A direct route to the NBA is opened to the tallest center in Korea, Ha Seung-jin (18, Senior, Samil Commercial High School, 2m18).
Ha Seung-jin`s father Ha Dong-ki (45) said on the 2nd, “Seung-jin was tested a possibility to go to the NBA by the officials from a US sports management company, SFX Sports Group on the 30th and the 31st of last month.”
According to Mr. Ha, the scouting team including the vice president of the SFX and two former basketball players intensively tested Seung-jin`s dribbling, ball handling, shooting ability, and flexibility at the Samil Commercial High School gym for 1 and half hours a day for two days. Especially, it was known that they were enthusiastic enough to figure out Ha Seung-jin`s power at the paint zone as much as competing with him in person at the paint zone.
The points that the SFX showed satisfaction the most after the test were that △he was tall, △he had ideal weight of 120kg unlike other Asians, and △he also had power and flexibility on top of those. What is more, he is young, so he has a great potential in the future.
Mr. Ha Dong-ki said, “The test was done by the request of the SFX,” and “I expect a positive result.”
The SFX, which has Koby Briant of the LA Lakers, is considered as one of the two major sports management companies in the world with the IMG. Ha Seung-jin is the first Korean player that they tested directly. He is the younger brother of the tallest center of women`s basketball, Ha Eun-joo (20. sophomore, Sizoka College, Japan), who shocked the Korean basketball world by making her mind to be naturalized to Japan.
Ha Seung-jin, who has been the target of every college teams in Korea, has been seeking the way to go to the NBA through a US college team instead of playing in the Korean court. However, if the result of the SFX test turns out positive, he seems to aim to go directly to the NBA under the systematic management of the SFX beginning this year.
Ha Seung-jin, who was born in August 4th, 1985, cannot enter the 2003 NBA Draft, which is planned in the early August, because of the NBA regulation that ‘a person under the age of 18 cannot enter the draft,’ so he can enter as early as the next year`s draft.
If Ha Seung-jin is selected at the next year`s draft, he is changing the record of the youngest Asian NBA player (Iao Ming, China. 22).
Ha Seung-jin, who became the hope of the Korean basketball by leading the Samil Commercial High School to the ‘complete victory, perfect champion,’ has not hidden his hope saying, “I’d like to play in the NBA if it’s all possible.”