The Season With The Heaviest Shoulders

Lee So-hee 24, Busan BNK Sum, who has established himself as the main player of his team at the age of 24, is experiencing growing pains. He is in a difficult situation, but he has also found a clue to the solution.

As of the 24th, Lee So-hee played in 20 games in the 2023-2024 season, averaging 34 minutes and 50 seconds, recording 14.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists.

There is no significant difference in appearance from last season average 16.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, which won the Best 5 award. The fact that the success rate of 3-point shots fell sharply from 37.6% to 29.6% is a stumbling block, but in other indicators, it did not deviate significantly from the career average.

However, his performance was somewhat disappointing. In the match against KB Stars on Nov. 20 last year seven attempts on three-point shooting and the match against Hana One Q on Nov. 25 five attempts, which is early in the season, he failed to score any outer shots. He then had no successful three-point shooting in four consecutive games from the match against Woori Bank on Dec. 28 17 attempts, and only scored two points while playing 33 minutes and 41 seconds in the match against Shinhan Bank on the 18th. It was the first time since his debut in the 2018-19 season that he has scored so few goals by playing for more than 30 minutes.

The head coach also expressed regret. "I have to find my rhythm Lee So-hee, but I'm also worried because he hasn't been in good condition until this season," BNK coach Park Jung-eun said. "I have to create many patterns that I can easily play basketball, but I think I need to improve my ability to cope with defense as I have to keep playing, not just one-off."

The most frustrating thing was the player himself. "Looking back this season, I don't think basketball is possible, but I don't think it was like me," Lee said in a recent communication with Star News. "I was blocked a lot in terms of play and other areas," Lee said. "I regret the first half of the year very much."

Lee continues his efforts to overcome the slump. "When something was not working, I thought a lot about 'why not?'" Lee said. "So I tried to overcome it with my body and other things." "I think I needed to overcome it carefully," Lee said. To this end, Lee continues his efforts in invisible places such as video analysis.

He also tries to make changes in play. As he grows older and has shown strength in 3-point shooting, opponents are also having difficulty keeping in check. "If I've only seen matches through moving shots, now I feel like I have to make one," Lee said. "I think I need to take advantage of that and launch an inside attack through drive-in, but I think I'm holding on to a lot about 3-point shooting," Lee said, showing strength in speed.

Lee, who entered the professional league as the second overall pick in the 2018-19 WKBL rookie draft, is already in his sixth season. Although Lee is full of years of experience and many juniors below him, he is still young at 24 years old. However, Park Da-jeong 30, Jin-an 28, Ahn Hye-ji 27, Han Um-ji 26, Park Gyeong-rim 26 and Kim Ji-eun 25 are consoling the BNK team, including captain Kim Han-byeol 38. Playing the main role of the team under such circumstances, Lee bears a lot of responsibility.

"I think this season is the season with the heaviest shoulders," Lee confessed. "I'm not a veteran in this team, but I'm given the most playing time among the wingmen," Lee said. "That's why I think we should set an example." "If I collapse, I think all the Sixers will collapse. That's why I felt pressured." "I'm in this team to feel that pressure, so I need to find the right middle."

In fact, Lee has tight schedule. After advancing to the championship game for the first time last season, she was selected as a member of the national team for the FIBA Asian Cup in June and the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games in September. Meanwhile, Lee participated in the 42nd William Jones Cup as a member of BNK in Taiwan in August.

On the contrary, Lee said, "I don't know about my physical strength, but I didn't have enough time to match my hands and feet." As three members of the national team, including Ahn Hye-ji and Jinan, were called to the national team twice, they didn't have enough time to work together with other players. Previously, I had never experienced this before because I wore the national flag during a break during the season. Still, Lee showed positive response to Lee's call-up to the national team, saying, "It helped me a lot. I was able to learn other things because there were many better sisters than me."

Last season, BNK had its best season since its foundation, ranking second in the regular season and ranking second in the championship game. However, it remains at the bottom of the list this season with four wins and 16 losses winning rate of 0.200 as of Tuesday. Notably, it has recently lost seven consecutive games, moving away from the semifinal battle. It has had difficulties in preparing for the season even before, and is now having a tough season due to internal feuds at the club secretariat. "Last season, I was lucky with the timing. Going into this season, I think everyone had complacent thoughts about whether it would be a playoff."

However, we cannot give up like this. We still have 10 more games left in the season. "I don't want to regret the remaining games. I will do my best to finish the game well so that no more bad games will come out," Lee said. "I will do my best and do well together with my teammates to revolt." In fact, despite the team's defeat in an away game against Samsung Life Insurance on the 20th, Lee scored 22 points with five three-point shots, finding a clue to the reversal. At the same time, Lee made a bold breakthrough. "I tried to block So-hee, the main scorer, but it didn't go well in the beginning," said Kang Yoo-rim 27, who faced Lee So-hee, on his team's YouTube after the game.

Lee So-hee tries to do her best because her fans are watching her. After the game, Lee often expresses his gratitude to fans who came to the stadium through his social media. "I am so sorry that so many of you came to cheer for me even though I am not doing well. I am so thankful that I am greeting you, but I am even more thankful that you like me." "That's why I have to keep my guard up," Lee continued.

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