Korea face up-hill battle versus own history

Korea have not been to the Olympics since 1996. And the Asians will face a difficult struggle to get to London 2012 – and will have to overcome their own history to make the Summer Games again.

Korea’s last three Olympic showings – of six total – all came with a form of home court advantage. Both in 1968 and 1996, the Koreans finished second in the FIBA Asian Championship on their home soil the summer before to qualify for the Olympics. And of course the nation’s capital Seoul hosted the 1988 Summer Games , giving the host Koreans an automatic berth.

Their other three Olympics appearances came in 1964 , 1956 and 1948 . ; The Asians missed out on the 2008 Beijing Games by losing both of their games in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament against Slovenia and Canada.

This time around, head coach Jae Hur’s Koreans were drawn into Group C with Russia and Dominican Republic . And it’s clear that Russia will be a monstrous wall for Korea to climb – especially considering that their last Olympics or FIBA World Championship win over a European team came 64 years ago at the 1948 Olympics against Belgium.

Korean players will have to look past their overall international history to return to the Olympic stage. Their only Worlds or Olympics victories over a non-Asian or African nation since the Belgium win came at the 1970 FIBA World Championship with two victories over Canada and Australia.

Any chances for Korea to advance from the qualifying event will most likely relay on their naturalized American forward Tae Jong Moon, previously known as Jarod Stevenson. The 36-year-old may have lost a step or two, but the 6-foot-7 forward still is Hur’s main all-around leader, averaging a team-high 13.3 points as well as 6.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 steals at the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship, including a huge block on Philippines center Marcus Douthit in the bronze medal game to clinch a spot in Venezuela.

Another key figure in the Korean game is 6-foot-9 power forward Joo Sung Kim , who is a strong presence and efficient player in the low post. The 32-year-old Kim has a versatile game which was displayed by his 7.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.1 blocks at the 2011 Asian Championship. Kim also brings the Koreans a wealth of experience, which includes three short appearances as an 18-year-old for Korea at the 1998 FIBA World Championship – the country’s last international tournament.

The 28-year-old small forward Songmin Cho is also taking more of a leadership role in the team as he showed with 20 points in the 2011 bronze medal game against the Philippines , including the decisive steal and free throw with six seconds remaining.

Hur’s team also has some good size with Joo Sung Kim , 6-foot-10 Jong Kyu Kim , 6-foot-7 Sekeun Oh and 7-foot-3 Seung Jin Ha . The former NBA center Ha is still only 26 years old and can dominate games at both ends when he’s healthy. And his health will likely be a critical factor as few players in the world can defend players with Ha’s size.

But Korea absolutely must have top notch showings from their backcourt, meaning Donggeun Yang and Jung-Suk Lee will be called upon to step up their games. But the fact that Yang is 5-foot-11 and Lee is 6-foot-0 could be a factor against the taller backcourts around the world.

If Hur can get a top level performance from all of his players at the same time Korea may have a chance to buck their own historic trend.