Ha Seung-jin Endures Hard Training in America for NBA

Ha Seung-jin Endures Hard Training in America for NBA. February. 11, 2004 23:35. by Jong-Seok Kim kjs0123@donga.com.

“Since I have a dream, I will endure any sufferings.”

The tallest center in Korean basketball, 19-year-old Ha Seung-jin (2m 23cm tall) seemed more mature when he was interviewed at the graduation ceremony of Samil commercial high school, Suwon, Kyounggi on February 11. He participated in the ceremony, returning to Korea in 2 months after he left for America with the dream of NBA on last December 7. Ha confessed that the last two months were the toughest training moments in his basketball career.

“My mouth was burning after training. I waited for the free-throw exercise session to take a rest.”

Holding his training camp in Santa Monica near Los Angeles through his agency, SFX, Ha has gone through an intensive training program in the mornings supervised by coaches such as former NBA player Will Perdue and two coaches from UCLA. He learned the steps for playing center again, how to take body checks, and ball handling instruction to develop his basketball to a better level.

“I was impressed by the advice that I should keep the ball over my chin to prevent it from being stolen by a short player.”

He made efforts to build up the strength of his weakness through strong weight training in the afternoons. The famous and beautiful Santa Monica Beach was like a hell to him. “Sometimes I felt like diving into the sea when I ran over an hour on the beach where my calves were caught in the sand.” He also practiced yoga to balance his body.

Owing to systematic training, Ha maintained his weight of 145kg, but also gained solid muscle. Now he has no problem putting pressure on his surgically repaired left knee. “The speed of my weak point also will be improved if my physical strength stands. Nowadays I am not exhausted even if I play for long.”

Being awarded for his contributions to his school in his graduation ceremony, Ha will leave Korea next week to prepare for NBA draft in June.