94-76 against a squad that had its spirits up due to seeing the beautiful countryside of Jincheon. Korea pressed and countered with accurate shooting and a running game that was a reminiscent of their tenacity last year in Manila. Second game was another similar outcome as Korea finished BYU-Hawaii with a fast paced end game, 97-68. Third game was supposed to be of the same outcome from the previous two encounters. Factors such as fatigue and worn out veterans worked against Korea and into the favor of the much younger BYU-Hawaii students. BYU-Hawaii used costly turnovers and cold outside shooting to run Korea out of its national training center 72-59.

 

Yoo Jae-Hak congratulated the other side as players from both benches congratulated one another and wished each other the best of luck in their upcoming endeavors. “We lost this game, period,” said Yoo Jae-Hak after the game. But the fiery mentor would never admit excuses such as fatigue and injuries but would admit a sound defeat. A similar pattern of slumping performance hit Korea against their visiting counterparts in Japan’s national team, who are also preparing for the Asian Games. First game against Japan, Korea showed its trademark ball pressure defense while continuously racking up the points with outside shooting coming off screens, switches and mis-directions. Result was Korea showing Japan that the battleground in Incheon for the Asian Games would not be easy. Korea won the first game, 88-56. The second game, a different Korea would fall to Japan, 68-65 as this Korean team let a lot of easy points slip past their vaunted ball pressure.

 

The trend we saw happening from the first match to the fifth match of Korea was of the law of diminishing returns. In sports and athletes in particular, individual performance affects the team, the team afflicts itself, so the team answers to itself. There are three factors for the fourth and fifth games that are relative to Korea’s regressive performance as they close out their friendlies in home soil.

 

Guard Shortage

Going into the friendlies against BYU-Hawaii and Japan, Korea had a thin rotation for guards. Kim Min-Goo is out for rehab after a car accident, Kim Tae-Sol and Lee Dae-Sung are still recovering from their respective injuries. That left veteran co-captain Yang Dong-Geun, veteran marksman Cho Sung-Min, Park Chan-Hee and Kim Sun-Hyung that composed of the training roster’s guard depth; four able bodies to distribute point guard and shooting guard duties for the stretch of successive games. For the first and third scrimmages, Korea looked fine as the guards were pressing, running and attacking the paint. Fourth and Fifth game, Yoo Jae-Hak knew the wisdom of not wearing out the warhorse prior the long campaigns and as best as he did in managing minutes, fatigue simply got the best of his guards as his offense runs through guards involving screens and navigating away from the defense. This even prompted Yoo to improvise by assigning guard minutes to forwards Yang Hee-Jong and Choi Joon-Young. Kim Min-Goo was a revelation for Korea last year and no doubt, had he and other guards healthy, Yoo would have enjoyed the luxury of seven guards to choose from.

 

Fatigue

For the first three games, guards were at a high usage, in particular was Yang Dong-Geun and Cho Sung-Min that lead the rout. High usage means much more toll on the body for fatigue. Rather than risk injuries, Yoo would carefully manage the minutes of his veteran guards plus the 39 year old Moon Tae-Jong. After every game, veterans Yang and Moon would have their knees wrapped in heavy ice. Korea has been training since late May and the whole of June, aside from weekend breaks. That is more than 45 days of 10-12 hour worth of cardio, weight-lifting, drills and scrimmages. Despite putting an emphasis of physical fitness to endure, these players are human still and certainly have been feeling the effect of fatigue even more after a scrimmage with a foreign team. For the five scrimmage games, veterans were at a high usage. Yang Dong-Geun is still the best decision maker and Yoo had him out there directing his setup. Moon Tae-Jong and Cho Sung-Min ran laps and then catch and shoot for a lot of sets. That equates to more than a mile worth of running under Yoo’s offense and his defense fueled running game. The young ones can recover quickly, but it is the veterans that felt fatigue flagging them down.

 

Health

Kim Joo-Sung missed the friendlies against BYU-Hawaii and Japan with a bruised shin and some knee stiffness. It was more of an insurance call of Yoo Jae-Hak to have Joo-Sung sit this one out. You do not wear down your warhorses prior the prolonged campaign. As stated again, Kim Min-Goo is out, Lee Dae-Sung is not fully recovered, Kim Tae-Sol and Yoon Ho-Young are still sidelined due to injuries. Health has not been a boon for the Koreans to start the 2014 campaigns for the world cup and Asian games. Lee Seung-Jun is out with a season ending injury. Kim Min-Goo’s vehicular mishap, Kim Tae-Sol and Yoon Ho-Young are still bothered with injuries that had troubled them since last year. Moving forward, Korea hopes not too have any more of those mishaps where an important member of the team will be forced out due to an injury. Lee Seung-Jun and Kim Min-Goo were both factors that helped Korea secure a trip to the FIBA World Cup, but not having their services already has this team at a disadvantage.

 

The team still has a long way to go before embarking on the quest for the Asian games gold. They would still need to prepare for the FIBA World Cup. Losses like these in time, would serve a lesson on being wiser. That entails knowing when it is critical to pull in the effort or learn to slow down and think of the greater goal ahead. Korea’s aim is no less than gold in the Asian Games. A mentality of pride within one’s backyard would certainly help salvage some bruised egos. This is your home court after all, you won’t want to let the other teams run you around due to them sensing that you are at a disadvantage. Korea is too proud of a team to let that happen and that mentality of playing with pride above one’s head will materialize when the games do matter.

For now, Korea in two weeks time, will travel to New Zealand for their overseas training. In that duration, Korea will have three games against New Zealand’s national basketball team. First game is July 15 in Wellington, second game is July 17 in Tauranga and the third game is July 19 in Auckland. After a week, New Zealand will train in Korea to face the national team in two more games: July 29 – July 31.