The 2023-2024 professional basketball season (starting on the 21st) will feature three ‘rookie commanders’ making their debut. Kim Joo-sung (44) of the Wonju Divisional (DB), Song Young-jin (45) of the Suwon Katie (KT), and Kang Hyuk (47) of the Daegu Korea Gas Corporation will make their debuts.
Kim is the youngest manager in the league, having taken over as acting head coach in January after former head coach Lee Sang-beom suddenly resigned.
Kim was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2002 rookie draft and began his career with the division’s predecessor, Wonju Tizi (TG) Sambo, and was a franchise star who stayed with one team until his retirement in 2018.
Kim, a 205-centimeter center, is expected to make the most of the strengths of long players such as Kim Jong-kyu (32-207 centimeters), Kang Sang-jae (28-200 centimeters), and Dedrick Lawson (26-202 centimeters), as well as utilize the team’s characteristics through the sensible passing play of Doo Kyung-min.
Speaking to Hankyoreh on the 18th, Coach Kim said, “We practiced a lot of triple tower, which has the advantage of height, but since both the advantages and disadvantages came out in the cup tournament, we will compensate for the disadvantages.
Even if we run a triple tower, we will try to showcase ‘fast basketball‘ by having an advantage in inside defense.”
Divi will play its first away game of the season on Nov. 22 at 2 p.m. against Goyang Sono.
Head coach Song Young-jin Katie, who is a year Kim’s senior and previously led Chung-Ang University to the top of college basketball, is also facing a challenge in her first season.
Song, who has plenty of experience under center, has a number of national team players, including Moon Jung-hyun (22), Moon Sung-gon (30), and Ha Yoon-ki (24), and Heo Hoon (28) returns from his stint with the Sangmu in November.
Expectations are also high for foreign player Paris Bass (28), who helped the team reach the quarterfinals of the Cup.
“We’re not complete yet, but we’re working hard for a five-percent win rate (until Heo is discharged),” Song said.
Ha Yun-ki, who was called up to the national team, and Moon Sung-gon, who was injured, had relatively little time to gel.
They are all capable players, so they will adapt quickly.” Katie will play its first game of the season against LG on Nov. 21 at Changwon Gymnasium. 바카라사이트
It will also be interesting to see the leadership of acting head coach Kang Hyuk, who took over in June after former coach Yoo Yoo-hoon was sacked following a conflict with the club.
KOGAS finished ninth last season, and is considered to have been weakened by the departure of mainstay Lee Dae-sung (33, Seahorses Mikawa) to Japan and the suspension of Chung Hyo-geun (29).
To make matters worse, first-option foreign player Isaiah Hicks (29) suffered an Achilles tendon injury one minute into a cup tournament on Sept. 9 and has been ruled out for the season.
“We’ve been preparing a lot of things for Hicks during the offseason, such as fast basketball and defensive tactics, but now that she’s out, we’re having to adjust our tactics again.
Basically, we are strengthening our defense and relying on the offense of Andrew Nicholson (33), who joined the team again this season.”
KOGAS hosts Hyundai Mobis on Nov. 21 in Ulsan.
Fans will be tuning in to see how the three rookie managers battle it out this season, as they are now in the position to take full responsibility for winning or losing, unlike when they were players and coaches.