Veteran Elephant smashes KBL record

Seo Jang-hoon of the ET Land Elephants set a milestone by becoming the first player in the history of the Korean Basketball League to surpass the 11,000-point mark.

The 35-year-old center chipped in with 16 points on a Wednesday night win against the SK Knights and in the process, reached 11,009 points in his career.

In winning the game 79-76, the Elephants were able to muster their first two consecutive wins of the season. However, Seo wasn’t in a celebratory mood as his team is in last place with a record of three wins and 14 losses.

The Elephants recently broke out of a 13-game losing skid and Seo addressed the fans with an apologetic message in a post-game interview.

“I want to apologize to the team, my teammates and the fans in Incheon,” Seo said. “It’s my first season after getting married in May and I feel dreadful. Due to the poor start to the season, the atmosphere at home is not much better.”

Seo married KBS announcer Oh Jung-yeon in May this year.

Losing record or not, Seo’s milestone is a big accomplishment. Seo broke into the league in the 1998-99 season and reached the 11,000 point mark in his 12th season. This means Seo averaged 1,000 points per season over the past decade.

Despite consistently being tabbed as one of the best centers in the league, Seo has been the target of criticism for the Elephants’ poor start.

Although no one doubts Seo’s scoring abilities, his critics have pointed to his lack of speed and poor defense this season. Seo has not deflected any of the blame and for his part has stated on numerous occasions that it was only natural for the star player to receive much of the blame.

What bothers Seo most is not the criticisms; but his pride has been sorely stung. Seo has yet to have failed to make it to the postseason in his career.

At this point, it remains to be seen whether ET Land can turn things around and advance to the playoffs.

Having won two of its past games, ET Land is showing positive signs. Rashad Bell and Lee Hyun-ho, who were acquired in a trade from KT&G Kites earlier this month, as well as Lee Sang-jun are starting to play well.

Seo remained positive and stated the Elephants were due for a good break.

By Lee Eun-kyung [jason@joongang.co.kr]