Women’s professional basketball team Woori Bank coach Wisung-woo
‘Woori Bank Dynasty’ protagonist Park Hye-jin transfers… Park Ji-hyun, former rookie of the year, also moved to New Zealand.
Preparing for the season with the determination of ‘Satellite Friendship 2’… “Overcome weakness in power through high-intensity training”
Season opens on the 27th… “The goal is to advance into PO”
“It was the players who changed teams, but I, as the coach, feel like I’m in a new team.”
Woori Bank coach Wi Sang-woo (53), who is preparing for the 2024-2025 women’s professional basketball season, said this in a recent interview. This is because the team members have changed significantly due to the successive transfers of key players since last season, when the team won its 12th championship in total. Woori Bank’s guards Park Hye-jin (34) and Park Ji-hyun (24) left the team in the off-season. Park Hye-jin, who played 16 seasons at Woori Bank and was selected as the MVP of the championship three times, transferred to BNK. Park Hye-jin, who averaged 11.5 points in 489 regular league games, was a leading figure in the ‘Woori Bank dynasty.’ Park Ji-hyun, the rookie of the year in the 2018-2019 season (average 13.3 points in 158 games), joined Tocomana and Queens of the New Zealand League. Coach Wi said, “When the two players left the team one after another, I wondered, ‘Will they really be able to run the team properly next season?’” At Woori Bank, 10 people left the team due to transfers and retirements, and 9 people joined, including new players and free agent (FA) signings, including Shim Seong-young (32, guard).
Before Coach Above took office, Woori Bank was in last place (6th place) in the regular league for four consecutive seasons. Coach Wi achieved a combined championship seven times, the most ever for a women’s professional basketball coach, including a combined championship in his first season at the helm of Woori Bank (2012-2013 season). He also won the championship eight times, the most among all head coaches. Even for coach above, it is not easy to fill the void left by key players who have left the team. Coach Wi said, “In the past, when I said, ‘This season is going to be really difficult,’ people around me would say, ‘You’re complaining again,’ but this year, when I say the same thing, the response is, ‘It looks like it’s going to be really difficult.’”
Coach Wi said he is preparing for the season with the mindset of starting the ‘second season of Satellite Friendship’. Coach Wi turned Woori Bank, which had been in last place, into the strongest team 12 years ago through high-intensity training that included mountain running and climbing 108 stairs. Currently, I am not doing any training such as climbing stairs, but instead, I am building my physical strength and organizational skills through intense training on the basketball court. According to a club official, players spend about seven hours a day at the training ground on days when they train early in the morning and at night. Coach Wi said, “Because of the large amount of training, players who transferred from other teams are having a hard time,” and added, “In a situation where our team’s strength is weakened, the only thing (our team) can count on is intense practice.”
Coach Wi said that veteran forward Kim Dan-bi (34) should lead the team as a spiritual leader. Danbi Kim (average 13.2 points in 516 games) was selected as the MVP of the championship for two consecutive seasons after transferring from Shinhan Bank to Woori Bank in 2022. In particular, in last season’s championship game, he played the role of an ace by scoring an average of 21.8 points in 4 games. Coach Wi said, “When I recruited Danbi, I told her to come and play comfortably because there are many good players on our team. “But after two years, Danbi has ended up having to lead the team on her own, so I feel very sorry (for Danbi),” he said.
Coach Wi’s goal for the new season was to advance to the semifinals of the playoffs (PO). Once he gets promoted to PO, he plans to show his desire to win. Coach Wi said after winning the championship last season, “I have won many championships, but winning this year feels the best.” This is because last year was the first time that the team ranked second in the regular league and won the championship. If the team reaches the top this season, which is in ‘rebuilding’, the best win of Coach Wi’s career may change. Coach Wi said, “If we win this season, I will be a thousand or ten thousand times happier (than last season).”
The 2024-2025 women’s professional basketball season opens on the 27th. Woori Bank begins its season with a visit to Incheon against Shinhan Bank on the 28th.
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