Changwon LG’s reversal is a hot topic in professional basketball in the 2022-2023 season, when the All-Star break is just around the corner.
Under the leadership of coach Cho Sang-hyun (47), the team finished the first half with 17 wins and 12 losses and 2nd place.
He started as a coach at Goyang Orion (currently Carrot) in 2013 and is a leader who has taken an elite course to the extent of taking over as manager of the men’s basketball team.
Still, it was difficult to guarantee success even in a team that had no ties to ‘Spring Basketball’ for the past three years because it was the first time he took the baton in the field of professional basketball, a long-term race.
Coach Cho himself said, “Can I make a good team (a team that has not been completed yet)? I was half worried and half excited when I took office,” he said.
It is more interesting because LG, led by Cho, broke expectations because it was a reversal.
Professional sports are familiar and have a high win rate in home games supported by fans, but LG is the opposite. 11 wins and 2 losses on the road. The win rate is close to 85%. On the contrary, it is 6-10 at home, so it is 38%, less than half of the away win rate. “I haven’t found an answer yet. I just apologize to the home fans (who support me),” he bowed his head.
LG’s strength, which even coach Cho can’t understand, is the reason for the excellent shooting on the road. LG’s 3-point shot success rate stays at 27.8% in home games, but jumps to 37.8% in away games. On the 10th, the previous game, Seoul SK also threw 25 3-pointers and put 10 (40%) in the rim. 스포츠토토
LG, whose strong point is defense this season, is on a winning streak as they even shoot shots on the road. In fact, LG runs first in various defensive indicators such as conceded points (76.0 points), field goal acceptance rate (43.3%), and field field goal acceptance rate in the paint zone (54.7%).
Not only the players who are originally good at it, but also the mercenary technique that gives opportunities to players who try hard cannot be left out. Forward Jeong In-deok, who returned from military service after retiring once, is a representative example. Jeong In-deok voluntarily volunteered for an off-season dawn workout before the opening and took a picture of director Cho’s eyes. And in the SK game, he scored 11 points, the most in a single game in his personal career, and was selected as a Distinguished Player for the first time. Coach Cho hopes that guard Yang Jun-seok from Yonsei University, who was selected first in the rookie draft, will have a chance like Jung In-deok in the second half. Coach Cho said, “Isn’t it a professional player to use the athlete who works out with earnestness on his own and seize the opportunity like that?”
Heading into the short All-Star break, Cho is now thinking about the remaining half of the race. His goal is to make up for the weakness of being strong only on away trips and to achieve results in spring basketball. Coach Cho said, “The results should be good at the end. I will not be complacent with my current grades, but I will prepare well and laugh in the second half.”