Yoo Jae-hak (61), a former coach of Ulsan Hyundai Mobis who was called "Mansu" because he had more than 10,000 moves when he was a professional basketball leader, has returned. He returned to the scene with the title of KBL's head of the game division, not the baton he had been holding for more than 20 years. Yoo, who met at the office on the 5th floor of the KBL on the 9th, said, "I come to work every day from Monday to Friday at 8:30 a.m. Every day, my wife comes to meet me at Seongbok Station and smiles, saying, "I commute to work at that age that I have never experienced before." I also smiled awkwardly, saying, "There are many awkward things when I try to take the subway in the morning and evening."토토사이트
KBL has recently undergone a new change. As the presidential office changed from KCC to DB Group, former president Kim Hee-ok stepped down after his term in office, and Lee Soo-kwang took over as the new head. The executive branch has also been replaced in large numbers, and the basketball community's attention has been on the appointment of Moon Kyung-eun, the head of the Gyeonggi headquarters. Previously, the president appointed the head of the KBL directly, but the DB Group selected three final candidates at the recommendation of nine KBL clubs, and among them, former coach Yoo, who was evaluated as the most suitable person, was selected.
"After resigning as general manager of Hyundai Mobis, I went to the U.S. to meet my family. I forgot about basketball for a while and had a good rest," Yoo said. "When I came to Korea for a while in February this year, I was asked to serve as the head of the KBL team. Opinions were divided into halves. Seniors asked me to take it, saying, "You still have a lot of work to do," while younger ones opposed, asking, "Why would you go to a position that is criticized even if you are good at it? I made the decision recently after agonizing over it for a long time."
Yoo drew attention by emphasizing the "hard call" at the inauguration ceremony of the new president on the 1st. He pointed out that the KBL is judging physical fights more strictly than other countries, signaling the beginning of a change. When asked about the background, Yoo said, "I checked again and there was no term for hard call or soft call. I think we should replace it with another word," but added, "Hand check is a foul at the current KBL. Even when a physical fight occurs, a slight bump in the face gives a whistle. This is completely different from the FIBA rules, which is why our players are having a hard time in international competitions."
He also cited an empirical example. It was an exhibition match between Korea and Japan held in Tokyo, Japan recently. The national team, which consists of young players, ran against Japan equally with one win and one loss, defying expectations. "Players really hard. I was worried because they were young, but they played basketball one step further, which resulted in good results," Yoo said. "Since I followed FIBA rules in this exhibition match, I didn't see the whistle blow well during physical fight. This is why our players were not able to push their ball under the basket more boldly. This is usually the scene where a foul is played, but this is not the case, so the ball was often thrown to the outside."
Yoo continued, "The current rules are very favorable to the attacker. Also, if basketball is cut off with words, the fun is halved. He emphasized hard calls to return it to normal. We plan to share opinions on this when the judgment team is called soon."
He also foreshadowed another change. In the NBA, the referee takes the microphone and explains the situation if necessary after the video replay is over. A video referee in the KBL will replace the referee. "I believe that the referee who makes the decision should be able to talk about the video replay situation of course. If we don't have that much confidence, fans will understand. We should not avoid such responsibilities as it is burdensome," Yoo said.
Yoo, who served as Kia Motors' main point guard during the basketball festival, made remarkable achievements after transforming into a leader. Starting with Daewoo in Incheon in 1998, Yoo continued to take the helm while the team's names were changed to Shinsegi, SK VIXX, and E-Land, and from 2004 to 2022, he served as the head coach of Hyundai Mobis and recorded 724 wins and 533 losses in 1,257 games during the regular season. The second-highest winning team in history is Jeon Chang-jin, coach of Busan KCC with 560 wins, with a difference of 164 wins. He also left the most spectacular footprints in the history of KBL, including the most wins in the playoffs (58 wins), the most wins in the championship game (24 wins), and the most wins in the regular league and championship game (six wins).
When he was a coach, Yoo often clashed with referees. However, he is now on the same boat as referees. "The president emphasized trust and fairness. I agree with him," Yoo said. "I value these two words and will fulfill my duty as the head of the competition team."