“Like greed, I want more.”
Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, led by manager Kim Sang-woo, is not gaining strength this season. They are at the bottom of the league with 17 points (5 wins, 16 losses). They are 35 points behind leader Korean Air (52 points). Even with Woori Card (30 points, 11 wins, 9 losses), which can be called the Maginot Line of spring volleyball, the difference in points is 13 points.
Since the 2017-18 season, they have not been able to advance to spring volleyball, and they have not won a championship since the 2013-14 season. Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, which has won the most victories in the V-League 8 times, is not bright today. Everyone is working hard to rebuild the Myeongga, but it doesn’t go as planned.
However, there is hope even in the ruins of the famous family. Director Kim Sang-woo has taken over the baton and has been tearing down and fixing things one by one. He made a lot of changes to his team members before the season and continues to add color to his team through trades after the season. Kim Jung-ho has firmly established himself as the team’s vitality. This is Kim Jeong-ho, who is receiving rave reviews from the enemy generals and the chief.
Here, this player also captured the heart of manager Kim Sang-woo. It is Kim Jun-woo, who came out in the early draft after finishing his third year at Hongik University and was nominated by Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance in the 3rd place in the 1st round. Kim Jun-woo, who started playing volleyball in the first year of high school, has a short pitch. He is also short at 194.7cm for a middle blocker. However, his elasticity and speed are good, and his volleyball sense also received high marks. He was praised for being able to overcome his shortcomings with sense.
After the draft, coach Kim Sang-woo asked about the reason for the nomination of Kim Jun-woo, saying, “The only disadvantage is that Kim Jun-woo is less than 2m tall. He has good volleyball sense, serve and game leading ability. Of course, pros and colleges are different. If he develops enough reading ability to play his role, I think he will play a good role.”
Director Kim Sang-woo worked as a coach at Sungkyunkwan University before taking the helm of Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance. He had already grasped the potential of Kim Jun-woo, whom he met as an enemy while playing U-League and college tournaments.
Kim Jun-woo has appeared in 20 of the 21 games the team has played so far. He came out all but the 1st round before our card (October 29, 2022).
And since November 22 last year, the second round of KB Insurance, he has been starting for 14 consecutive games. In the game against Korean Air on December 29 last year, he scored his first double-digit score since his debut (11 points), and in the match against Korea Electric Power Corporation on the 5th, he scored 12 points, the most points in an individual game.
Kim Jun-woo has so far recorded 95 points in 20 games 안전놀이터, a 47.06% fast break success rate, and 0.5 blocking per set. He is ranked 9th in blocking and 11th in fast break. He is still lacking compared to other team middle blockers, but he is filling in his gaps through experience.
Director Kim Sang-woo, who made a name for himself as Korea’s representative middle blocker during his active career, is also paying attention to Kim Jun-woo’s growth.
Director Kim Sang-woo said, “Actually, it’s like greed, so I want you to do more.” Kim Jun-woo will continue to play as the starting pitcher. He doesn’t think he should put anyone in his place. He believes in it,” he said.
As director Kim Sang-woo said, Kim Jun-woo is currently the center of Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, and Ha Hyun-yong, Han Sang-gil, and Yang Hee-joon are taking turns.
At the same time, coach Kim said, “The current gap between colleges and pros is great. Kim Jun-woo is not strong, but I think he can become stronger through practice.”
Immediately after the draft nomination, Kim Jun-woo said, “Choi Min-ho is my role model. He has many things I want to be like. He said, “I will develop my blocking reading ability and become a player who can help the team.” Coach Sang-woo Kim will also hope that Jun-woo Kim will grow into a great player like Min-ho Choi.
Currently, Kim Jun-woo is being discussed as a candidate for the male rookie of the year along with Hyun-seung Lee of Hyundai Capital.
Fans watching men’s volleyball are also looking forward to what kind of activity Kim Jun-woo will perform, who still has many pictures to write.