Will KCC Johnson be the foreign player version of Ham Ji-hoon?
Ham Ji-hoon (39‧197.4cm) is one of the most unique players in the history of the KBL, representing the Ulsan Hyundai Mobis. You might wonder if there has ever been a player like him before. Despite not having anything special in terms of size or athleticism, he is still playing at a tender age and is an inspiration to younger players in many ways.
In fact, when he was drafted by Ulsan with the 10th overall pick in the 2007 rookie draft, few expected him to have such a long and successful career. Injuries aside, it was hard to imagine a 10th overall pick becoming one of the league’s leading post players.
However, if we were to draft him now, knowing the outcome, Ham Ji-hoon would be right up there with Kim Tae-sul and Yang Hee-jong as a first-round pick in the prestigious Golden Draft class. Given the scarcity of homegrown big men at the starter’s level, there are not many teams that would take him with the first pick. The success of Ham Ji-hoon at No. 10 was unconventional and drew sighs of regret from many.
If Hyundai Mobis hadn’t selected him at No. 10, it would have been difficult to build a dynasty. In addition, the butterfly effect would have changed the history of many other teams. The impact of Ham Ji-hoon was huge. While his national team performance was disappointing, in the KBL alone, it’s hard not to envy former No. 1 overall picks Kim Joo-sung, Oh Se-geun, and Kim Jong-kyu.
As you can see from the fact that he was undervalued at the time of his draft and has surprised many with his unexpected performance since then, Ham Ji-hoon had a number of factors that made it difficult for him to succeed as a big man. He’s naturally undersized and doesn’t have the athleticism to compensate. For a big man with a size disadvantage to be competitive, he needs to have other skills to compensate, such as speed and elasticity.
They also need to be exceptionally good shooters. Hamm was none of these things. If you’re not a big guy and you can’t run or jump well, and you don’t have a great shot, you’re pretty much disarmed. Kudos to him for not only surviving, but thriving despite those weaknesses. It’s hard to find many examples of this type of player surviving for generations.
Ham basically had a great BQ. He knew how to read his opponent’s moves and how to react to them, and he played smartly with his unique flair. In addition, he was not tall, but he had good strength from his solid physique, so he could play the so-called bibby play to match up with big men who were faster and more athletic than him.
With his solid fundamentals, he had a variety of under-the-basket skills, especially his pivot play, which was almost unstoppable. He shook up the rhythm of the defense with a variety of off-balance timing, mostly through physicality, but also with good fingertip awareness. He also had a wide range of vision, so he boasted the best passing skills for a big man, including passing inside from the high post and passing outside after post-ups.
Recently, there has been a lot of interest in KCC’s new foreign player, Alize Johnson (27-201cm). That’s because he comes from KCC, one of the favorites to win the championship next season. KCC has had a lot of bad luck with foreign players in recent years, including Tyler Davis and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, so they have been trying harder than ever to sign quality foreign players, but unfortunately, several deals have fallen through.카지노
In the midst of this, Johnson, who is a forward, not a big man, drew even more attention. The basic profile isn’t bad. He’s a seasoned veteran with 76 games in the NBA and averaged 16.9 points, 12.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists in the lower-level G League last season (22 games).
The problem is that he’s a skinny forward. KCC wanted a big man to help protect Ragan as he gets older, but due to various circumstances, they were unable to sign him and ended up bringing him back as a forward from their remaining resources. From the outside looking in, many have compared him to Hollis Jefferson, who didn’t fit in with the team last season.
Fortunately, Johnson is not known to be a swingman like Hollis Jefferson. He’s skinny, but he’s not as strong as he looks, and he’s the type of player who would rather cut inside or be combative in the post than outside. Of course, his size limitations mean that he’ll struggle in matchups against bigger, stronger foreign players.
There are a lot of different opinions on Johnson, but he seems to be underrated. Like the aforementioned Ham Ji-hoon, he is a big man with size (height + wingspan) weaknesses and poor jumping ability. At least he had the size and strength to compete with athletic players, but Johnson doesn’t have that. There are already concerns about his matchups with power players like Jamil Warney, Omari Spellman, and Gage Prim.
The truth is, it’s not easy to predict how Johnson will perform. He came straight from the G League, so we don’t know how his weaknesses will play out in the KBL. In some cases, a player’s style that was criticized as lacking in one aspect or another can be turned into an advantage in the domestic league.
As you can see from his record, Johnson’s strengths are in rebounding and passing. In the case of rebounding, he consistently averaged double digits in the NCAA and G League. Regardless of his jumping ability, strength, etc., it’s safe to assume that he has a solid skill or know-how for rebounding. In addition, his ball movement and passing ability are outstanding. His field goal percentage is also high.
He’s not the type of center who is a pillar of strength or an ace who can play long and hard by himself, but he can contribute in many ways, including team play. That’s why he’s considered a stable foreign player who doesn’t have a high ceiling but doesn’t have a low ceiling either. He could be a surprisingly good pick for KCC, which has a versatile forward lineup that includes Song Kyo-chang (27‧201.3cm), Choi Jun-yong (29‧200.2cm), and Lee Seung-hyun (31‧197cm).
Will Johnson be able to overturn the undervaluation of himself with results like Ham Ji-hoon did? If Johnson can become the foreigner version of Ham Ji-hoon, KCC will be able to take on SK with a lot of strength. This is the best-case scenario for KCC fans. This is why the Aegis ship’s new recruits are being closely watched,