Association appoints first foreign coach in history
Unusual press conference emphasizing ‘communication’
“Good direction… It will enhance the players’ strengths.”
On the 4th, the Korea Basketball Association held a press conference at the new building of the Olympic Hall in Seoul to announce the final list of 12 players who will participate in the 2027 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Basketball World Cup Asian qualifier two-game series away to Taiwan and Japan.
The Basketball Association appointed its first foreign head coach, Nikolais Majuls (Latvia), on December 4 of last year, about two months ago.
Coach Majuls not only had a clear goal of winning a gold medal at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and advancing to the 2028 Los Angeles (LA) Olympics, but also followed the expectation of introducing advanced offensive tactics and systems into Korean basketball.
This two-game away game is Coach Majuls’ debut game, and much attention is being paid to how well expectations will be realized.
The Basketball Association, which assists Majulsho, took things differently from before from the start.
Until now, the Basketball Association has announced the national team selection list through a press release.
On the morning of the actual press conference, the women’s national team announced the 12-member roster for the final qualifiers for the Women’s Basketball World Cup through a press release.
However, the men’s national team held an unusual press conference.
Regarding this, Coach Majuls said, “Press conferences are held all over the world. There haven’t been many cases in Korea, but they are often held internationally.” He added, “It is natural for Latvia to hold a press conference when they select a national team member. I think it is a good direction.”
An official from the Basketball Association said through Newsis, “The first to suggest it was the leadership of the association. I had always wanted to hold a press conference, and this time, I decided to pursue it in earnest.”
He added, “After gathering internal opinions, we asked Coach Majuls. He willingly gave permission, so this press conference was held.” He added, “We plan to continue holding press conferences when the future roster is announced.”
This official pointed out, “In addition to communication between the national team and the media, we also considered communication with fans (so that they can know the coach’s player selection),” and added, “This communication also includes the element of the coach using the media (press conferences) outside the court to deliver a message to the players.”
Thanks to this, I was able to confirm Coach Majuls’ basketball philosophy before my debut game.
In this list, he selected rookies with good recent performances such as Eddie Daniel (SK), Moon Yoo-hyeon (Cheong Kwan-jang), and Kang Ji-hoon (Sono), excluding Heo Woong (KCC), who recently scored 51 points and became the 3rd highest scorer in a single game in professional basketball history.
Coach Majuls explained, “I looked at the overall big picture. I selected the national team based on not only one game, but the performance they showed throughout the season. The roster needed balance. I think all three (rookies) have special talent. What they have in common is passion, energy, and an unstoppable motor. They clearly have their own roles on the team, and they were selected for the national team because they showed aspects that were not seen in other players.”
He added, “We will focus on enhancing the strengths of the players. We will show a balanced performance as much as possible,” and added, “You will see all players working hard not only in attack but also in defense.”
Majuls, which emphasizes balance, will make its debut in the match against Taiwan in Taipei, Taiwan on the 26th.
The players will be convened by the Basketball Association on the 20th and then moved to the Jincheon Athletes’ Village to warm up.
Afterwards, they leave for Taipei, the site of the decisive battle, on the 24th.
After playing against Taiwan, they will meet Japan in Okinawa, Japan on March 1st.
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