“Coach” was a precious dream to me”
Seoul Samsung advanced to the 2016-2017 championship game. Although it lost to Anyang KGC Ginseng Corporation (currently Anyang Jeonggwanjang), the 2016-2017 season gave Samsung a chance.
However, Samsung did not even play in the playoffs from the 2017-2018 season to the 2023-2024 season. Among them, it ranked the lowest four times (2018-2019, 2021-2022, 2022-2023, 2023-2024). In particular, it only had a single-digit number of wins (9 wins) in the 2021-2022 season.
Samsung made changes after the end of the 2023-2024 season. First of all, it replaced the head of its squad. It appointed Kim Hyo-beom, who served as the acting coach for the 2023-2024 season, as its official coach. 파워볼사이트
Samsung also made significant changes to its player lineup. It recruited Lee Dae-sung (190 cm, G) who was playing in Japan, and Choi Hyun-min (195 cm, F) and Choi Sung-mo (187 cm, G) from Goyang Sono and Suwon KT, respectively. It has strengthened its depth by position to some extent.
Changes in the coaching staff are also notable. There are people who have never seen them in Korean basketball before. It is Kim Tae-kyung. She served as the coach of the Korean men’s and women’s national team and the analysis team of the women’s basketball team at Gonzaga University and Duke University.
“Coach Kim Tae-kyung had experiences in various places. He also excels in visual and statistical analysis. He has a coaching method suitable for global trends,” the Samsung secretariat said when the coaching staff was appointed.
“When I was at Duke University, I thought ‘I want to be a coach’. That’s why I thought about the direction of coaching. Then, I got a call from coach Kim Hyo-beom,” Kim said, explaining his concern first.
“I thought about it, but I thought it was a good decision. It’s because it’s a men’s professional team and it’s a team in Korea. People around me advised me that it’s a good decision. That’s why my decision became clearer,” he said, adding how he joined Samsung.
Meanwhile, Samsung had ‘personal skill training’ for two weeks from June 3. Several coaches coached the players by position. Then, Kim Tae-kyung was with the center’s resources.
Coach Kim Tae-kyung said, “The coach first gave the coaches autonomy. And he emphasized to the players, ‘Why do we have to do this?’ I also coached the big man players according to the direction of the coach. He taught me basic skills, shooting, and how to decide options. In particular, he emphasized, ‘Why do we have to do this at this time?'” he said, explaining what he taught Big Man Resources.
As mentioned earlier, Samsung should rebound. To do so, it reorganized its coaching staff. Coach Kim Tae-kyung also needs to make good use of his strengths.
Coach Kim Tae-kyung said, “Since I have experienced a power analyst, I need to analyze the video and data in more detail. We need to build analysis and data-related systems in the long term. To do so, we need to prepare more thoroughly with Kim Kwang-chul’s power analysis.”
Afterwards, he said, “As I mentioned earlier, I set my goal as a coach. Coach was a precious dream to me. It was also a precious title to me,” expressing the meaning of Coach.
He continued, “I wasn’t a former player, I was an ethnic minority in the U.S. I think it’s meaningful that I became a coach. Doesn’t it mean that I received respect from the team? Above all, I can be with the players who worked hard to become professionals. That’s why I value coaching,” he said.
Coach Kim Tae-kyung, who valued Coach Kim, said, “We need to create a good athletic environment for our players and contribute to winning basketball. We need to improve our team’s performance somehow.”
“I have another dream. I want to be recognized as a coach in the U.S.A. However, this is a matter of later life. What I need to do now is my priority,” he said, setting his goal as a coach. As it was his first coach title in his life, Kim’s passion seemed stronger than ever.