Lee Sang-min returns as coach of ‘home team’ KCC

An iconic figure who was suspended permanently
Moved to Samsung as an FA compensation player

Coach Jeon Chang-jin’s ‘let’s play’ offer
‘Let’s play’ suggestion
I’m a failed coach… I’ll find my roots

Jeonju KCC, which caused a stir in professional basketball by signing Choi Jun-yong as a free agent, has once again attracted attention ahead of the new season. 안전놀이터This is because Lee Sang-min, the former head coach of Seoul Samseong, has returned to coach KCC, the ‘parent team’. The reason for his return was simple. To win championships, just like he did as a player.

“Coach Jeon Chang-jin called me and said, ‘You’ve had enough rest, so let’s have fun with me,'” Lee said on the 25th at the training center in Taebaek, Gangwon Province. “I came back without any worries because it’s KCC,” he laughed. The coach is so iconic that he has a permanent number at KCC. He played for KCC for 12 years, including the predecessor Hyundai Electronics and Daejeon Hyundai, and won three championships with them. However, Lee was forced to wear a Seoul Samsung jersey as a free agent compensation player against his will, and later retired from Samsung to become a head coach, but was removed from the position due to poor performance.

Coach Lee Sang-min explains a play to his players while holding the ball during a training session in Taebaek, Gangwon Province, on July 27. Courtesy of KCC Aegis
Looking back on his time as head coach, Lee said, “I didn’t do anything well, and I failed in the end,” adding, “I just wanted to learn again.” The former coach, who was listening to the story from the sidelines, said, “When I was at Samsung, I met with his parents 366 out of 365 days to bring in Lee Sang-min, who graduated from college, but we couldn’t connect.” “I met him as a player when I was the head coach of the national basketball team, and now I’m happy to see him as a coach,” he said.

When Lee joined Chinjung’s team, a meeting between the ‘original basketball icon’ and the ‘new superstar’ Heo Woong was realized. When asked who was more popular then and now, Lee chose Heo Woong. “In the 1990s, basketball was popular because there wasn’t a lot of content to enjoy,” Lee said. “In a world where there are so many things to do, it’s great that (Heo) Woong is getting this kind of attention and popularity.”

The former coach said, “Let’s play,” but KCC can’t just play. With Heo Woong, Lee Seung-hyun, Choi Jun-yong, Song Kyo-chang, and Ragan-ah in the lineup, KCC has been described as a “top four is basic, winning is the main event.

Head coach Jeon Chang-jin talks about the team’s resolve for the new season at a training camp in Taebaek, Gangwon Province, on Nov. 25. Courtesy of KCC Aegis
“We are preparing for the season with the determination to take responsibility if the results do not come out,” said Jeon, emphasizing that the team will strengthen the areas that are pointed out as weaknesses and produce good results. “It’s true that we’re more worried than expected because we don’t have enough backup members and the players who carry the ball are evaluated as weak,” he said, adding, “(Among the backups) Jeon Jun-beom is working hard, and Choi Jun-yong is watching with the sense and ability to coordinate the game with the ball.”

The coaching staff is nervous, but the players are in good spirits. Even during the mountain running training with 15 players, the players had fun checking each other’s records. At the end of the two-hour training session, Heo Woong, who had been complaining of a “strange feeling in his back,” said, “It doesn’t hurt anymore,” and introduced Choi Joon-yong, who had walked the course instead of running because his injury hadn’t healed, as a “walker”. “I think we’re going to play more fun basketball than last season,” Heo said, vowing to do his best to fulfill his role.

Choi Joon-yong, the newest member of the team, has already adapted to the team. He patted his former coach’s shoulder at dinner and sent him a KakaoTalk message saying, “I love you. “I didn’t run a mountain because I was already ready,” he said, vowing to “show it on the court.”