‘I’m old? I just need to be good’ The Seoul SK Knights are one of the teams that have undergone a major reinforcement this season, along with KCC, KT, and LG. That’s because the team that finished as runners-up in the championship finals also has the return of “Youngmi” Ahn Young-jun (28‧194.1cm) from military service, as well as KGC’s “Lion King” Oh Se-geun (36‧199.8cm), who defeated them to win the title this season.메이저사이트
What’s scary about SK is that they’re already a runner-up this season without Ahn, Young-jun, and Oh, Se-geun. And not just any runner-up. They narrowly swallowed Bunroo in a best-of-seven series against KGC. There is no shortage of opinions that the direction of the championship would have been different if certain players hadn’t suffered physical problems in the playoffs.
That said, SK’s performance in the playoffs was nothing short of spectacular. The “MVP duo” of regular season MVP Kim Sun-hyung (34‧187cm) and best foreign player Jamil Warney (29‧199cm) were tremendous throughout the playoffs. Without Ahn Young-joon and Choi Joon-yong, the previous season’s overall winners, the duo was expected to struggle, but as the saying goes, “If you have no teeth, you bite harder with your gums,” and they never stopped bombarding every team they faced.
In addition to the one-two punch of Kim Sun-hyung and Warney, there are two supporting cast members who boasted a perfect chemistry. Heo Il-young (37‧195cm) and Choi Boo-kyung (33‧200cm) are now in the veteran class. Although they were always good players, they played beyond expectations in the playoffs and made significant contributions. Kim Sun-hyung and Warney’s penetration was unstoppable.
Whenever either of them got the ball, we were ready to step in to help defense and even triple-team them in some cases. Whenever that happened, Heo Il-young was constantly on the move, looking for openings on the outside, catching the ball on the inside and knocking down high-sensitivity three-pointers to keep the defense on their heels.
If Heo was the backup on the perimeter, Choi was the one in the post. This season, Choi has added one more option to her arsenal. It’s called ‘receiving’. Although she is not naturally an individual player or a great scorer, she has a good ability to create chances when they come her way, which is a good synergy with Kim Sun-hyung and Warney. When Kim Sun-hyung and Warney tried to break through, Choi Buk-kyung was constantly looking for empty spaces, driving the defense and converting the passes into goals.
What’s even more exciting for SK next season is the addition of Ahn Young-joon and Oh Se-geun, which will give them even more options. Imagine replacing Heo Il-young with Ahn Young-joon and Choi Buk-kyung with Oh Se-geun. If Heo and Choi are good at receiving, Ahn Young-joon and Oh Se-geun can create their own offense. The fact that Heo Il-young and Choi Boo-kyung are coming off the bench is scary, and the fact that they are rotating with Ahn Young-joon and Oh Se-geun is also deeply troubling for opposing teams.
The most interesting aspect is the fact that Oh Se-geun and Kim Sun-hyung, who led the team during their heyday at Chung-Ang University and fiercely competed for the title in the last championship match, are now working together as a team. Given their age, you might think they’re done, but at least based on their performances last season, that seems unlikely.
They are not ‘good for their age’, but ‘just the best players in the league’. Kim Sun-hyung won the regular season MVP award, while Oh Se-geun led the team to the championship and was named MVP of the championship game. You can say, “When is Kim Sun-hyung and when is Oh Se-geun,” but it’s still hard to find juniors who can surpass them. They are both very disciplined in their fitness regimen, so there is a good chance that they will continue to enjoy their ‘second prime’ for the next few years.
When I look at them, they remind me of the old martial arts masters. They are like mountains that are difficult for younger students to overcome… They reject the fame and challenge, only to realize that their skills are too high. If you’re a fan of martial arts stories, the expression ‘duo’ may be familiar to you. It’s often used to describe a group of people with similar stats who have been traveling together for a long time and have become a family in their respective realms.
In the KBL Murim universe, Kim Sun-hyung and Oh Se-geun, both from Chung-Ang University, could be described as the “Jungdae duo”. Kim Sun-hyung is far from a hothead, but his attitude and style of playing basketball is as passionate and hot as anyone. He runs through the grass with a blade of grass that doesn’t break when he runs, teases defenses with his Chosangbi (草上飛) technique, and burns up opposing posts with his all-consuming Flame Field (火焰掌) once the heat is on.
If Kim is fire, Oh is ice. Despite his tough exterior, he is clever and cold. He’s not easily provoked by his opponents and never forgets who he is even in the midst of the chaos. Big men are pillars. Even if the mountain falls, they must stand their ground and push their opponents away. Oh has always fought like this since his youth. With a firm grip on his lower body with the ‘Chungeun Jungchugong’, he freezes his opponents in their tracks with his ‘Bingbaekjang’, a long-lasting chill.
Starting next season, teams facing SK will have to deal with Kim Sun-hyung, who has a breakout show inside and out, as well as Oh Se-geun, an all-around big man who combines strength and skill. Despite their different styles, both are veterans with high BQs, so SK’s performance is expected to be consistent. It will be interesting to see how the two stars, who have each had their own individual careers and team successes, will perform together.