Ha Goes to KCC
By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
Given the three minutes for each team to mull picking among a deep talent pool of 40 young players, the KCC Egis wasted no time pondering.
They unhesitatingly picked Ha Seung-jin, the biggest fish in the Korean Basketball League (KBL) draft, only focusing on the former NBA player's arrival.
With the three-time league champion landing the 2.21-meter giant on its roster, which already has 2.07-meter center Seo Jang-hoon, they have formed the best twin tower ever in the history of the KBL.
According to last season's standings, four teams, the SK Knights, the Dongbu Promy, the ET Lang BlackSlammers and the Egis, had a lottery pick for the No. 1 selection prior to the draft, and the Jeonju-based team, which ranks third this season, had the fortune to take the former Portland Trail Blazer.
The 22-year-old was taken in the second round of the 2004 NBA draft as a 46th pick by the Portland Trail Blazers and spent two seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks and Portland. He averaged 1.5 points per game and 1.5 rebounds per game.
He also played in the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) in the United States, and logged 2.7 points per game and 2.8 rebounds per game.
Korean-Argentine Kim Min-soo, Kyunghee University standout, went second to the Knights.
Kim, 26, who stands at 2.02 meters tall, has a perimeter shot for his height, and strong inside play makes the Korean international competitive against foreign players.
Joining last two drafts' No. 1 picks swingman Bang Sung-yoon and point guard Kim Tae-sul enables the Knights, based in Seoul, to contend for next season's title.
Forward Yoon Ho-young and point guard Kang Byung-hyun, who guided Choongang University basketball team to a 38-game winning streak, were snapped up as the third and fourth picks by the Promy and the BlackSlammers, respectively.
Yoon, who is 1.95 meters tall, is a strong shot blocker while 1.93-meter Kang can also play forward when it counts.
Korea University forward Cha Jae-young was chosen fifth by the Samsung Thunders.
Although being inconsistent and injury-prone, he, who stands at 1.92 meters, has good leaping ability, which enables him to dunk with ease.
In the draft, 22 young players were drafted through the first, second and third rounds.