With the 2024 KUSF University Basketball U-League completing its first half schedule, the 40th MBC Cup National University Basketball (hereinafter referred to as MBC Cup) will be held in Sangju, Gyeongsangbuk-do from the 17th to the 26th.
Dongguk University, which was assigned to Group A along with Yonsei University, Konkuk University, and Myongji University, is also sweating heavily every day, led by Lee Dae-kyun, the only senior and captain in the team.
Lee Ho-geun, the coach of Dongguk University, called Lee Dae-kyun “Good shots including mid-range jumpers and 3-pointers. He is tall and boasts the best performance among 2-meter players in Korea. He participates in fastballs. He calls himself an “automatic door” in defense, but that is wrong. His defense skills have improved. He has come up a lot and is capable of running.”
Lee Dae-kyun, who averaged 14.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.5 blocks in 14 U-League games last year, averaged 27 minutes and 56 seconds.
His performance has been upgraded this year. After 10 games, he played 19.7 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.9 block shots for an average of 32 minutes.
Looking at the league as a whole, it boasts the second place in scoring, fifth place in rebounds, and first place in the number of successful two-point shots.
In particular, the eye-catching part was two-point shooting. Lee Dae-kyun has scored 75 of his 101 two-point shots with a 74.3 percent success rate. He is nearly 20 percent shorter than Konkuk University’s Freddie (67/123, 54.5), who ranks second in two-point shooting success rate.
Only 50.5 percent (52/103) and 41.7 percent (43/103) ranked among the players with similar number of attempts. Compared to Lee’s record of successful two-point shots (61.7 percent, 111/180) last year, Lee’s success rate of two-point shots is unrivaled. There are not many attempts, but the success rate of three-point shots is 38.5 percent (10/26).
His defense, which has been pointed out as a disadvantage, is also being evaluated as having improved. Lee Dae-kyun was nicknamed the “automatic door” last year, but he seems to have improved this year.
Lee Dae-kyun said, “(Automatic door) was a phrase that my friends and the opposing team used to say a lot last year. I really couldn’t do it, so I put a lot of effort into it during this winter season. These days, I hear that it is better than last year.”
Meanwhile, Dongguk University will kick off its MBC Cup with a match against Myongji at 5 p.m. on July 17. The U-League will restart at home on Sept. 5 with a showdown with Hanyang University.