Tamika Catching Returns; Woori Bank Wins

After a heated Woori Bank practice session for its upcoming game against Kookmin Bank, Woori coach Park Myeong-su called for a meeting; the mood of the players who gathered around Park was grave.

“Buy us some snacks,” 27-year-old player Tamika Catching joked, waving her tall body back and forth. Coach Park, otherwise known as “the Tiger,” laughed out loud. In addition to being one of the team’s stars, Tamika is also the team clown.

Women’s pro basketball is undergoing a big change, mainly due to the efforts of Catching. She was the key to Woori Bank’s 2003 winter and summer league success before leaving.

She has returned.

“For the past two years, foreign players were contracted through a draft system. Tamika did not want to play for other teams, so she chose not to play in the Korean league until the free contract system took effect this season,” said Park as she explained why Catching has not played for Woori Bank since 2003. “That’s when she asked to come back.”

Catching added, “These guys are like my family. I missed them while I was away.”

Woori Bank was foundering at the beginning of the season, and only managed to win one game out of five. Since Catching’s return, however, the team has reeled off four consecutive wins.

Catching has averaged 28.8 points and 14.8 rebounds per game over that span. In Woori’s match against Kumho Life on January 10, she scored 17 points in the first quarter, crushing the spirit of Kuhmo, who managed to score only 14 points collectively.

But when she hears reporters mention the “Catching Effect,” she simply waves it off with her hand.

“I feel badly for my teammates when all the attention is on me. I could not have done what I did without the coach and the other players. It’s just not possible.”

When asked what her resolutions were for the season, she said, “I wish to give hopes and dreams to the young people of Korea, and become a better athlete and a better person.”

With outstanding talent, as well as modesty and a sense of humor, the abundance of the “Catching Effect” is something to be shared not only by fans of Woori Bank, but the entire women’s pro basketball league.

Seung-Kun Lee why@donga.com