Woori Won-woo, the head coach of the Asan Woori Bank women’s professional basketball team, responded to the criticism of Korea’s women’s basketball team’s lack of international competitiveness by saying that “structural issues” cannot be overlooked.
In her view, the issue of international competitiveness cannot be separated from environmental aspects such as infrastructure.
“I’m not in a position to say to the players, ‘You’re not competitive,'” Wee said in response to a question about international competitiveness at the opening media day of the 2023-2024 women’s professional basketball season at Hotel Rivera in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on Tuesday afternoon.
“In Asia, we’re going up against Japan and China in international competitions, and I know we only have 19 high school girls’ basketball teams. “As a coach, I also have a lot of concerns about creating competitive players, but there are also a lot of obstacles in the environment,” he said.
“I think the players work really hard in international competitions. When we were ranked first in Asia, our infrastructure was good,” he said. “Nowadays, I ask the players why they can’t do as well as they did against Japan and China, and I think it’s because of the small size of the team,” he analyzed.
“The players may not see it as a good thing that the only medal they won this year was a bronze at the (Hangzhou) Asian Games, but if they are encouraged more in this aspect, I believe Korean basketball will achieve good results again in Asia,” he added.
Woo is the “longest-serving coach in women’s basketball,” having led Woori Bank since 2012.
He is considered one of the most prominent coaches in women’s professional basketball, as he needs just 21 more wins to become the first coach in history to reach 300 wins.
Kim Wan-soo of Cheongju KB, a former middle and high school coach, said, “It’s a problem that leaders need to reflect on.” “It may sound like an excuse, but I think it’s because the system or infrastructure is too weak,” he said.
“If there are a lot of players, there will be a lot of good players,” Kim said. “When I go to middle and high school games to select new players, there are often five or six players in a school. Some schools can’t even play because they don’t have five players,” he explained.
“The coaches also have to study a lot, but for example, something can only come out if there are materials, so I think that part is more important,” he added.
The Korean women’s national basketball team finished fifth at the FIBA Asia Cup in July. It was the first year since the tournament’s inception in 1965 that the team did not finish in the top four.
The top four finishers also missed out on the final qualification spot for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
At the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games, the team failed to reach the final after a 58-81 semifinal loss to Japan. 슬롯게이밍