“Against a Japanese team, we can’t lose momentum”

The Korean men’s college basketball team (hereinafter referred to as the College Selection Team), which will compete in the 47th Korea-Japan Men’s and Women’s National Collegiate Basketball Tournament, will play a friendly match against the Japanese men’s college basketball team in Tokyo, Japan, from March 17 to 19.

Sophomore players are the mainstay of the college league. Korea University’s Moon Yoo-hyun (181 cm, G) and Lee Dong-geun (198 cm, F), Yonsei University’s Lee Ju-young (189 cm, G) and Sungkyunkwan University’s Kang Sung-wook (184 cm, G) 먹튀검증 are representative.

Not to mention Yoo Min-soo (200 cm, F). The Cheongju Shinheung High School product combines physicality and athleticism. In the 2023 season, he led Korea University’s forward lineup alongside Moon Jung-hyun (now Suwon KT), Lee Dong-geun, and Yoon Ki-chan (194 cm, F).

Yoo Min-soo is one of the oldest players on the team. As such, he has to fight for baskets, rebounds, fast breaks, and screens a lot. At the same time, he needs to use his speed and long shooting range to power his offense.

Yoo Min-soo was also selected to the U18 national team in 2022. He”s no stranger to the Taegeuk mark. However, this is his first taegeuk marking as an adult, which could mean a big deal for the college team.

“It’s my first Taegeuk mark as an adult. Also, when I was U18, I was kicked out of school by myself, but not this time. So I have more people to rely on,” he said of his selection to the university team.

“At U18, we played against a lot of teams and met Japan in the final, but this time we have three matches against the Japanese national team. I can only focus on the match against Japan,” he said, adding the difference between the college and U18 national teams.

As mentioned above, Yoo Min-soo played against Japanese players when he was on the U18 national team. Then, in the summer of 2023, he experienced the World University Basketball Series (WUBS) as a member of Korea University. That’s when he felt Japanese basketball again.

“I know that some of the players who played in the WUBS are on the university selection team. Above all, the atmosphere of the Japanese team is very good. It’s hard to get on the upswing if you give up the momentum once,” he said about his experience with Japanese basketball.

“Being a big man, you have to focus on rebounding and doing the dirty work. Also, (Lee) Dong-geun and I can play from the outside. So we’re also asked to play outside. But since we have a good offense, I have to take care of the big things,” he said.

Finally, he added, “I’m playing with my U18 teammates again, including (Lee) Joo-young and (Kang) Sung-wook. Joo made a lot of good passes for me two years ago, and he’s also good at passing in this training. It’s been a long time since we’ve played together, but the sum is good. It’s fun to play with the other brothers and players,” he said. While he was happy to be reunited with his teammates from two years ago, he was also thinking about what he needs to do in the future.