KCC Aegis is the number 0 favorite to win next season. They are the unrivaled No. 1 team in the league. The quality and quantity of their roster, as well as the balance of each position, overwhelm other teams. It’s no exaggeration to say that they are the strongest team in the history of the KBL. Barring any major upsets, such as an injury to Jull, this team could win the title if they just keep rolling.
Of course, nothing is perfect in the world. Even a giant Goliath can be defeated by David’s slingshot. Especially in the playoffs, where it’s all-out war. KCC may not be the best team in the world, but there are other teams that are capable of winning the title. One of them is Suwon KT, 메이저 토토사이트 who faced KCC in the championship game last season.
KT will be returning to the championship game for the first time in 17 years after defeating Hyundai Mobis and LG in the playoffs last season with the one-two punch of Heo Hoon (29‧180cm) and Paris Bass (29‧208cm). However, KCC was outclassed, and despite the struggles of the two players, they finished as runners-up with one win and four losses.
Aside from KCC’s out-of-size talent, KT’s roster is deep and strong enough. Heo Hoon is one of the best players in the league, as evidenced by his tremendous performance in the playoffs last season, when he summoned his father Heo Jae. Along with Lee Jung-hyun (Sono), he is considered one of the KBL’s best offensive guards and is actually one of the top offensive producers for a native player.
There are many things that make up a championship contender, but the presence of an ace native guard and a native big man is crucial. Once you have that, building a team becomes much easier. KT has that. In addition to Heo Hoon, they also have national center Ha Yoon-ki (25‧203.5cm). Heo and Ha are backed up by quality resources in Choi Chang-jin (31‧185cm) and Lee Doo-won (24‧204.4cm). They are both outstanding players who would be considered for the starting lineup if they went to a team with weaknesses in their respective positions.
The forward line is strong and thick. It is the only team that can match up with KCC’s forward lineup to some extent. In addition to Han Hee-won (31‧195cm), who is valued for his 3&D style, the lineup of the league’s best defender Moon Sung-gon (31‧195.6cm), versatile youngster Moon Jung-hyun (23‧194.2cm), and Park Joon-young (28‧195.3cm) is enough to make other teams envious.
Not to mention Moon Sung-gon, Moon Jung-hyun has become an all-around defender, and with the addition of veteran defender Han Hee-won, they can put pressure on opponents with their defense. This is especially true when you consider the workload of the guards up front and the depth of the homegrown big men. They have the power to play any combination of offense and defense.
However, there are some areas of concern. The main scorers and ball-handlers. You might ask, what do I mean, we have Heo Hoon? But it’s just Heo Hoon. We rely too much on him in two areas. His scoring and ball-handling abilities are self-explanatory, as evidenced by his role as the No. 1 on the national team.
But it’s when he’s not there that things go wrong. Heo is far from being an unbreakable player. He has suffered from injuries, big and small, throughout his career. Even in the last championship match, he was injured. His performance was already incredible, but it could have been even stronger if he was in better shape. That“s why Heo needs to be managed to a certain extent, and even if it”s not necessarily a problem, it”s not good to rely too much on one player to be a strong team.
One way to ease the scoring burden on certain players is to have different patterns of outside shooting. Unfortunately, outside shooting is one of the weaknesses of KT’s forward line. Only Han Hee-won has the ability to shoot three-pointers, but Moon Sung-gon and Moon Jung-hyun are inferior to other teams’ forwards in terms of shooting ability. Not to mention the defense of Moon Sung-gon and Moon Jung-hyun, but both of them are poor shooters, which causes tightness on offense.
The solution to this problem is foreign players and Asian quotas. However, KT hasn’t been able to do that either. Rayshawn Hammonds (26‧206cm) and Jeremiah Tillman (26‧204cm) are new and unproven foreign players, and the Asian quota is in the process of being replaced. There are a lot of question marks in the all-important foreign player category, which is a big concern for KT fans.
The best option would have been to go with leading scorer Bass, but that didn’t happen due to various reasons. This is a big disappointment for KT, whose offensive productivity was largely derived from Bass. If Hammonds and Tillman can’t fill the void, the pressure on Heo will only increase.
It’s a mixed bag when it comes to new foreign players. KT is currently competing in the East Asian Super League (EASL), an international club competition. Hammonds led the team to a 39-point, 14-rebound performance against San Miguel Beermen in the first game of Group A in Manila, Philippines, on Feb. 2. The high scoring output is a testament to his ability, even if it was intentional, as Hehun was focused on leading the way.
However, his efficiency was lacking compared to his volume, and he was more of an individual attacker than a team player, so his record is not as well-received as it should be. Tillman, another foreign player, had eight points and 11 rebounds, but was criticized for his overall clunkiness, including some shaky ball-catching. Of course, their journey together is just beginning.
While some players are promising right from the start, others will develop over time. There is a time and a place for winning. For KT, that time is now, with Heo Hoon in his prime. It will be interesting to see if KT can turn the question mark into an exclamation point.
