Preview >> USA vs. South Korea

Oct. 1 • Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic

• Complete Game Notes (PDF)

USA (6-0)
Opponent (3-3)

TV: Live on NBA TV, 9:30 a.m. EDT

In the 2010 World Championship
South Korea finished as the No. 2 seed out of preliminary round Group C with a 2-1 record after a one-point, 61-60 win over Brazil, an 84-69 loss to Spain and a 68-66 overtime victory against Mali. Four players tallied double figures against Brazil, including Kwe Ryong Kim (14), Sunmin Jung (13), Danbi Kim (13) and Yeon Ha Beon (10), and also against Spain, when it was Yeon Ha Beon (23), Jung Eun Park (12), Ji Yoon Kim (11) and Sunmin Jung (10) leading the way. In their overtime win against Mali, three players recorded double digits, including Yeon Ha Beon (21), Kew Ryong Kim (14) and Sumin Jung (12).

In second-round action, South Korea finished as Group F's fourth-place team after it fell 96-65 to Czech Republic and lost to Russia 81-48, but then responded with a narrow 65-64 victory against Japan. In its loss to Czech, the squad received 17 points from Yeon Ha Beon and 12 from Sunmin Jung, while Jung-Ja Sin led with 14 against Russia and Yeon Ha Beon added 10 points. Against Japan, Sunmin Jung was the top scorer with 21 points, followed by Ji Yoon Kim with 14 and Jung Eun Park with 11.

Sept. 23: South Korea 61, Brazil 60 • Stats
Sept. 24: Spain 84, South Korea 69 • Stats
Sept. 25: South Korea 68, Mali 66 (OT) • Stats
Sept. 27: Czech Rep. 96, South Korea 65 • Stats
Sept. 28: Russia 81, South Korea 48 • Stats
Sept. 29: South Korea 65, Japan 64 • Stats

A Little History
South Korea finished 5-2 and claimed the silver medal at the 2009 FIBA Asia Championship to earn its place in the 2010 Worlds. Overall, in 13 World Championship appearances, South Korea is 52-46 (.531). Its best performances came in 1967 and 1979, when the country finished with the silver medal. Most recently, South Korea finished in 15th place with a 2-3 record in the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Brazil.

Against the USA, South Korea is 2-4 overall in World Championship play, losing 91-53 the last time the two teams met in 2002.

Players To Watch
Yeon Beon, a veteran of the 2002 and 2006 World Championships and the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games, is South Korea's leading scoring with 17.4 ppg. to go with her 3.3 rpg. and 3.3 apg. At the 2009 FIBA Asia Championship, she also averaged 17.4 ppg. for her team.

Power forward Jung Sun-Min, at age 35, also is a top performer who American fans may recognize from her 2003 WNBA season with the Seattle Storm. In 2010, she is averaging 11.5 ppg., 5.0 rpg. and 3.3 apg. for South Korea.

Also averaging double-digit points is Jung Eun Park with 10 ppg., 5.3 rpg. and 3.3 apg.

At 20 years old, Danbi Kim is the team's youngest player, and she is averaging 6.2 ppg., 2.5 rpg. and 1.2 apg. Her only other national team experience came in the 2007 FIBA U19 World Championship, when she contributed 5.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg. and 1.3 apg.

Bruno

The Scouting Report
USA Assistant Coach Doug Bruno (DePaul University)
What do you expect to see out of South Korea?
They love to shoot the three, and the love to slow the game down. So, they're going to try to use the shot clock, space the floor, penetrate and kick and shoot threes. Again, their three-point shot is their game.

With three players averaging double figures and their focus on shooting from deep, will they be able to stretch out the USA defense?
We're a tough team to stretch out because of our speed and quickness. I think we could see more zone defense today than we've seen in the entire tournament thus far. I expect them to play a two-three zone.

We haven't faced a two-three zone hardly at all, but I'm sure we've had one in place. Will we be ready to use it?
Absolutely. Coach Auriemma has got a great system, we just haven't had a lot of reps in games using it. I think we'll get some today.

How should we attack them offensively?
We have such a size and quickness advantage, we really have to exploit them with our size, dominate the backboard and get our running game going. Against Australia we had 13 of the best minutes of our tournament, and we have to try and maintain and build on those 13 minutes and build those 13 minutes up to at least 25 and ideally 40 minutes. The object it to get those 13 minutes of great ball to 40 minutes of great ball regardless of who we play.