The NBA isn’t the only one with ‘twin towers’. Although it was rare because high-level big men were so rare, the double post system was often tried in domestic basketball from the past. A representative case is the ‘double mast’ of Kim Yoo-taek (59‧197cm) and Han Ki-beom (59‧205cm), who opened the invincible era of Kia Motors, the strongest unemployment. It is common to think of Kia Motors’ guard line first, but it is true that the cornerstone of a strong team was laid because there was a duo behind the goal who overpowered other teams from heights before them.
Back in the days when there were many big men around 190cm tall, when Kim Yoo-taek and Han Ki-bum, both taller than 2m on average, stood on the court at once, the opposing team felt as if the bottom of the goal was full. It was no exaggeration to say that the two, who played an active part in the national team side by side, are the best centers in Korea individually. If you compare it to the early days of professional basketball, you can say that Seo Jang-hoon and Kim Joo-seong came out of the same team in a situation where there were no foreign players. In addition, because Heo Jae and Kang Dong-hee’s backcourt line were together, a truly unmatched team was able to be completed.
Former Kia Motors coach Choi In-seon (72‧182cm), who created the double post strategy at the time, said at the time of an interview with ‘Basketball Interview’, “Our team had two top-notch centers that other teams might not even have one. These resources must be used together unconditionally. I thought it was efficient. If two players who are difficult to block one-on-one come and go near the post at once, the opposing team’s defense inevitably becomes complicated, and the effects derived from it are also very diverse and high,” he explained the power of the Twin Towers. .
Both Han Ki-bum and Kim Yoo-taek started basketball late, but they quickly established themselves because they have very good physical condition and good athletic ability. In particular, since their days at Chung-Ang University, they became each other’s training partners and grew together. Afterwards, they played together at Kia Motors, so it would have been the same for Heo Jae and Kang Dong-hee, but there was no need for further explanation about breathing with each other. It is no exaggeration to say that Korea’s first ‘high-altitude basketball’ actually started with them.
Fans who only saw Han Ki-bum in his later years might associate him with a tall, sluggish figure. In addition, he was so skinny that he even gave the feeling of stumbling as if he would collapse at any moment. However, Han Ki-bum in his prime was different. It is true that he was often pushed out of his strength by players smaller than himself because he had a constitution that seldom gained weight.
But he wasn’t lacking in anything other than that. First of all, the overwhelming height from Xinjiang was a threat to the opposing team in itself, and the mobility and flexibility were not worse than they looked. He wasn’t even a technician, but he had a good sense and showed compliance in his ability to perform operations and improvisation. The opposing team used a lot of so-called clashing defenses, such as physical fights, aiming for Han Ki-bum’s poor weight, but Han Ki-bum quickly turned the ball quickly and avoided the situation in which he owned the ball for a long time in advance.
In addition, when he caught the ball, he succeeded in scoring concisely with a mid-range shot or receiving, rather than directly penetrating. He was also actively involved in fast-breaking, and when he was young, he boasted not bad athleticism to the extent that he even played an alley oop in the process. One of his trademarks is his one-handed dunk shot, which cuts through gaps and puts them in.
In addition, the outlet pass, which was passed with one hand immediately after the rebound, was quite accurate and quick. At the time of SK’s first KBL win, there was a foreign center named Jackie Jones. The characters themselves are distinctly different, but if you look at the play style, there are a lot of similarities.
No matter how good two big men are, it is difficult to demonstrate their full power if their play styles or movements overlap. Han Ki-bum and Kim Yoo-taek’s ‘Twin Tower’ matched well even in the so-called combination. If Han Ki-bum made good use of his physical strength, Kim Yu-taek is evaluated as a clever technician who achieved a good combination.
Kim Yoo-taek was more like a technician or stretch big man. Although he was skinny like Han Ki-bum, he was relatively stronger and had a good spirit and a desire to compete, so he did not avoid physical fights. Above all, the basics were solid, which is quite surprising considering that he started playing basketball late. Although he was called a technician-type big man, there was nothing special about him in terms of technique.
He played mainly on basic skills that other No. 4 and No. 5 players could do, and the perfection was very high. He succeeded in scoring by overtaking tall players with step and pivot movements, and his middle shot, which he shot from any position, was highly accurate. He skillfully used both post-up and face-up and actively participated in his fast attack. 메이저놀이터
In addition to that, he was also good at rebounding, befitting his nickname ‘Stork’. He basically had good elasticity, and he took advantage of his speed to get into a good position ahead of other big men and jump agilely. He was a player who could be called the domestic version of ‘Mr. Another reason for highly appreciating Kim Yu-taek is that such a play worked well on the international stage.
Even though he is not big as a big man, he did not hesitate at all and faced the strong European team as well as China. During the 1990 World Championship, which was at the end of his heyday, he exploded 29 points against powerful Spain. Unfortunately, there was no big man to support Kim Yoo-taek at the time, so he often struggled alone and had to struggle with tactics due to the rotation.
Anyway, on the domestic stage, Han Ki-bum and Kim Yu-taek were untouchables in their amateur days. In the days when Kim Yoo-taek was struggling while Han Ki-bum, who was tall, was firmly guarding the bottom of the goal, he was not pushed behind in post power by any team. Regarding this, Kim Yoo-taek said in a basketball interview, “Now, it is possible to play 4 times, so I mainly hit it when I played together. We did it, but as we got used to each other later, the play went smoothly even without being aware of it.”