Suwon KT will be a strong dark horse next season.
KT went 21-33 last season and missed the playoffs. It was the first time they missed the playoffs in five seasons. The team was unable to fill the void left by Heo Hoon (180 cm, G) and the foreign players failed to adapt to the team.
But there was hope. Last season, the team won six straight games with two foreign players at the same time, but the surge was short-lived. In response, KT made changes to the roster. From changing the head coach to signing a big free agent. In addition, ace Heo Hoon will return during the season.
KT makes big changes and emerges as a strong dark horse
As mentioned earlier, KT made a lot of changes this offseason. First, they changed their head coach and appointed Song Young-jin, who knows the team well, as the new head coach. They also had some fun in the free agency market. They acquired one of the best defenders in the KBL, Moon Sung-gon (196 cm, F). The loss of Yang Hong-seok (195 cm, F) is a big enough hole to fill.
Also joining the team is Heo Hoon, one of the best guards in the league who plays for the Sangmu. This gives KT a strong starting lineup of Heo-Hoon, Jung Sung-woo (178 cm, G), Moon Sung-gon, Ha Yoon-ki (204 cm, C), and Ferris Bass (199 cm, C). The bench is also solid. Lee Doo-won (204 cm, C), Han Hee-won (195 cm, F), Dave Ildefonso (191 cm, G), and Kim Jun-hwan (187 cm, G) will come off the bench. This is a lineup that KT can use in a variety of situations.
In fact, KT used the 2023-2024 KBL Cup to test its players by playing them evenly. All of the players on the court did their part, adding to the excitement for the season.
The key is chemistry
As mentioned earlier, KT has made changes. The players need to be in sync. However, the situation is not favorable. Ha Yoon-ki and Lee Doo-won were called up to the national team and haven’t spent much time with the team or their new teammates. Moon Sung-gon was also a highly anticipated signing, but he was unable to participate in pre-season training due to injury. Heo Hoon didn’t return until the season started. There is absolutely no time for the main players to gel.
As KT head coach Song Young-jin said in an interview during the cup tournament, “We have a lot of players. The key is the distribution of playing time 안전놀이터. We have a lot of players now, but it will be more difficult when the main players join. We didn’t have enough time to match the sum of the players. We need to prepare faster for the season,” he admitted. The season is just around the corner. Will the much-anticipated KT be able to exceed expectations? The most important thing is that the players are in sync.