“Jeon Dae-man? Hahahaha… That’s an undeserved nickname. Slam Dunk isn’t just a basketball cartoon for basketball fans, it’s like each player is an icon of their position. In terms of shooters, Haenam’s Shin Jun-sub and Buksan’s Jung Dae-man are famous, but Jung Dae-man’s popularity is much better. I love the character, and I’m amazed at the creativity of the fans who have turned such a player into a nickname, even changing his surname. I’m grateful that I’ve been compared to the Flame Man, but I’m also sorry that I didn’t show as much as I should have.”메이저사이트
Coach Jeon Jeong-kyu (40‧187cm), who currently teaches at Myeongji Middle School, said he is still embarrassed by the nickname ‘Jeon Dae-man’. “It’s a cool nickname that anyone can be proud of, but I feel bad for not being able to show a more authentic side of myself. He feels bad for himself and sorry for the fans.
Since the beginning of professional basketball, shooters from Yonsei have always been a hot topic. In addition to Moon Kyung-eun, Woo Ji-won and Kim Hoon showed good performances in their respective teams, while Cho Sang-hyun and Bang Sung-yoon were selected as the first overall pick in the rookie draft and performed well. Based on the short cycle, shooters from Yonsei were being produced steadily and had proven themselves in the league.
It was even said that ‘shooters from Yonsei can be trusted,’ so it was expected that the 2006 No. 1 pick, Jeon Jeong-kyu, would follow suit. The talent seemed to be there. He won MVP honors at the basketball tournament and was recognized for his leadership as Yonsei’s captain, guiding juniors like Yang Hee-jong and Kim Tae-sul.
Ultimately, however, Jeon failed to live up to his No. 1 ranking throughout his career, and to this day, he is one of the names often brought up when discussing “disappointing No. 1s” alongside the likes of Park Sung-jin, Park Joon-young, and Park Jung-hyun. While it must have been a great feeling to be named No. 1, it also caused him to be devalued.
Jeon was a shooter with distinct advantages and disadvantages, a type of shooter that was bound to be either liked or disliked. This is one of those cases where the disadvantages overshadowed the advantages. Jeon was recognized for his shooting ability during his time at Yonsei University. Not only did he have the guts to be a shooter, but he also had the explosive power to shoot like a botanical waterfall once he got going.
He wasn’t very big, but he played center until middle school because he was one of the tallest players on the team. Back in the day, the division of labor between positions was much more pronounced than it is now, and centers were expected to be strictly perimeter players. The biggest competitive advantage for a big man is still height.
Unfortunately, Jeon’s height stopped growing in middle school. In high school, Jeon was forced to change his position to forward and start practicing his outside shot, which was unfamiliar to him before. In some ways, it was quite late, but Jeon did it. Not only did he develop his shot within three years of high school, but he was able to enter Yonsei University with the sound of a national shooter. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he was a shooting genius.
But that wasn’t all. There was a lot of criticism about other aspects of his game, such as his speed, ball handling, vision, and passing sense. Whether it’s Cho Sung-won’s speed or Kim Byung-chul’s drive-in, shooters who lack size need other weapons to be competitive. Unfortunately, Jeon lacked a secondary option to continue contributing even when his shot wasn’t falling.
While his ability to hit a game-winning shot was unquestionable, his defense was shaky, allowing him to score more than his fair share of goals, and his performance plummeted on days when his shot wasn’t falling. If she had other weapons, she could have stayed on the court until she got her shot back, but she didn’t, so she was often substituted as soon as she felt her shooting was sluggish. It must have been difficult for him to play comfortably in such a situation.
“I know my strengths and weaknesses as a player. As you said, if I had other powerful options, mobility, and athleticism, I would have been able to play better, but I can’t change the style of play I’ve been playing. I can’t change my physical ability, and I tried to improve my passing and other plays, but I couldn’t reach the level I wanted. In the end, I thought, “Let’s focus on what I’m good at,” and I remember trying to make the most of my strengths.”
Jeon is now living a second life as a coach. Having experienced both highs and lows as a player, he understands how athletes feel in different situations. He wants to communicate with them on a similar level as much as possible, and he wants to be a coach who finds and develops their strengths rather than stressing over their weaknesses. Jeon’s basketball life is a work in progress.
Q.How are you doing these days?
I am currently coaching at Myeongji Middle School. I think all basketball coaches in the field are similar. When you coach kids and pay attention to this and that, the day is often so short that you don’t know where the time went. In some ways, it’s busier than when I was active. When I was a player, I only had to take care of myself, but as a coach, you need to know the play of each child as well as their disposition, and sometimes you need a lot of conversation or communication. I’m still lacking in that area, but I’m trying to grow myself as I gain experience little by little. I have good seniors around me, such as KU coach Joo Hee-jung and coach Jeon Jeon-su Myung-ji, so I’m learning a lot from them.
Q.As someone who learned to play basketball in a rigorous way, it must be difficult to coach students in a way that you didn’t learn.
I don’t think I’m the only one who’s been in that situation, and I think a lot of coaches are in a similar position. My seniors were like that, and we were like that, but as you said, it was a very strict time in the past. It’s just a matter of degree, but there was no less violence, no less verbal abuse, and above all, you had to do what you were told. Each player’s individuality.