KU will play with a power leak for the time being. KU head coach Joo Hee-jung said the best thing about the absent Moon Yoo-hyun is his defense.
KU is on a 10-game winning streak and on track to win the 2023 KUSF College Basketball U-League regular season title. They defeated Yonsei (8-1), a team they were tied with, to clinch the regular season title. KU has a 99 percent chance of winning the regular season.
Before the start of the season, head coach Joo Hee-jung said, “Our goal is to go undefeated this year,” and Yang Joon said, “The coach’s goal is to go undefeated, and so are we.”
KU lost a chance to clinch the regular season title on its home court last year with a surprising loss to Chung-Ang University, and secured the title on the road against Chosun University.
Determined not to repeat last year’s mistakes, the team has been working diligently since winter training and is four games away from the first step of its goal: winning the regular season.
KU will be without freshmen Moon Yoo-hyun, Yoo Min-soo and Yoon Ki-chan for the next four games. The three players will be training for the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in Hungary next month.
According to reports, the U19 national team was scheduled to begin training camp on the 24th, but the team will convene on the evening of the 26th. This was done so that Korea University, Yonsei University (Lee Hae-sol), and Sungkyunkwan University (Kang Sung-wook, Kim Yoon-sung) could play at least one more game in the college basketball league with full strength. This allowed Moon Yoo-hyun, Yoo Min-soo, and Yoon Ki-chan to play against Yonsei.
Before entering college, a lot of attention was focused on Yoo Min-soo, Yoon Ki-chan, and Lee Dong-geun, who made forward basketball possible. However, it was Moon Yoo-hyun who received the most attention as a freshman at KU.
Before the game against Yonsei, Moon had played the most minutes in four of the team’s nine games. While it’s true that Kim Do-eun and Park Jung-hwan aren’t fully healthy to start at point guard, coach Joo Hee-jung recognized Moon’s skills.
Moon was averaging 10.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2.6 steals, and 43.3 percent (13-of-30) shooting from three-point range in nine games before the game against Yonsei.
“Moon Yoo-hyun started playing basketball at a young age, so she knows the game, and she’s not only good at running the game, but she’s also good at defense,” said head coach Joo Hee-jeong, adding, “I’m going to leave the defense of Yoo Sang to Kim Tae-hoon and Moon Yoo-hyun.”
In order for KU to win easily, they will need to contain Yonsei’s main shooter, Yoo Yoo-sang, and coach Joo Hee-jung recognized Moon Yoo-hyun’s defensive abilities enough to entrust him with the task.
A scout from a professional club who watched KU and Yonsei play against each other also agreed that Moon’s defense was good 안전놀이터.
Head coach Joo Hee-jung emphasized the need for three-point shooting to win big against Yonsei. KU made 12 three-pointers, led by Park Mubin and Moon Yoo-hyun. Park made four 3-pointers and Moon made three 3-pointers.
In his first collegiate start against Yonsei, Moon had 11 points, including three 3-pointers, and two steals. Despite having fewer rebounds and assists than usual, Moon scored the second-most points on the team and helped the team cross the nine-point threshold for the regular season title.
KU will be without Moon Yoo-hyun, Yoo Min-soo, and Yoon Ki-chan against Dongguk University (6/2), Chung-Ang University (6/7), Konkuk University (6/15), and Sangmyung University (6/26).