LG, which has not been able to step on the playoff stage since 2019, reaped a meaningful harvest in the 2022-2023 season. They finished 2nd in the regular league and made it directly to the playoffs in the quarterfinals. Although they failed to advance to the championship due to the departure of Asem Marey, it was definitely a season with many encouraging things for LG. Let’s look back on a season of LG’s powerful wings.카지노사이트
Director Jo Sang-hyun’s principles, details, and everything change
Last spring, LG made a bold decision. He parted ways with director Cho Seong-won and appointed director Cho Sang-hyun as the new manager. Coach Jo Sang-hyun, who also played for LG during his active career, is a young leader who was in charge of the men’s basketball team until recently. Starting with his coaching career at Orion, coach Cho Sang-hyun, who had been steadily gaining experience as a leader, made his debut as a professional coach at LG after going through national team coaching and national team coaching.
In fact, I didn’t have high expectations for LG before the season. This is because the roster has remained almost the same. Recruitment of NBA career Dante Cunningham for the second option foreign player position, which was so uneasy in the 2021-2022 season, return of Kim Jun-il, who had been unable to stand on the court for a year due to an Achilles tendon injury, and Filipino Asian Quarter player Justin Gutang joined. There was only one significant change.
However, in this situation, coach Cho Sang-hyun completely changed LG’s constitution and put the team at the top of the league. Lee Kwan-hee, captain of LG, commented on coach Cho Sang-hyun, “The coach is the one who runs the end of the details. He is more detailed than anyone else, so when I hear about the game preparations, I have no choice but to acknowledge and follow the coach as a player.” Lee Jae-do said, “The coach is a sincere person who comes to the training ground earlier than the players.”
Coach Cho Sang-hyun, who gained the trust of the players through immersion in basketball, serious attitude, and meticulous preparation, turned LG into a defensive team. Through various defensive tactics, LG’s team defense was raised, and Yoon Won-sang was discovered and made the core of the second unit. Justin Gutang, who did not get a chance to play at the beginning of the season, has also grown under coach Jo Sang-hyun’s orders and has become an indispensable player in the team’s power from the middle of the season.
The court balance was shaken on both sides of the offense and defense, and LG, which had many mistakes, was no longer there. LG, which has a solid air defense system that does not depend on a specific player, has become a team that puts its name at the top of the league. In a word, it was a metamorphosis itself.
KBL’s first two-track operation, a new wind
The basis for LG’s success this season was the aforementioned two-track operation. It shows the two colors of basketball together while simultaneously operating a starting lineup and a second unit lineup that is no less than that.
The starting lineup consisted of Lee Jae-do, Asem Marey, Jung Hee-jae, Lee Kwan-hee, and Jeong In-deok, while the second unit line-up consisted of Justin Gutang, Yun Won-sang, Kim Jun-il, and Dante Cunningham. In this keynote, coach Cho Sang-hyun mixed the main and second units appropriately and used them to confuse the opponent.
What made LG’s two-track strategy even more remarkable was that they used the second unit as a closing game lineup to finish the game. In general, many teams pursue a game operation that mainly employs key players in the match after the middle of the fourth quarter. But LG didn’t.
Gutang, Yun Won-sang, Kim Jun-il, and Cunningham were also named in the lineup to finish the match if the situation was right. Coach Cho Sang-hyun’s choice to put in the closing line-up regardless of the starter or bench depending on the opponent’s defense and the flow of the game made LG a more formidable team.
In this situation, the main lineup and the second unit lineup each produced a different color and created a synergistic effect. The main lineup chose a method to attack the opponent’s close-out rotation defense, focusing on Asem Marey’s dominance of the paint zone, and the second unit lineup focused on Won-sang Yoon’s off-ball move, Cunningham’s and Joon-il Kim’s exquisite space distribution, and high-low game. released
Of course, even in the process of creating different colors, there was a great principle that LG pursued. It was an organized and stable defense.
Manager Cho Dong-hyun of Hyundai Mobis, the twin brother of manager Jo Sang-hyun, praised manager Jo Sang-hyun’s defensive capabilities, saying, “LG was originally a team with players who knew how to defend, but coach Cho Sang-hyun made those players play defense properly.” did. In fact, under the guidance of coach Cho Sang-hyun, Asem Marey showed excellent defense enough to be selected as one of the top 5 defenders, and Lee Jae-do and Lee Kwan-hee also showed 120% of their original defense ability. Yoon Won-sang, who did not receive much opportunity after his debut, was reborn as a defense specialist. He didn’t forget the most important basic of defense in the two-track operation, so it was probably natural for LG to rebound.
When the team of the crown princes of Jo Sang-hyeon-
ho flap their wings, the players also shine together. Former coach Kang Eul-jun was never wrong when he said, “Heroes appear when you win.” LG also produced many heroes through victories this season.
As mentioned earlier, Asem Marey was a player whose skills shined even more as he spent the season with coach Cho Sang-hyun. Last season, his rebounding ability was already amazing, but this season, he strengthened his post-up option and even strengthened his defense, establishing himself as a foreign player representing the league in offense and defense.
In particular, in a two-on-two defense, Marey had an excellent ability to protect the rim through diligent grooming and appropriate backward stepping even while falling near the paint zone. I didn’t know he was such a good player. He was the best defender this season.”
Yoon Won-sang and Jeong In-deok were newly discovered stars. Yoon Won-sang, who joined LG with the 6th rank in the 1st round in the 2020 rookie draft, was a player who drew attention for his offensive power even at the time of his debut. This is because during his time at Dankook University, he won the top scorer with his excellent technique and shooting ability. However, he did not get any special opportunities for two years after his professional debut, but after the appointment of manager Cho Sang-hyun, he was reborn as a key unit of LG as he got a completely unexpected role as a defense specialist.
Coach Cho Sang-hyun used Yoon Won-sang, who has quick feet and abundant defensive activity, as a dedicated defender for opposing shooters with excellent off-ball moves such as Heo Woong and Jeon Seong-hyun, and Yoon Won-sang also responded to coach Cho Sang-hyun’s expectations with active defense. In addition, Yun Won-sang succeeded in increasing his contribution in the attack by taking advantage of his off-ball move and catch-and-shoot ability using his abundant activity. Therefore, it is clear that the 2022-2023 season has become an unforgettable and important season for Yoon Won-sang.
Jung In-deok, who quit basketball at one time and joined LG through a trial last season, has become a new key forward resource for LG with his great height, diligent defense activity, and good shooting ability. Lim Dong-seop, who was a national team shooter but had been sluggish for the past few years at Samsung, also made a comeback after making a nest with LG in a trade during the season, and helped the maid team a lot.
I can’t help but mention Dante Cunningham, a 2-option foreign player. In fact, one of the reasons for LG’s failure last season was the skills of serious second-option foreign players. When Asem Mareyman’s court was vacated, the foreign player’s competitiveness completely declined, giving the match the lead to the opponent.
Cunningham, born in 1987, is a veteran who played for the NBA New Orleans and San Antonio in the past, receiving consistent playing time. In fact, just looking at his career, he was a player at a level that was hard to believe coming to KBL. As he is not young, there was an evaluation that his athletic ability and other skills would be on the decline, but what Cunningham showed in Korea was a seasoned veteran himself. Although not as strong as his Marei, he played a key role in the second unit with a wider shooting range and skillful play. It is rumored that he has set an example for his fellow players with his sincerity even off the court.
Team MVP | ASEM MARAY
54G 24:49 15.0 POINTS 12.5 REBOUNDS 2.0 ASSISTS 1.8 STEALS Despite
not playing in 3 playoff games, Maray played in all 54 regular league games this season and is a foreigner who represents the league with his unique sound play. showed He showed great influence in the attack, such as physical fights and post-ups with strong power, and derivative scoring using them, and in defense, he played an active role as the central axis of LG’s defense with diligent movements to implement team defense.
Even in a situation where he could not play the playoffs due to injury, Marey did not return to his home country and remained on the team to support his teammates, saying that he showed sincerity to LG more than anyone else. He also boasted great synergy with veteran foreign player Dante Cunningham both on and off the court. This is why Marey has to be LG’s team MVP this season.
Team RISING STAR | Yoon Won-
sang 54G 25:09 6.4 points, 1.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.4 steals
This season, Yoon Won-sang was the player who changed his performance the most in LG. He added great strength to the team as a dedicated defender who catches the opponent’s key resources in defense and as a shooter who uses off-ball moves to catch and shoot. Amidst Yoon Won-sang’s performance, the LG guard team, which had a high dependence on Lee Jae-do and Lee Kwan-hee, succeeded in stepping up one step further.
Yoon Won-sang is also a player who broke the professional jinx of the top scorer from Dankook University. Unlike Dankook University’s top scorers, such as Kim Sang-kyu and Kwon Si-hyun, who failed to shine as pros, Yun Won-sang showed the potential to establish himself as a much better player than his seniors through this season. This is why Yoon Won-sang’s move attracts fans’ attention.