Samsung Falls to Fifth, "Time Heals Everything"

Head Coach Kim Dong-gwang of Samsung went to the headquarters in Yongin City, Gyeonggi Province on Monday even though the team was not scheduled to play. As the team has fallen into a deep slump, he could not rest during the first day of a one week vacation.

Instead, Kim spent the whole day sorting through the wires in a bid to find a substitute foreign player for Derrek Johnson who is suffering from knee injury. Andre Ferri, who Kim had targeted, was already picked up by Orions so Kim now worries about a lack of suitable players. Lee Sung-hun, the secretary commissioner, does not plan to attend the NBA inspection of the 10 teams’ front office employees which is scheduled this week.

The coaching staff and the front office have all felt this serious crisis. Samsung, which finished the first round with eight wins and one loss, toppled with three wins and six losses in the second round and then in the third round lost all two matches. Recently it has been beaten four times in a row. Starting the season, Samsung was expected to be co-favorites along with TG Sambo, but as of Monday it has barely maintained its 0.500 winning percentage, with 11 wins and 9 losses, to tie for fifth place. If this slump continues, Samsung has to worry about whether or not it can advance to the playoff of 6.

Head Coach Kim Dong-gwang worriedly said, “For the first time, the foreign players are lost, and now the domestic players are also not performing well.” Johnson, who has a swollen knee, has not been scoring well, averaging only 10 points per game in recent four games. Roderick Hannibal has been weak both defensively and offensively due to his poor stamina. Kang Hyuk suffered a left foot ankle injury, and Seo Jang-hoon is in poor physical condition. Only Joo Hee-jung out of the “Best Five” is in normal condition. That’s Samsung coaching staffs’ complaint. Team scoring averages 80.0 points per game due to a monotonous offensive system; 8th out of 10 teams.

However, the fundamental problem might not be injuries or lack of physical stamina. As the team status deteriorates sharply, the players’ self-confidences are lacking in addition to no sense of teamwork. Experts indicate that domestic players are blaming foreign players not wanting to play better. Gyeung-In Broadcasting Choi In-sun commenter advised, “Samsung seems down whether it wins or loses. Stirring up an exciting wind is important and a sacrificing spirit of ‘if the team survives, I survive,’ is needed.”

Kim, with ever deepening wrinkles caused by the stress, said, “I think from the start we over paced ourselves. Time will heal everything. It’s good to have some time to reorganize the team. For a while, a 0.500 winning percentage is our goal.”

Jong-Seok Kim kjs0123@donga.com