Former Basketball Star Lee Chung-hee Makes His Coach Debut

˝When you lose you lose, but it is not the end of the story. I expect this team to make a strong comeback in a friendly match with Yonsei University team set for this fall or later in the winter season.˝

Former basketball star Lee Chung-hee is now with Korea University again, this time as a head coach. And he made his debut in a fairly bitter way. In MBC Championship Tournament, his team lost to Myungji University by 93 to 94. Trailing 92-94 with only 6.3 seconds left, Jung Sang-heon won a chance to shoot two free throws, but the last one missed the ring. Lee stayed calm most of time, however, watching the seesaw game from the bench.

˝I was trying to find out what are our weak points. Players seemed nervous having a new coach, so I tried to remain calm,˝ Lee said.

Lee pointed to that players are inexperienced. His plan is to build a strong defense team using man-to-man and double-team strategies. He said it would be better for young players to focus more on defense than offense.

Lee Won-su scored 21 points for Myungji University leading the team. Jung Jung-gu and Kim Won also did their bits, scoring 16 and 11 points respectively. Korea University, with most senior players missing the game, was heavily dependent on Kim Il-doo, who recorded 37 points and 10 rebounds.

Meanwhile, Dongkuk University beat Dankuk University by 93 to 85.

Won-Hong Lee bluesky@donga.com