Wi Sung-woo, manager of Woori Bank Woori WON, is called a "great man" among female basketball fans. From the perspective of a person who is not interested in women's basketball, it may be considered an "overkill" to call Wi Sung-woo, who is just one of the coaches of the women's professional basketball team who has not achieved much for the country. However, Wi Sung-woo has made achievements and records that are not lacking in the WKBL to be called a "great man."

Coach Wi Sung-woo, who was appointed to Woori Bank in 2012, posted an overwhelming 306 wins and 86 losses and a .781 winning percentage in 12 seasons. Since Wi Sung-woo's inauguration, Woori has recorded nine wins and has not had a single season with a winning percentage below 70 percent in the last 11 seasons. In addition, the season when Wi Sung-woo recorded the highest winning percentage (.943) in WKBL history was in the 2016-2017 season when he led Woori Bank. His 306 wins in total is also the highest winning percentage in WKBL history.

Coach Wi Sung-woo, who consistently led Woori to a strong team despite the retirement and transfer of key players, is facing the biggest crisis since his inauguration this season. Ahead of this season, Park Ji-hyun (Tokomana and Queens), Park Hye-jin (BNK Some), Choi Yi-sam (Shinhan Bank S-Bird), and Na Yoon-jung (KB Stars) have moved to new teams. Will Woori, which is considered a low-ranking candidate with a large number of replacements of its players, be able to keep the pride of the most winning team in the history of the WKBL this season.

After recruiting Kim Dan-bi, he won for two consecutive seasons

Whenever Woori was considered a "crisis," Woori Bank prepared an opportunity for a reversal by recruiting appropriate players. In April 2017, it hired Kim Jong Un (Hana Bank), who was considered to be at the end of his career due to frequent injuries, on a three-year contract. There were many concerns that the recruitment would be risky, but Kim led Woori to its sixth consecutive win in the first season of the transfer, and was named MVP of the championship. It was Kim's first career victory, a lonely ace in the lower ranks.

Woori Bank, which lost helplessly to KB led by Park Ji-soo (Galatasaray SK) in the 2021-2022 season, brought Kim Dan-bi, who was considered the biggest FA fish, with a total annual salary of 450 million won in May 2022. With Kim Dan-bi joining the team, Kim Son-ia (BNK), who scored the most points at Woori Bank in the 2021-2022 season, left the team as a compensation player, but the addition of all-around forward Kim Dan-bi was a huge factor in Woori Bank's power increase.
In the 2022-2023 season, Park Ji-soo played only nine games due to the aftereffects of panic disorder and finger injuries, and the season proceeded with Woori Bank's solo performance. Woori Bank, which won the regular league with a comfortable 25 wins and 5 losses and a .833 winning rate, beat Shinhan Bank in the playoffs and BNK in the championship to win for the 12th time. Kim Dan-bi had his best moment since his professional debut, sweeping the first regular league MVP and the championship MVP.

At Woori Bank, Kim Jong-un left for Hana Bank after the 2022-2023 season, and at KB, Park Ji-soo returned to the court healthy. On top of that, there was also a bad news that Yoo Seung-hee, who was acquired by Woori Bank through a trade, was out for the season due to a ruptured cruciate ligament in the season opener. Woori Bank performed quite well with a 23-7 winning rate of .767, but failed to exceed KB, which recorded a 27-3 winning rate of .900, and advanced to the playoffs as second place in the regular league.

Although Woori lost the regular season title to KB, Woori was the star of spring basketball. Woori Bank, which advanced to the championship by winning three consecutive games after one loss against Samsung Life Blooming's in the playoffs, won the championship for two consecutive seasons by posting three wins and one loss to KB, which was underdog in the regular season with two wins and four losses. Kim Dan-bi became the fourth MVP of the championship after Ha Eun-joo, Lim Young-hee (Woori Bank coach), and Park Hye-jin.

Can I maintain my grades even if I leave 4 key players

However, Woori experienced a huge amount of power leakage as soon as the season ended without enjoying the joy of winning the title. Park Ji-hyun left for the Australian League, while Park Hye-jin, Choi Yi-sam and Na Yoon-jung also became FA qualifiers and moved to BNK, Shinhan Bank and KB, respectively. In fact, among the players who played as the main players at Woori last season, only Kim Dan-bi and Lee Myung-kwan remained in the team.

The reason why many basketball fans expect Woori Bank, which had a huge loss of power, to maintain a minimum performance is because Kim Dan-bi, one of the best players in the league, is still in good shape. Born in February 1990, Kim Dan-bi became an old man in his mid-30s, but he was still the best player in the league throughout the air and defense, scoring 18.38 points (2nd), 9.03 rebounds (5th), 5.03 assists (4th), 1.72 steals, and 1.21 block shots (3rd).

Woori Bank, whose biggest weakness was the lack of a clear orthodox big man last season, was even lower in height as Park Ji-hyun and Choi Yi-sam, who are more than 180 centimeters tall, left the team. Nevertheless, Coach Wi Sung-woo nominated two short guards in the Asian quarter draft in June: 161.4 centimeters tall Snagawa Natsuki and 162.5 centimeters tall Miyasaka Momona. It can be predicted that Coach Wi Sung-woo will pursue faster basketball this season. 먹튀검증

However, this does not mean that Woori Bank has neglected to strengthen its stature. Woori Bank named forward Han Um-ji, who is 180 centimeters tall, as a compensation player for Park Hye-jin who moved to BNK. Han Um-ji had 5.23 rebounds last season when she played for BNK, but displayed impressive performance with 9.5 rebounds in four games at the Park Shin-ja Cup, which she played after transferring to Woori Bank. Han Um-ji is a key player who should keep Woori under the basket this season.

Woori Bank is considered to have weakened its power significantly due to the departure of four key players, but it showed formidable skills by recording 3 wins and 1 loss in the last Park Shin-ja Cup. No matter how much the members have changed, the "power of Woori Bank led by great men" has not changed much.

All that's left is for Woori Bank to prove to basketball fans that Woori Bank is still Woori Bank through good performances after the opening of the season.