Freddie (203 cm, C) had the best record this season. However, if you ask him if he had an advantage against Kang Ji Hoon (202 cm, C), it’s hard to answer in the affirmative.
KU lost 78-94 against Yonsei University on Dec. 13 at the KU Global Campus Gymnasium. The loss was the third of the season for the Tigers, who are now tied for third place with Kyung Hee University, Sungkyunkwan University, and Chung-Ang University.
Win or lose, Freddie was the best player of the night. Freddie scored 31 points and grabbed 24 rebounds. It was the third 30-20 game of his career. Freddie had one 30-20 in 2022 (39 points, 홀덤 21 rebounds) and one in 2023 (30 points, 26 rebounds).
The previous two times, the opponent was a lowly Sangmyeong University. Today’s opponent was the taller Yonsei, making the record even more significant.
However, it’s important to separate Freddie’s first and second halves.
In the first half, he scored 11 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. He shot just 4 of 14 from two-point range for a 28.6% success rate.
In the second half, he had 20 points and 11 rebounds. He shot exactly the same as in the first half, making 8 of 14 2-pointers. That’s a 57.1% success rate.
Kang Ji-hoon played in the first half, and Kang did not play in the second half.
Kang played 10:47 in the first half of the day, recording six points, five rebounds and two blocks, before leaving the court with an ankle injury.
Freddie played all 40 minutes. He was matched up with Kim Bo-bae (203 cm, F/C) for about 10 minutes in the first half when Kang came off the bench, but he struggled both defensively and offensively when matched up with Kang.
In the second half, when he was completely off the court, he had no trouble scoring against Kim and Lee Kyu-tae (199cm, F/C).
Freddie is often criticized for being weak against Kang Ji Hoon, who has a good vertical defense. On this day, it showed.
On his first possession against Kang, he scored on a hook shot, but then he missed a post-up, a breakaway, an offensive rebound, and a layup. He was also blocked on a post-up.
Aside from the basket after an offensive rebound, the only time he scored in a decent matchup with Kang was on the first possession.
That’s why he shot only half as many two-pointers in the first half as he did in the second.
Has Freddy met his match in Kang Ji Hoon?