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.