Coach Eul-joon Kang “Foreign players must not ignore Korean players”
Heo Il-young “Strong personality and strong pride”… Han Ho-bin “need to understand”
Reporter Kim Hee-joon = Goyang Orion, a professional basketball player, sighs because of the foreign player Devin Williams (27).
Orion won 81-79 in the match against Seoul SK held at the Jamsil Student Gymnasium on the 4th. Orion, who had been ahead by 21 points in the second quarter, was caught up to one point in the fourth quarter, and was on the verge of reversing, and struggled to win.
Despite the victory and rising to 3rd place alone, Orion manager Kang Eul-joon said, “It was a hard time,” so Orion left regrets in the content of the game.
There is another part that worries Orion. It’s Williams.
Williams didn’t use his teammates and focused solely on playing alone. Three out of nine two-point shots were successful, and three three-point shots were thrown, and none of them were scored. After playing 13 minutes and 46 seconds, Williams only scored 6 points and 7 rebounds.
Orion sent Jeff Widy out of an attack earlier last month, who had less-than-expected, and signed Williams, who has a strong inside play.
Williams, who made her debut in Korea on February 3, raised expectations by playing an active part in the game against Changwon LG on February 9 with 30 points and 14 rebounds. However, it was hard to melt into the team, causing concern for manager Kang, and he showed the worst performance since his KBL debut that day.
Director Kang complained, “Williams who played a matchup with Jamil Warney was only motivated. I didn’t even think that he would be so rabid,” said Kang.
He said, “I have to play to save my colleagues, but I didn’t give the ball to my colleagues next to me.”
To appease Williams, who is only motivated, director Kang bought a fruit basket the day before and visited Williams directly, but to no avail.
Director Kang raised his voice by saying, “I even bought fruit and went to the room and said,’Let’s do a little good.’
He emphasized, “It is very unpleasant as a coach for foreign players to ignore Korean players. Foreign players should also have a sense of ownership. Foreign players are comfortable with each other.”
Like manager Kang, the players said that Williams’ personality was strong.
Guard Han Hobin said, “Williams has a strong personality, so he tends not to play what we want.”
Captain Heo Il-young also explained, “There is a part where I don’t admit because I have strong personality and pride. I have to match myself to the team, but I try to match the team to my style.”
Orion has one foreigner replacement card left, so Williams can be replaced again. However, coach Kang has not yet considered a replacement. First of all, I am thinking of finding a breakthrough through meetings.
Manager Kang pledged, “It is difficult to change foreign players and I can’t let it go like that. I will try to solve the problem by meeting again tomorrow.”
Heo Il-young said, “When you look at exercising, you’re a player who can fit the team enough. If that part becomes okay, it will be a plus factor for the team,” he hoped for improvement.
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