〘 ◭ 〙〘 ◭ 〙Can Ra Gun-ah surpass Seo Jang-hoon, who has a total of 11,000 points?〘 ◭ 〙〘 ◭ 〙
“Will Seo Jang Hoon surpass him?”
Ra Gun-ah, a naturalized player, recently set a new record in the history of the Korean Basketball League (KBL). She surpassed 11,000 points (11,013 points) in a home game against Anyang Chung Kwan-jang (108-99 wins) on Sunday. The score is the second-highest ever, following Seo Jang-hoon (retired) with 13,231 points (based on the regular league).
Ra Gun-ah, who was selected as a co-excellent player with Heo Woong at the time, mentioned his meaningful wishes and goals in the interview. He said, “I want to win two more championships at KCC before I retire.” Ra Gun-ah’s current contract period is until May. Even if the “two wins” he mentioned included wins this season, it can be interpreted that he expressed his desire to play for KCC for one more season.
Even if the association with KCC ends at the end of this season, it is also an expression of his will to continue his active career, whether he moves to another team or not. In fact, there are controversies over Laguna’s age, skills decline, and contribution to team play, but the general opinion is that there will be no problem in extending his active duty considering his recent skills that seem to be “rejuvenating.”
Amid this development, the question that comes to mind is whether Seo can surpass Jang-hoon. Seo’s record for most goals has been considered unprecedented since the KBL league was launched in 1997. Since Seo retired after the 2012-2013 season, no Korean player came close to the record. Fortunately, Ra Gun-ah, unlike other foreign players who came and left, gained Korean nationality as an outstanding talent in sports in 2018, so he stayed with the team for a long time and was the only player to surpass Seo.
Mathematically speaking, it’s not impossible at all. Seo Jang-hoon has scored 13,231 points with an average of 19.2 in 688 regular-league games over 16 seasons. In his 13th season, Laguna is averaging 18.6 points in 592 games.
Ra Gun-ah’s current total score is 2,218 points less than Seo Jang-hoon’s. Based on Ra Gun-ah’s average score, this is a score that needs to be crossed in 116 games. Considering that he has 20 regular league games left this season and a total of 54 games per season, Ra Gun-ah could break the record if he plays two more seasons (excluding the 2023-2024 season).
There are also concerns that Laguna has entered a “fantastic phase” as a player, but the big variable is “no” compared to Seo Jang-hoon’s retirement at the age of 39 and scoring 911.5 points per season in 2009-2010 and 2010-2011, when he was 35-37.
Moreover, Laguna’s mindset has changed significantly recently. “I had a meeting with Ra Gun-ah recently, and she comforted me by saying, ‘I understand the difficulties that the coach can’t express. I will lead by example’,” KCC manager Jeon Chang-jin said. This is his fifth season. “I’ve never seen him look so mature. He’s showing a different side in recent games.”
Still, when it comes to selecting the national team members, he is the one who expressed his determination to wage the last war. Attention is focusing on whether Ra Gun-ah, who is wearing sneakers, will be able to challenge the giant Seo Jang-hoon’s stronghold.
