Busan KCC completed registration of players for the 2024-2025 season on April 28. Yoo Byung-hoon and Kwak Dong-ki were announced as retirement players. They had one year left before their contracts expired, but decided to retire side by side and take a new path.
In particular, Yoo Byung-hoon has been expecting a dual guard with high potential since he was a student at Chung-Ang University, but failed to blossom in the end. Yoo Byung-hoon, who acquired his first FA qualification after the end of the 2019-2020 season, received attention from multiple teams and signed with KCC, which offered the most attractive conditions among them. 무료슬롯사이트
Contrary to expectations, Yoo did not have much presence after moving to KCC. The 28 games he played in the first season of his transfer were the most he played at KCC. In the last season, when KCC won the championship game in 13 seasons, it did not even play a single game in the first team. Consequently, Yoo left the court with 4.1 points and 2.4 assists for an average of 16 minutes and 58 seconds in 283 matches in the entire regular season.
Yoo said, “I thought I would have a lot of regrets and regrets, but now that I have made the decision, I have high expectations for what I have to do in the future. A player is not a profession that can be done forever. I have not shown any signs of injury, but I have been preparing myself. There was no special injury. I spent a lot of time in the D-League, but I think there is a big difference between the first team. I made the decision because I felt like I lost confidence or sense of basketball. I feel bittersweet.”
Did he have any concerns about recovering his reputation from other teams? When asked about this, Yoo said, “It wasn’t that I didn’t disappear. I thought about it, but I thought that preparing other parts would be more helpful from afar. It wasn’t that difficult to decide (retirement).”
There were times when he showed his true value. Yoo, who was drafted by Changwon LG as the third overall pick of the 2012-2013 rookie draft, contributed to LG’s first regular league win by demonstrating his presence as a six-man by not only playing the role of backup for Kim but also shooting three-pointers at every turn. Yoo became the first LG member to win the award since Park Kyu-hyun in the 2002-2003 season.
Yoo Byung-hoon also said, “The most memorable time was when (Kim) Jong-gyu joined the team and won the regular league. Also, any player must have a great desire to win. I was not actually in the court, but winning the championship last season was an unforgettable gift.”
Although he has not yet made a detailed plan, Yoo Byung-hoon’s goal is to be a leader. This is also why Yoo Byung-hoon chose to retire without regret despite the dissuasion of his surroundings.
“My colleagues and older brothers were especially disappointed, but I asked for advice from acquaintances. I even visited my friends and asked them. I was told not to be tied up (in my career) because I should see the world widely, as I am not young. In the end, I had to make the choice. I am grateful for the players’ disappointment, but my thoughts were tilted towards the leader,” Yoo said.
Yoo Byung-hoon also added, “I don’t have any specific plans yet because it’s right after retirement. I thought about the leader two years ago. I didn’t think about it at all before, but it became fun to study after seeing new patterns on social media. It may be difficult, but studying little by little made me think that I want to become a leader. Of course, just because I want to do it doesn’t mean that I will get a place. I plan to study a lot during my hiatus to achieve my goal.”
As he suddenly chose to retire, he said, “I’m sorry.” Yoo said, “Not only did you support me a lot when I was in a good performance, but you also gave me warm words on social media or at the gym, even when I was in a bad situation. That has been the driving force behind my career so far. I am both grateful and sorry. Still, as I have decided to continue my career related to basketball, I will work hard to return what I received.”