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SK Knights eyeing regular season title

By Yoon Min-sik

As the 2012-2013 season of the Korean Basketball League draws to a close, the Seoul SK Knights are eyeing their first-ever regular season title, being a heartbeat away from making the transition to a championship caliber team from a perennial doormat.

Before losing on Tuesday to Anyang KGC Kites 66-58, the Knights had cruised to 11 consecutive wins, the most in the team’s history. Their home-court winning streak of 19 is the longest in KBL history.

With a record of 38-8, Seoul has a commanding lead over Ulsan Mobis Phoebus, who are 5.5 games behind them. It is highly unlikely that Ulsan will dethrone Seoul, with only eight games left in the regular season.

If the Knights go on to win the regular season title, it will be their first-ever regular season championship. The KBL awards regular season champions and the playoff champions separately.

The Knights had enjoyed their heyday in the early 2000s, making it to the finals twice and winning a championship in 2000 over back-to-back defending champions Daejeon Hyundai, a forerunner of the Jeonju KCC Egis.

Their fortune took a downturn after former MVP center Seo Jang-hun, the centerpiece of their championship, was traded to their Seoul rival Samsung Thunders. The Knights have since made it to the playoffs once while Seo claimed another MVP and a title in the 2005-06 season with the Thunders.

While the Knights have had its share of talents, it repeatedly fell short due to lackluster team chemistry and injuries, namely early retirement of injury-plagued sharp shooting forward Bang Seong-yun. Some fans called their misfortune the “curse of Seo,” in reference to a string of bad luck that struck them after Seo left the team.

The Knights’ star-studded roster fell short time after time, despite high expectations at the beginning of each season.

After missing the playoffs yet again last year, the Knights are finally turning it around.

Powered by their lightning-fast point guard Kim Seon-hyeong and high-scoring forward Aaron Haynes, the Knights are leading all KBL teams with 77.1 points per game, reasonably high considering that KBL games are notoriously low paced and defense oriented.

Kim, who has made a successful transition from shooting guard to the leading guard spot, is considered one of the leading candidates for this year’s MVP.

While no Knight is leading any major categories in personal statistics, the team is buoyed by the all-around contribution of its players. This can be attributed to the team’s new culture of defense and tenacity, which was introduced by their youthful head coach Moon Gyeong-eun.

The 42-year-old coach, a former basketball star who wrapped up his career with the Knights, was appointed the acting head coach last season.

Upon taking helm he reportedly said, “On our team, there is a ruling party, opposition party, and the neutrals,” in an apparent dab at division within the team.

In an attempt to bring his players together, he made it mandatory for them to attend morning practice and breakfast. Moon said he struck up conversations with his players whenever they could, encouraging them to freely talk to him or with each other.

“Communication is the key. I advise them based on my own experience. At the end of my playing career, I’ve learned a lot riding the bench. The experience is paying off now,” he said.

With playoffs looming, Moon advised his players to look out for injury and overconfidence.

“We have to make sure the heightened confidence derived from regular does not become arrogance,” he said. (minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)