National team coach Choo Il-seung, “Oh Se-geun, Kim Sun-hyung focus on Asian Games” … “Park Ji-hoon, Yang Jae-min and 16 others will be tested as much as possible”
“Oh Se-geun and Kim Sun-hyung want to focus on the Asian Games”
The Korea Basketball Association (KBA) announced on 26 March the preliminary roster of the Korean men’s national basketball team for the Paris Olympic Qualifiers and the Hangzhou Asian Games. A total of 16 players were included in the reinforced training list, while 24 players, including the reinforced training list, were included in the preliminary roster.
The core of the squad are Oh Se-geun and Kim Sun-hyung (Seoul SK). Both players are in their mid-30s, but are still top-level competitors in the KBL. They will also be needed for the big events of the Olympic Qualifiers and Asian Games.
However, both Oh and Kim played in the championship game, which went to overtime in game seven. Their bodies are not in perfect condition. They need to rest.토토사이트
Korea Men’s National Basketball Team head coach Choo Il-seung (hereafter referred to as Choo), who has watched the two players throughout the season, knows this. “Both (Oh) Se-geun and (Kim) Sun-hyung played until May,” he says. They need a break. We want to give them time to build up their bodies,” he said, emphasising the word ‘build up’.
“They are veterans, among the best in the league. They are still very competitive. But it’s been a long season and they need time to recover. We’re going to focus on the Asian Games. I’m going to improve my body in time for the Asian Games,” he said, explaining the significance of Osegun and Kim Sun-hyung.
Despite the presence of national team regulars like Oh and Kim, there are many new faces on the roster. In particular, Park Ji-hoon (Anyang KGC Ginseng Corporation) and Yang Jae-min (B League Utsunomiya) were included in the senior national team training roster for the first time.
“When I watched (Yang) Jae-min play, I felt he had a good shot, so I think we can use him if (Lee) Hyun-jung can’t join us or (former player) Sung Hyun-i isn’t feeling well,” said Chu Il-seung. “He also blocked a lot of foreign players in Japan. I think his physicality is also a strength,” he said of Yang Jae-min.
“Park Ji-hoon showed stability in the championship game. I felt that he is one of the guards who is developing,” he added, explaining why he chose Park Ji-hoon.
“We’re still discussing it, but we’re going to use 16 players when we play the Japanese national team in an exhibition game. We want to be flexible with the roster. There is an injury factor, so we want to test as many players as possible,” he said, explaining the significance of selecting new resources in general.
Chu Il-seung also selected Moon Jung-hyun (Korea University) for the 2022 squad. Moon is the only university student on the 16-man roster, but Chu Il-seung praised his sensitivity and potential for improvement.
“When I trained with him last year, his basketball sense was not inferior to that of professional seniors. I want to see how competitive he is with adult players, and he has great potential for development.”
Coach Chu Il-seung, who saw the potential in Moon, said, “It was like watching former Chosun University coach Lee Min-hyun in action. He was the originator of the all-around player. He didn’t limit himself to one position and did his share, which is why he played for the national team from high school and was ahead of his time,” said Chu, who sees great potential in the all-rounder.
Meanwhile, the 16 players on the national team strengthening list will meet at the Jincheon Athletes’ Village on 21 June at 11am. Lee Jung-hyun (Day One Sports), who was selected to the Chengdu Summer Universiade squad, will join the squad after that event.