Choi Joo-young stepped onto the court for the first time in the 2021-2022 season.굿모닝토토 주소
Daegu KOGAS dropped its opening game 62-87 to Ulsan Hyundai Mobis at Ulsan Dongcheon Gymnasium on Nov. 21. The absence of one foreign player was evident. The team played with only one foreign player (Anthony Moss) as Andrew Nicholson, who replaced Isaiah Hicks, was unable to complete the player registration process.
GAS added Choi Joo-young to the roster to fill the foreign player spot.
Choi was selected in the 3rd round, 8th overall, in the 2021 Rookie Draft. He was one of GAS’s first rookie picks since its inception.
In the past two seasons, he hasn’t received a single regular season start. Choi, who has only played in the D-League, came on as a substitute with 5:58 left in the fourth quarter. It was his first regular-season start in three seasons. Choi played five minutes and 58 seconds, scoring two points and grabbing one rebound.
When asked before the game why he put Choi in the starting lineup, GASCO acting head coach Kang Hyuk said, “Moss can’t play 40 minutes. Kim Dong-liang is older and can’t match Prim’s strength.” “Choi Joo-young bulked up. It’s not a long time, but I’ll try to put him in when Prim comes out. If Lee Dae-heon blocks Prim when Dong-nyang doesn’t play, he’ll get a lot of fouls. When that happens, I’ll try to put Joo Young-i in.”
Lacking a big man, Gasworks ordered Choi to bulk up during the offseason. According to the KBL guidebook, Choi increased his weight from 104 kilograms to 115 kilograms.
Choi was excited to be included in the starting lineup for the first time before the game against Hyundai Mobis.
“It was unexpected, bad for the team, but lucky for me. Hicks was injured. We lost our center, and then Nicholson came back in. We’re a little bit better, but we all said at the beginning of the season that we were going to struggle.
I think it looked good in the eyes of the manager and the coach that I was actively playing the role of Prime and matching up with Moss in our team drills, and I think they could see that I was working hard.
I also watched a lot of Prim’s game videos. I got a lot of advice on how to play defense and how to defend without fouling. From my point of view, I have no regrets, and it’s my job to play with my head down, play hard, play with a lot of fight, and make sure the team doesn’t sag. I want to win no matter what.”
The extra weight may have led to her first start.
“The coach told me to grow my body like it shows on the outside so that I can take advantage of the advantages of my physical condition by defending foreign players or players who play a lot in the post,” Choi said. “Until last year, I didn’t lift weights as much as I do now, so I had a slender physique, but now I have gained weight and muscle mass. I could tell in team training that he was struggling. I think I can take a little bit of that away from him.”
Andrew Nicholson will join the team from the next match. Choi isn’t sure if he’ll stay in the lineup.
“I need to do what I need to do, not just play well today (Nov. 21). That starts with defense,” Choi said, “I know I didn’t get (the opportunity) because I’m good, but because I’m lucky. Even if I miss the home opener or the next game, I will work hard to keep my body in shape so that I can continue to be seen in the regular season.”