Will SK coach Jeon Heechul add a line to KBL’s history?
Seoul SK, which was reborn as a strong team from the 2012-2013 season, won the championship in the 2017-2018 season. I didn’t win even once until the second game of the championship match, but I caught it from the third game to the sixth game. Top for the first time in 18 years since the 1999-2000 season. Moreover, it was the first win since Seoul was the home court, so it was very meaningful.
However, SK left regrets from the 2014-2015 season. If you make the playoffs one season, you don’t make the playoffs the next season. No, there were times when we couldn’t advance to the playoffs in a row. (2015-2016, 2016-2017)
The same was true for the 2020-2021 season. Even though they tied for first place with Wonju DB in the 2019-2020 season (28-15, stopped early due to 오래된토토사이트 Corona 19), they couldn’t even make the playoffs in the 2020-2021 season. They finished the season with a record of 24 wins and 30 losses.
There was a reason why the 2020-2021 season was easy. The team’s ace Kim Seon-hyung (187cm, G), the league’s best all-around player Choi Jun-yong (200cm, F), another forward-centered resource Ahn Young-jun (195cm, F), and the best foreign player in the 2019-2020 season, Jamil Warney (199cm, C) was present on the roster. Due to the successive rise of the main axis resources, SK was unable to utilize good power.
SK eventually drew a knife. Instead of head coach Mungyeong-Eun, who led the team for nearly 10 years, Jeon Heechul, who assisted Mungyeong-Eun, was appointed as the new head coach.
Jeon Hee-cheol, who became the new coach, did not change the team structure significantly. However, some replacement work was fine and detailed. In the 2021-2022 season, the burden that could be placed on Kim Seon-hyung and Warney was modified to ‘Motion Offense’, and the defense was also elaborately refined to maximize the fast attack.
As a result, SK took first place in the regular league for the 2021-2022 season with 40 wins and 14 losses. SK, which went straight to the semifinal playoffs, overcame Goyang Orion with a 3-game winning streak, and defeated Anyang KGC Ginseng Corporation 4-2 in the championship match. Coach Jeon Hee-chul won the unified championship in his first season as a coach.
Ahn Young-jun enlisted in the military and Choi Jun-yong was injured, but SK, led by coach Jeon Hee-cheol, did not ride a roller coaster in the 2022-2023 season. With 36 wins and 18 losses, it recorded the same win and loss as Changwon LG, which is in second place. If LG hadn’t been pushed back in the opponent’s record and opponent’s goal difference, SK went straight to the playoffs in the quarterfinals once again.
SK, which started from the playoffs in the 6th round, went on a winning streak. In the playoffs in the 6th round, Jeonju KCC was defeated with a 3-game win, and in the 4th round of the playoffs, Changwon LG was defeated in 3 games. Although they lost after a bloody battle with KGC Ginseng Corporation until the 7th game in the championship match, SK’s strength was impressive.
Director Jeon Heechul also escaped from the word ‘roller coaster’. 76 wins and 32 losses in two seasons since his debut. It has a win rate of 70.4%. It is said that he only played 108 games as a manager, but SK coach Jeon Hee-chul has the highest win rate among all KBL coaches.
The outlook for the 2023-2024 season is also bright. Although Choi Jun-yong and Choi Seong-won (184cm, G) were missed in the free agency market, Oh Se-geun (200cm, C), the best big man in the league, joined the team. Also, Ahn Young-jun, who is serving in the military, returns. Here, Kim Seon-hyung and Jameel Warney, who were the original one-two punches, are still alive.
SK can aim for the top again. SK coach Jeon Hee-cheol can also add a line to KBL history. He is ‘the manager with the least 100 wins in KBL history’. The previous best record was 100 wins and 51 losses between Shin Seon-woo, former general manager of Korea Gas Corporation, and former Dongbu coach Kang Dong-hee. Both command towers achieved 100 wins in 151 games.
For coach Jeon Hee-cheol to set a record, SK needs to add 24 wins within 42 games after the start of the 2023-2024 season. If that happens, SK coach Jeon Hee-cheol can achieve 100 wins in 150 games.
When coach Jeon Hee-chul achieves a record, SK can also gain a lot of meaning. Even with 12 games left until the end of the season, 24 wins and 18 losses are hopeful for advancing to the playoffs. If so, SK can achieve ‘three consecutive playoff advances’ in 9 years after the 2014-2015 season. Of course, various variables will block Jeon Hee-chul and SK, but Jeon Hee-chul’s record setting is a realistic scenario.