Despite avoiding a clean sheet on his debut, it was a below-par performance given the expectations placed on Jamil Warne (SK). Head coach Jeon Hee-chul’s worries deepened.
Seoul SK lost 62-75 at home against Goyang Sono in the regular season finale of the 2023-2024 Korean Basketball Association on Monday at Jamsil Student Gymnasium. The fourth-ranked SK dropped its second straight game and extended its lead over third-place Suwon KT to 1.5 games.
More shocking than Lee’s 34 points was Warney’s silence. Warney was held to just six points in 33 minutes and 29 seconds. While her 12 rebounds, five assists, and two steals were better than her season averages (11.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and one steal), they were below expectations given her role as the team’s offensive sparkplug.
Warney shot just 22.2% (2-of-9) from the field. By the third quarter, he was scoreless on four 2-pointers and two 3-pointers, all of which missed the rim. Warney’s previous lowest scoring games were four points against Changwon LG on January 10 last year and Anyang KGC on October 13, 2019. He erased the scoreless drought with six points in the fourth quarter, but the six points were Warney’s first single-digit scoring output of the season.
Of course, coach Jeon Hee-chul’s worries deepened. “I wanted to replace Warne, but I also had to see why he was not playing well,” said a relieved Jeon. “It’s not too much to play 35-40 minutes, but we have a tight schedule. If third place becomes difficult, we will have to go back to playoff mode and think about playing time. Today (Nov. 19) was not a good game to take Warney out in the third quarter,” he added.
Jeon reflected on the loss afterward. “I was half and 카지노사이트 half, thinking, ‘Should I take him out or should I play him,’ but his performance was still not good,” said Jeon.
SK has a solid roster, but Warney is an absolute asset to the team. In the four seasons between his KBL debut and last season, he was a three-time Foreign Player of the Year, and has been one of the top players in the league.
Warney has been a force to be reckoned with this season, averaging 23.8 points, 11.4 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 1.1 blocked shots per game, but his competition is no slouch. From scorer-types like Dedrick Lawson (DB) and Paris Bass (KT) to Asem Marey (LG), SK’s V4 will have to overcome a particularly high barrier for SK. Warney’s slump at the end of the regular season could be just the medicine SK needs to slowly prepare for the playoffs.