This article was published in the April 2023 issue of Basket Korea webzine. The interview was held on March 10th. ( Buy Basket Korea webzine link )
The difference between domestic players and foreign players is huge. The biggest difference is physical and athletic ability. So it is difficult for domestic players to block foreign players. It requires more than average fighting spirit and stamina.
It was even more so 10 years ago. In those days, there was someone who was called a ‘foreign player judge’. It is Tae-soo Joo. Joo Tae-soo, who retired due to a knee injury, has experienced many positions, including college team coach and professional team power analyst. He is now playing with the Future of Korean Basketball at Gukwon Elementary School in Chungju. How did Joo Tae-soo, who had many experiences, look back on his basketball life?
Ju Tae -soo, a big man with both physical and fighting spirit,
graduated from Shinil High School and Korea University, and was evaluated as a big man with a solid physique and good at dirty work. In particular, he played a game of life against Yonsei University in the regular match in 2005, leading Korea University, which was inferior in power, to victory. further boosted his own stock price.
Joo Tae-soo, who was recognized for his value, entered the 2006 KBL domestic rookie draft. He entered the pro with the 5th overall pick. He was the first center position player to step on the professional stage. Joo Tae-soo’s destination was Daegu Orions (now Goyang Day One Sports).
He entered the pro with the 5th overall pick in the 2006 KBL Domestic Rookie Draft.
My time in the draft wasn’t good for the big guys. As the foreign player system changed to free agency, outstanding players like Pete Michael entered the KBL. That’s why I think my ranking was pushed back more than I thought.
But stepping on the professional stage was an honor for me. Also, it was great to go to Orions, my favorite team. There were more good memories than regrets.
Why did you like Orions?
There were many close seniors, and there were many players who boasted colorful colors such as (Kim) Byeong-cheol (former Goyang Orion coach) and (Kim) Seung-hyeon (former SPOTV commentator). Also, since my position is a big man, it was nice to be able to play with the best guard named Seunghyun hyung.
What was your first impression of the Orions basketball team?
At the time, the accommodation was in Baekam, Yongin. It was the first time I had been to such a countryside. (Laughs) I was able to see stars that were difficult to see in the city. But the team atmosphere was great. It was a very different culture from the Korea University I went to, so I think there were a lot of new things.
Joo Tae-soo, a judge of foreign players,
played on the professional stage from the 2006-2007 season. However, he did not show much prominence in the pro. Even in the 2012-2013 season, which was a career high, he only managed 20 minutes and 42 seconds per game. The record at the time was an average of 5.6 points and 4.0 rebounds (1.3 offense).
Nevertheless, Joo Tae-soo was a necessary player. In particular, after he moved to Incheon Etland (currently Daegu Korea Gas Corporation), he controlled the big man outside the opponent well with his solid physical and his own know-how.
Joo Tae-soo’s defense was a measure of the opposing foreign player’s attack power. The foreign players Tae-soo Joo could not block were top-notch outsiders in the league, and the foreign players Tae-soo Joo could control well were mentioned as replacement targets. For this reason, Joo Tae-soo earned the nickname ‘foreign player judge’.
He played for the Orions for two seasons starting from the 2006–2007 season. There must have been a big difference between the pros and colleges.
A season is really long. No matter how good your stamina is, it’s difficult to manage. I also struggled with taking care of my body. Above all, there is a huge difference in the skills of professional players and college players. Also, there were many good foreign players at the time, so I felt a higher wall.
As an aside, you played with Pete Michael.
The first time I saw Pete Michael, he was dressed in luxury items from head to toe. (Laughs) It was to the point of joking among my colleagues, “Didn’t they all live in Itaewon?” Even then, I didn’t know what kind of player Pete Michael was, so I think he had that perception.
But as soon as the first match, that perception disappeared. Everyone said, “He’s real.” In today’s words, it was ‘another level’. (Laughs)
And when the ranks are set among foreign players, the lower level players lower their tails to the higher level players. But Pete Michael never gave up his pride in front of any player. To that extent, he was a player with strong pride.
He was traded to E-Land midway through the 2007-2008 season.
He must have been preparing for the Daegu game. Seung-hyeon hyung, who shared the same room, went out to dinner with manager Kim Sang-sik (then acting manager of Daegu Orions, current manager of Anyang KGC Ginseng Corporation) the day before the match. And he came in at 1 a.m., and he said, “You might be traded.”
He didn’t believe it even then. But the next day he was warming up for the match (vs Anyang KT&G), and coach Kim Sang-sik called me. He said, “It will be traded after the game.”
I was dumbfounded when I heard the director’s words. When I came to my senses to some extent, the first thing I felt was that I had to break up with the good hyungs. Our relationship with each other was very tight.
Also, our team was on a losing streak, but we just won the game that day. (Laughs) After it was over, we went into the locker room, and (Sung) Junmo-hyung (currently Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Power Analysis Team Leader) cried first. I also burst into tears. I went out for a broadcast interview, and I cried a lot during the interview.
After the interview, I went straight to Changwon. E-Land went on an expedition to Changwon at that time. Coach Hee-am Choi looked at me and said, “Did you really hate coming?” (laughs)
He was famous for blocking foreign players well.
He was discharged from the military, and he was close to 30 years old. I thought of options that I could do well. Just in time, director Yoo Do-hoon (current director of Daegu Korea Gas Corporation) brought out my strengths that I hadn’t thought of. That was the defense of foreign players.
That said, there was no special know-how. It’s just ‘Korean players are naturally pushed by foreign players. I hated the mentality of ‘I can’t help but die’. Even if my skills were inferior to foreign players, I thought I had to win something else. So I became more combative. For that reason, I think the foreign players I was matched with hated me
.
On the one hand, it was good, on the other hand, it was bad. However, a close friend of mine said, “‘Foreign player judge’ is not a nickname given to just anyone. You got that nickname because you bothered foreign players.” After that, I think I valued that nickname too.
Injury and
Joo Tae-soo somehow endured. However, as I blocked foreign players, the burden on my stamina increased. The increased physical strain led to the load on the body.
Joo Tae-soo suffered a load and injured his knee. I persevered, but it wasn’t easy. Because of his bad knees, he couldn’t even play long-term defense. In the 2016-2017 season, he was injured again. And he never came back to the court.
After a career high season, he injured his knee.
After the 2012-2013 season, he became a free agent (FA). After completing the contract (Joo Tae-soo re-signed with E-Land with a total compensation of 300 million won at the time, a 100% increase from the previous season), he prepared for the 2013-2014 season. During field training in China, I collided with an opponent on the knee. His right knee medial ligament was partially damaged, so I came to Korea alone. I went through treatment and rehabilitation.
He made a comeback, but sprained his left knee. I thought, ‘It must be because I lack exercise’, and I did reinforcement exercises for about 3 to 4 weeks.
And one morning while doing pattern training, I got hurt again. I got a pain in my knee while walking backwards, and from then on I couldn’t move. When I went to the hospital, they said ‘Left knee anterior cruciate ligament rupture’. I had surgery right away. I got back on the court quicker than expected, but the injury recurred.
Nonetheless, he had a long playing career.
After I injured my knee, I was under a lot of stress. Medically, they say I’m fine, but the pain hasn’t gone away. So there was friction with the team, and there was a time when I was rude to coach Yoo Do-hoon.
Nevertheless, director Yoo Do-hoon caught me. He also created conditions for me to take care of my body. Also, to elevate my sense of responsibility, he gave me the captaincy. So I think I took better care of my body.
But the limit has come. He retired during the 2017-2018 season.
Around the end of 2016-2017, my knee swelled again. When I went to the hospital, they said that the anterior cruciate ligament was torn. But I said, “I will not have surgery until I retire. I will endure as much as I can,” he told the hospital.
But I had a strong feeling that it was the end. It was time for another free agency, so I prepared my mind. Coincidentally, Korea University offered me a coaching offer. I thought it was the right time to retire, so I decided to retire. KCC also understood my situation.
After retirement,
every professional sports player faces a new life. Because you can’t be a player for the rest of your life.
The same was true of Joo Tae-soo. He had many experiences after retiring. First, in 2018, he coached his alma mater, Korea University.
However, his life as a coach at his alma mater did not last long. He served as a power analyst at Busan KT (now Suwon KT). After stepping down from Power Analyst, he has been coaching Kukwon Elementary School in Chungju since November 2021. He continued his second life in various locations, and accumulated various experiences in various locations.
How was your time as a coach at Korea University?
The atmosphere back then was very different from when I was in school. It wasn’t easy to adapt. However, (former) Hyun-woo (Daegu Korea Gas Corporation), (Park) Jun-young, (Park) Jung-hyeon (above the Armed Forces Athletic Corps) and other senior players, (Ha) Yoon-gi (Suwon KT)-(Lee) Woo-seok (Ulsan) There were many good players such as Hyundai Mobis)-(Seo) Jeong Hyeoni (Jeonju KCC). It was a pity that I couldn’t be with such players for a long time.
As you said, my career as a coach at Korea University was not long. You were in charge of power analysis at Busan KT.
When I was a player, I only had to take care of myself. I was in a position to receive something from the people around me. However, the Power Analyst is a member of the staff. We have to offer a lot to our players. It was a very different world from when I was a player, so it was difficult to adapt at first.
Also, a power analyzer is a job that uses a lot of computers. But I’ve never played a computer before. Fortunately, coach Bae Gil-tae (current SPOTV commentator), who was the shooter, was good at power analysis, so he really helped me a lot. Thanks to you, I think I use a lot of computers while at KT. Even now, when I’m working on a computer, I think of coach Bae Gil-tae a lot. (Laughs) Without that experience, I wouldn’t have been able to continue my basketball career. That’s why I’m so grateful to coach Bae Gil-tae.
Since November 2021 he has coached Chungju Gukwon Elementary School.
After he resigned from KT Power Analyst, he took a break for about two months. At that time, an acquaintance in Chungju recommended a coaching position at Kukwon Elementary School in Chungju. With that opportunity, I went to Chungju.
This is a place to be with elementary school students. I think the difference between professional and college players is huge.
Previously, we only saw players who were more or less complete. However, elementary school students feel like blank pages. Rather, they have better learning ability (than pro players), and the learning time is shorter than that of finished players. I guess that’s because there’s very little data about basketball.
You will feel a greater sense of accomplishment.
I felt that way a lot last year. I could see the progress through the competition. So I think the sense of accomplishment and pride was greater.
Experienced in multiple positions. I think it must have been different from the basketball I played during my days as a player. 메이저사이트
When I was a player, all I had to do was follow the program the coaching staff created. But now it’s different. I have to make all those plans. I had to study more.
Particularly important for elementary school students is interest. So, ‘How can children become interested in basketball?’ That’s why we’re setting the direction of the map in that direction.
Also, elementary school students should not be courted by positions. Since you never know how you will grow, you need to learn the basics of every position. If the friends I teach fulfill limited positions due to immediate conditions, there is a limit to their growth as basketball players.
“Basketball? It’s love-hate (laughs)”
The last theme of ‘What are you doing?’ is looking back on your basketball life. I asked the same question to Joo Tae-soo. “How was your basketball life?” he said.
Joo Tae-soo expressed ‘basketball’ as ‘love-hate’. He thought basketball was what made him difficult, but it was also basketball that made him where he is today. And he left a story that he was “lucky.” However, he concluded the interview by saying, “If I were to be born again, I would like to try something other than basketball.”
What does ‘basketball’ mean?
It was basketball that made me where I am today, and it was basketball that made it difficult for me. To put it simply, it’s ‘love-hate’. (Laughs) However, basketball is what made me enjoy my current life. I think most basketball players would think similarly.
Please look back on ‘Joo Tae-soo’s basketball life’.
I guess I was lucky. Thanks to that, I met a lot of good people, and I played basketball for a long time compared to my ability.
Will you still play basketball when you are born again?
No. (laughs)
What would you like to try?
I’ve never really thought about it. But if I say I have to exercise, I want to try baseball. My hometown is Busan and my neighborhood plays a lot of baseball, so I liked baseball. Also, at the school next to me, Shin-soo Choo (SSG Landers), Dae-ho Lee, and Geun-woo Jung (retired), players of the same age as me played baseball.
So I wanted to play baseball since I was little. However, his biological father died when he was in the 3rd grade of elementary school. He stopped playing baseball, and he transferred schools. I started my basketball life at the school I transferred to.