The South Korean national basketball team is calling up the youth from the college ranks to reinforce its depleted team as the FIBA Asia qualifiers to the Rio Olympics is nearing.
Korea University’s prime two guard Moon Seonggon, the sweet shooting tall forward Kang Sangjae and Yonsei’s versatile forward Choi Jun-Young will be rejoining the national team, who are fresh from the William Jones Cup last week.
Though they maybe young, the trio have accounted for a lot of international basketball experience within the youth competitions and several call ups to the senior national team. Rivals Moon Seonggon and Choi Jun-Young have played in the U18 and U19 national teams. They helped Korea’s “B” team in winning the 2013 East Asia Basketball Championship and helped Korea to finish third in the 2013 FIBA Asia FIBA World Cup qualifiers that was held in Manila. Kang Sangjae is also a product of the youth team. His stock rose also in 2013 when he was the breakout star in the FIBA U19 world championship by averaging a 19.2 points per game to lead Korea. His 35 points explosion against Croatia and 31 points game against Senegal got him the offer to play for Korea University in which he joined Lee Jong-Hyun and Lee Seung-Hyun to form one of the most formidable front-court in the league’s history.
The call ups of the three college stars came after the reported allegations of match fixing against Kim Sun-Hyung and Oh Se-Keun the other day. Both men are currently out of the national team program as investigations are ongoing and prosecutors are readying charges.
Head coach Kim Dong-Kwang requested the national team selection committee to call up veteran national team swingman Yang Hee-Jong of Anyang KGC, but the club had reservations in loaning Hee-Jong to the national team. Hee-Jong is still recovering from a knee injury but is practicing with the team in preparation for the upcoming 2015-2016 Korean Basketball League season. Anyang KGC will face a new season without another star with Yang Hee-Jong being recalled to the national team in which the KGC back-court of Park Chan-Hee and Lee Jung-Hyun are already with the national team. Oh Se-Keun is also out of KGC due to charges of match-fixing.
“Yang [Hee-Jong] joining the national team is not favorable for him and to the team at this point. We are in the final stretch of preparing for the new [KBL] season without two of our best players [Park Chan-Hee and Lee Jung-Hyun], we cannot afford to let another star go,” said an Anyang KGC representative to Donga News.
The representative also pointed out that Yang Hee-Jong is still not 100% despite him practicing with the team as KGC is taking measures not to aggravate the injury. Head coach Kim Dong-Kwang told the press that he wanted Yang Hee-Jong to rejoin the national team but after consultation with the Anyang KGC management, the request was not granted. “It is true that I wanted Yang [Hee-Jong], but he is not 100% and after meeting, pulling three players from a team is unfair and that was the problem,” said Kim Dong-Kwang to jumpball media.
Other national team players injured are Yoon Ho-Young, who was originally in the William Jones Cup roster but was dropped in the last minute do to aggravating his injury and Korea had to make do with an 11 man rotation that eventually became a 10 man rotation with team captain Yang Dong-Geun recovering from Achilles tendinitis. Ha Seung-Jin also suffered a hip strain and soreness in the knee during the Jones Cup.
The team was reeling from injuries and then the match-fixing scandal broke out in the news that forced Kim Sun-Hyung to leave the national team. As other national teams were naming their twelve man roster for FIBA Asia, Korea had to suspend in naming their squad.
With the reinforcement of Moon Seonggon, Kang Sangjae and Choi Jun-Young, the national team is again back to a twelve man team and is Korea’s tentative squad for FIBA Asia later this month.
Yang Dong-Geun (Ulsan Mobis Phoebus)
Kim Tae-Sol (Jeonju KCC Egis)
Moon Seonggon (Korea University)
Park Chan-Hee (Anyang KGC)
Cho Sung-Min (Busan Sonicboom KT)
Lee Jung-Hyun (Anyang KGC)
Choi Jun-Young (Yonsei University)
Moon Tae-Young (Samsung Thunder)
Lee Seung-Hyun (Goyang Orions)
Kang Sangjae (Korea University)
Kim Jong-Kyu (Changwon LG Sakers)
Lee Jong-Hyun (Korea University)
The national team with their collegiate call ups will commence training in September 11, 2015.
Sakerland 