"KCC-SK 'Super Team' Touted...'Unscratched Lottery Ticket' Expected"

With more 'big fish' moves than ever before, what variables are lurking in the 2023-2024 professional basketball season (which kicks off on the 21st)?

Pro basketball commentators who spoke to The Hankyoreh on Sunday were generally in favor of 'super teams' such as KCC and SK, which have significantly strengthened their rosters this season. It's not much different from what happened at the Korean Basketball League's (KBL) opening media day on Saturday, when the 10 clubs' head coaches named KCC as the favorites to win the title. It is possible that KT, LG, and Samsung, who will be running a combination of rookies and foreign players under their young coaches, will write the upset with colorful plays.

Commentator Shin Ki-sung said, "Since the Jijinan season, Korean professional basketball has gradually become more inclined to pursue plays where activity and speed are important, just like overseas leagues. They need to strengthen not only their offense but also their defense, and they need to have a thick enough player base to be able to use up to 12 players comprehensively and maintain their power, not just five or six main players. In that sense, KCC, with Choi Jun-yong (29), and ESC, with Oh Se-geun (36), have an advantage."

Commentator Son Dae-beom said, "Choi Jun-yong can drive the ball directly into the box, increase the tempo, and coordinate the attack, and his height will make up for KC's lack of depth in many ways. Also, if Song Kyo-chang (27), who will be discharged from the army in November, joins the team and recovers from his injury, the team will be even stronger in February and March." "Katie, which has Moon Jung-hyun (22), Moon Sung-gon (30), and Heo Hoon (28), who is about to be discharged from the military, could emerge as a strong team in the third and fourth rounds," said Son. 카지노사이트가이드

"With a good composition of foreign players and relatively few variables, we can expect to see a stable KLC, ESK, Hyundai Mobis, and Elgee (LG)," said Lee Sang-yoon.

In addition to Choi Joon-yong, the commentators pointed to several other players to watch this season. "Keep an eye on Park Ji-hoon (28), who will have to play the role of 'ace' after almost all of his teammates left last year's championship with Jung Kwan-jang (KGC Ginseng Corporation). It's also important to watch players who are approaching 40, such as ESK's Oh Se-geun, Kim Sun-hyung (35) and Heo Il-young (38)."

There is also the possibility of an 'unscratched lottery ticket'. "Samsung, which finished last last year, is expected to select Jo Jun-hee (19), who did not learn basketball in Korea, in the rookie draft. If foreign player Kofi Coburn (24), who played in the recent World Cup, doesn't lose out in matchups, Samsung will be worth keeping an eye on."

"DB coach Kim Joo-sung took the reins last season in a hurry and went through trial and error, but this time he has been taking care of the team since the summer. I'm curious to see how he will play with big players like Kim Jong-kyu (32-207 cm), Kang Sang-jae (29-200 cm), and Dedrick Lawson (26-202 cm)."