“I’m learning basketball in a new way”
Ulsan Hyundai Mobis recruited Kim Jun-il (200cm, C) after the end of the 2022-2023 season. A contract was signed with Kim Jun-il with a four-year contract period and a total compensation of 450 million won from 2023 to 2024 (annual salary of 315 million won, incentive of 135 million won).
The existing team of big men is strong, including Ji-hoon Ham and Hyun-min Kim (198cm, F), Jinsoo Choi (202cm, F), and Jae-seok Jang (202cm, C). Considering this, the recruitment of Kim Jun-il may be unnecessary. The time Kim Jun-il can play may also be short.
However, considering that the color that Hyundai Mobis will promote is continuous and quick offense and defense transitions, Kim Jun-il just needs to show 100% strength during his time. This means that his physical burden can be alleviated to some extent. In addition, the effect of competition with the existing Big Manjin can also have a positive effect on both Hyundai Mobis and Kim Jun-il.
Kim Jun-il, who joined Hyundai Mobis’ off-season training, left for training in Japan on the 22nd. He teamed up with two foreign players (Gage Prim-Kebe Al-Ruma) along with Ji-hoon Ham (198cm, F) and Jae-seok Jang (202cm, C).
However, Gage Prim (205cm, C) returned home early due to a foot injury. Kim Jun-il had to join forces with Aluma. Or, a front court line was established with Ham Ji-hoon and Jang Jae-seok.
Kim Jun-il said, “Hyundai Mobis is a team that moves both offense and defense systematically. That’s why you have to learn basketball anew. I am learning new things from the coaching staff, 캡틴토토 including coach Dong-Hyeon Cho. And the big men, including (Ham) Jihoon, (Kim) Hyeonmin, and (Jang) Jaeseok, also teach me a lot. “I want to implement what I have learned as best as I can,” he said, conveying the main focus of this field training.
Kim Jun-il usually started the game on the bench. During the game he entered the court. When he’s on the court with Aluma, he moves between mid-range and near the rim. The same goes for combining with domestic big men. He shook his opponents with a variety of attack options.
Kim Jun-il’s offensive power can give strength to Hyundai Mobis. However, what Hyundai Mobis considers more important is ‘defense’ and ‘volume of activity’. Looking at just two factors, Kim Jun-il may have a lot to worry about.
Kim Jun-il said, “He played a lot of practice games during field training, but his ability to implement team defense is still lacking. Park Sang-hyeon, a power analyst, sent me video analysis data, and I am also reviewing what I trained through video analysis and journal writing. “It is helpful,” he said, using ‘analysis’ as a keyword.
Afterwards, “This is the first year since joining Hyundai Mobis. Neither I nor the players fully understood each other’s tendencies. It’s important to get to know each other. And harmony between players is important. “Although there are some shortcomings, I am doing more than before,” he said, adding that he considered ‘breathing’ and ‘adaptation’ to be important.
Lastly, “When it comes to offense, the coach doesn’t say much. However, he ordered us to run diligently. And he wants active defense. “I will do my best to do what the director wants,” he said, setting a ‘task’. Although it was his first time working out with a new team, Kim Jun-il’s determination to ‘work hard’ dominated him even more.