[Interview] Yang Dong-geun and Ham Ji-hoon, who built the 'Hyundai Mobis Dynasty' as players, are now coaches... "I want to relive that era again"

*This content was translated by AI.

Head coach Yang Dong-geun and assistant coach Ham Ji-hoon, who once built the 'dynasty' of Ulsan Hyundai Mobis together as players, now dream of another golden era as coaches.

Leading the team during pre-season training in the Philippines, Head Coach Yang Dong-geun told StarNews on the 11th about Assistant Coach Ham Ji-hoon: "He is exactly the same as he was during his playing days. I think so too, and I believe (Ham) Ji-hoon probably feels the same way when looking at me — that there's little difference from our playing days."

During his active career, Coach Yang was one of the top players in the KBL. After retiring, he gained coaching experience as a coach and senior coach for Hyundai Mobis, and has been leading the team since last year.

Recently, he even gained a reliable supporter. Ham Ji-hoon, who played on the court together with Yang for many years, declared his retirement from active play at the end of last season and immediately joined as a coach in June to assist Coach Yang.

As a result, Hyundai Mobis has finalized its coaching staff for the 2026–2027 season, centered around Coach Yang, with Senior Coach Park Gu-young, Assistant Coach Ham Ji-hoon, and Coach Park Byung-woo.

Notably, Coach Yang, Senior Coach Park Gu-young, and Assistant Coach Ham Ji-hoon are all 'one-club men' who spent their entire playing careers at Hyundai Mobis and were key figures in creating the club's golden era.

Yang Dong-geun joined Hyundai Mobis in 2004 and played for just one team over 16 years, leading them to six regular-season championships and six championship finals victories. He was a core figure in building the Hyundai Mobis dynasty.

Assistant Coach Ham Ji-hoon is also a legend who made his mark in both the KBL and HyundaiMo Bi-seu-reul (CEO). After joining Hyundai Mobis through the 2007 rookie draft, he played for just one team over 18 seasons. He experienced five championship finals victories. In particular, during the 2009–2010 season, he simultaneously captured both the regular-season Most Valuable Player (MVP) and the Playoffs MVP awards.

Senior Coach Park Gu-young also worked closely with them for a long time and was a hidden force behind Hyundai Mobis' three consecutive championship finals victories.

Now, the three who were once teammates as players are leading the team again as coaches. In particular, Coach Yang places great expectations on Assistant Coach Ham Ji-hoon for his deep understanding of the kind of basketball he wants to play.

Coach Yang said, "Ji-hoon knows best what I want from our big men," adding, "We have been working together closely since our playing days."

He continued, "Although I am now a coach, I am ultimately building the team by blending my experiences as a player with the tactics and strategies I've learned over time. Ji-hoon best understands how my requests to guards should connect with the movements of our big men. I believe he will be able to provide excellent coaching to our current big men," expressing his trust.

Although they now hold the titles of coach and assistant coach, their relationship has not changed significantly from their playing days.

Coach Yang stated, "Our roles have simply changed to coach and assistant coach now. Even during our playing days, we constantly gave advice to younger players and juniors. In that regard, I think there is little difference from today."

There is also a big man whose arrival with Assistant Coach Ham Ji-hoon is expected to bring positive effects. He is Kim Kyung-won, who recently joined Hyundai Mobis via a trade last month.

Regarding Kim Kyung-won, Coach Yang expressed satisfaction, saying, "He is even better than I expected."

He added, "When Kim Kyung-won played for Anyang Jeonggwanjang, he troubled our team a lot. He is exactly as I remember him. There's nothing to criticize about his personality or attitude. He's just great," praising him highly.

Standing at 198 cm, Kim Kyung-won is a big man resource capable of contributing significantly in scoring and rebounding near the basket. He was selected second overall in the 2019 KBL Rookie Draft by Anyang KGC Ginseng Corporation (now Anyang Jeonggwanjang).

He played exclusively for Jeonggwanjang over six seasons but is now embarking on a new challenge through this trade. Last season, he appeared in 45 regular-season games, averaging 3.7 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.

However, with two foreign players allowed to play simultaneously on the court starting next season, securing playing time for domestic big men has become a new challenge.

Coach Yang noted, "Since two foreign players will be able to play together next season, it's difficult to say right now how many minutes Kim Kyung-won can be expected to play," but emphasized, "How we can best integrate this valuable resource of Kim Kyung-won into the team seems to be a task for our coaching staff."

Thus, whether Assistant Coach Ham Ji-hoon can effectively pass on his experiences to the younger big men has become an important point of interest for Hyundai Mobis.

Regarding the overall training atmosphere of the team, Coach Yang also expressed satisfaction. He repeatedly emphasized, "Everyone is working hard. They are really working hard. All the players are truly putting in great effort."

He continued, "They are trying to put their passion into every single movement," adding, "Even though they are repeating last year's training, they are working as if it were their first time. Seeing that makes me feel so proud," praising the players.

Coach Yang, Senior Coach Park Gu-young, and Assistant Coach Ham Ji-hoon share special memories of having already reached the top together during their playing days. Therefore, there is growing interest in whether these individuals, now as coaches, can recreate Hyundai Mobis' dynasty era.

Coach Yang did not dismiss such expectations either. When asked if he wanted to recreate the dynasty they built together with Assistant Coach Ham Ji-hoon and Senior Coach Park Gu-young during their playing days this time as coaches, Coach Yang replied, "We cannot help but think about that part."

He added forcefully, "I hope we can once again experience such an era as coaches and as the most senior players who have been with this team for the longest time, guiding our juniors and younger teammates."

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*This content was translated by AI.