Ha Seung-jin NBA is Close

The dream of the first player in domestic basketball history to advance to the NBA (U.S. professional basketball league) is maturing.

A contract with SFX, worldwide sports management corporation, and individual training by Will Perdue who was one of members of the Chicago Bulls during its peak, the rising of next year’s anticipated draft ranking…. Everything is favorable to him.

223 cm-tall Ha Seung-jin, the tallest center among domestic basketball players and scheduled to go to Yonsei University, went to the U.S. on December 7 and signed a contract with sport agency SFX on December 15. SFX has about 25 percent of the NBA players as clients, including Kobe Bryant of the L.A. Lakers and Tracy McGrady of the Orlando Magic. Because SFX rushed for a contract, it means that SFX acknowledges the possibility of Ha’s tremendous success.

As soon as Ha arrived in the U.S., he took a physical from SFX. The result was positive. He received great marks, especially in physical softness and power. This is promising considering his knee and ankle were not in good condition. On the other hand, his lack of speed was pointed out as a weakness.

With this result, Ha is planning to fall under the one-on-one individual guidance of center-exclusive coach Perdue instead of Shaya, the UCLA center who has guided him in the meantime. Perdue was a defensive minded center who anchored Chicago Bull’s middle during its peak with Michael Jordan.

John Kim, agent at SFX, appraised Ha saying, “Ha Seung-jin has the potential to be selected very high in the first round at next June’s draft.”

As this is reflected, his anticipatory draft ranking, which is on the NBA homepage, jumped from 26th last month to 18th this month. First of all, Ha is focusing on the rookie training camp which will be held in March next year. If Ha performs well there, in which 30 NBA teams will attend, it will be only a matter of time before he enters the NBA.

Ha, who is staying in Santa Monica, in the vicinity of Los Angeles with father Ha Dong-ki, has been training for two hours in the morning and afternoon respectively. In the morning, he practices basketball skills such as ball handling, shooting, etc. In the afternoon, he puts special stress on physical training such as running and weight training. Mr. Ha said “Seung-jin is training so hard that he is exhausted everyday.” If the training program is completed, SFX plans to beef up the training level.

Ha Seung-jin is the fourth tallest player among all NBA players. With that height, the possibility of advancing to the NBA is greater.

Won-Hong Lee bluesky@donga.com