Kim Young-hoon (31, 190 cm) is working hard to break into the regular season.
The Ulsan Hyundai Mobis won 91-79 against the Daegu Korea Gas Corporation in the 2023-2024 KBL D League at Icheon LG Champions Park on Nov. 11.
In the D-League, the Hyundai Mobis 현금홀덤사이트 have one of the weaker bench depths compared to other teams. It’s not uncommon to see five or six players playing full-time due to the lack of available roster spots.
On this day, Hyundai Mobis only had five fully fit players on the field, excluding Shin Min-seok, who just returned from a shoulder injury, and Park Sang-woo, who was only named to the roster. KOGAS, on the other hand, started with 11 players who are slowly gaining experience in the first team, which was a great contrast.
However, despite being outnumbered, Hyundai Mobis never gave up the lead to KOGAS. Led by their eldest brother Kim Hyun-min, Kim Young-hoon, Park Joon-eun, and Kim Hyun-soo played well on the outside.
In particular, Kim Young-hoon hit three three-pointers in the first half alone, giving Hyundai Mobis the momentum they needed to pull away. In addition, Young-hoon also had a stellar performance in the second half when KOGAS made a late push, running up front and scoring on fast breaks.
Kim finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, and two assists in 40 minutes of action. The 14 points are also his most in the D-League this season.
After the game, Kim Young-hoon said, “We practiced a lot of defense with our coach during workouts, so we had a great team spirit. We were confident that we could stop them even though we had fewer players. As the defense worked well, the offense developed as we thought it would, and we were able to get a good result,” he said.
Kim Young-hoon last played in the regular season in 2021-2022, when he wore the Wonju DB jersey. It’s easy to lose motivation when your visibility is diminishing and your efforts are not recognized, but Kim didn’t give up.
“As a professional athlete, you should always do your best in a given situation. Even if you can’t play in the regular league, you can’t just play in the D-League. On the contrary, you have to do better so that you can gain a foothold in the regular league. Not only me, but everyone knows the importance of the D-League,” he said.
In the past, Kim has been known for his energetic defense and ability to hit a three-pointer at the right time. Recently, however, he has been showing ups and downs in his three-point shooting, one of his strengths.
“In practice, it goes in well, but in the game, it doesn’t go in, so I get stressed. Even on the bench, I tell them to shoot confidently. I’m realizing that even if the offense doesn’t go well, if I solve the defense first, the shots will come naturally. Today, I was able to maintain a good shooting feeling in the first half because of my defense.”
Hyundai Mobis has traditionally been a team with a strong defense since former coach Yoo Jae-hak took the helm. Coach Park Koo-young, who studied under Yoo, has also emphasized defense while leading the D-League. Kim Young-hoon and Jeon Jun-woo are two of his favorites.
“Hyundai Mobis’ team color is defense. We need to show good defense here. Only then can we go to the first team and play in matches. That’s why the D-League players, including me, are focusing on defense rather than offense.”