Yeo Jun-Seok, Will A "Dream Showdown" With Kansas, The No. 1 Player In The U.S., Take Place

Yeo Joon-seok (21, Gonzaga University), who has advanced to the NCAA Division I in the U.S. college basketball, has a chance to play with the nation's strongest university.

Gonzaga University, which includes Yeo Jun-seok, defeated Eastern Oregon University 123-57 in the 2023-24 Season NCAA held at McCarthy Athletic Center at Spokane's home stadium in Washington on the 15th. Gonzaga won its second straight game since the opening.

Yeo Jun-seok started his first goal with a dunk shot since entering the U.S. As the score gap widened, Yeo Jun-seok, who came out of the bench, stood out in many ways with nine points, seven rebounds, and four assists. The only regret was that all three 3-pointers were missed. The success of a two-hand dunk following the breakthrough at the last minute was the highlight. Two-point shots were 3/3 100% with two dunks and one layup. The free throw was 3/5.

In fact, it's too early to just like it. Gonzaga's opponent, Eastern Oregon University, is a lower-level drug team belonging to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), not even a member of the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association), which has a third division. In the NCAA Division I, the gap with Gonzaga, who is recognized as a mid-major conference powerhouse, was too wide.

Nevertheless, it was impressive that Yeo Jun-seok, who played the role of a bench player, showed confident play in a given short time. Regardless of the opponent's level, Yeo Jun-seok clearly imprinted his presence on coach Mark Pugh as a six-man. Fans were enthusiastic about Yeo Jun-seok's ability to score in a short time and his resilience as much as black players. Yeo Jun-seok, a second-year transfer student, has a priority to enter Gonzaga's regular rotation member.

Now, AP's 11th-ranked Gonzaga will compete in the "All-State Maui Invitational 2023" from the 21st. It is an annual college basketball invitation tournament held on the beautiful Hawaiian island of Honolulu. It is a good opportunity for Gonzaga to compete with other conference powerhouses from its perspective. Including Gonzaga this year, five ranking teams will participate, including Kansas, the 2022 NCAA Tournament winner, and the No. 1 U.S. player this season, Purdue, the No. 2 U.S. player, Market, and Tennessee, the No. 7 U.S. player. In addition, a total of eight teams including UCLA, Syracuse, Tennessee, and Shaminad were invited.

Gonzaga will play its first game against Purdue on the 21st. If you win, you advance to the winner's tournament, and if you lose, you fall to the loser's tournament. If Gonzaga catches Purdue, it will meet the winner of Tennessee vs Syracuse in the second round. If he wins this far, Gonzaga can face Kansas in the third round in the final.

Yeo Jun-seok only played for three minutes in his first game with Yale in the Ivy League. He was able to play a lot because of the wide gap in the second half against the underdog Eastern Oregon. This season, Purdue is recognized as the second-ranked powerhouse in the U.S. If the game leads to a close game, it seems very difficult for Yeo Jun-seok to receive a lot of playing time.

Nevertheless, if Gonzaga is on a roll, the dream match against Kansas, the best player in American college basketball, may be held in the final. The two foreign players, Didrick Lawson and Jeff Widdy, who currently lead the Wonju DB with 11 wins and 1 loss, are from the University of Kansas.

Widdie is a defensive center who ranked No. 1 in block shots overall in the Big 12 Conference and was also selected as the "Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year." Widdie also defended Kentucky's Anthony Davis well in the 2012 NCAA Tournament final. Lawson, who was selected as a McDonald's All-American in high school, showed off his explosive scoring ability with 19.4 points and 10.3 rebounds in his third year in Kansas.

Gonzaga, a mid-major, West Coast Conference (WCC), actually doesn't have much opportunity to play against strong teams in the regular league. It will be a tremendous study just for Yeo Jun-seok to play on the bench to face off against U.S. ranking powerhouses such as Purdue. Stan Sherif Center, where the Maui Invitational will be held, houses 10,600 people. It is so popular that hundreds of dollars of tickets have already been sold out in Hawaii, causing chaos. 스포츠토토

Gonzaga vs. Perdue, where Yeo Jun-seok will participate, will be broadcast live on MBC Sports Plus at 7 a.m. on the 21st. Kim Il-doo, a professional player-turned commentator, and Choi Yeon-gil, a commentator with extensive knowledge in American basketball, will work together.