A rare scene came out at the V-League awards ceremony. Kim Jun-woo (23, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance), who won the rookie award, received a bouquet of flowers from Shin Young-seok (37, KEPCO), a senior from another team.
Kim Jun-woo won the Men’s Regular League Rookie Award at the 2022-2023 Dodram V-League Awards Ceremony held at the Grand Hyatt Seoul Grand Ballroom in Yongsan-gu, Seoul on the 10th. Out of 31 reporters’ votes, he received 18 votes, ahead of Lee Hyun-seung (Hyundai Capital) with 13 votes, by 5 votes, and was honored with the Rookie of the Year award, which was only once in his life.
Kim Jun-woo, who graduated from Hongik University, was nominated by Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance in the 3rd place in the first round in this rookie draft. He participated in 35 games this season and played an active role with a 203-point attack success rate of 52.61%, and was recognized for his potential by achieving results such as 6th in blocking (0.543 per set) and 10th in fast break (53.17%).
Kim Jun-woo, who was on the podium, said, “I am grateful to coach Kim Sang-woo and high school and university coaches who believed in me and gave me a chance. I want to express my gratitude to the fans who always believe in me and support me.” He continued, “I think I had the best season because I finished the season well and received a good award,” he smiled broadly.
Kim Jun-woo caught his attention with an exciting rookie award ceremony. As a promise to win the award, he danced the girl group New Jeans’ “High Mouth Boy” without any accompaniment to liven up the atmosphere.
This season, Kim Jun-woo competed with Hyundai Capital setter Lee Hyun-seung for the rookie award. Kim Jun-woo’s Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance was at the bottom of the regular league, and Lee Hyun-seung contributed to Hyundai Capital’s achievements such as second place in the regular league and runner-up in the championship match. However, Kim Jun-woo (35 games) was evaluated as being ahead of Lee Hyun-seung (26 games) in participating games and won the rookie award.
Kim Jun-woo, who came into the interview room after the awards ceremony, hinted that he had beaten Lee Hyun-seung to win the Rookie of the Year award, saying, “I also thought (the odds) were about half-and-half.” He continued, “I think it was helpful for me to show my progress as the rounds went by.”
Kim Jun-woo, who was a middle blocker, showed rapid growth under the guidance of Samsung Fire & Marine Manager Kim Sang-woo. He said, “I was slow when I first came to the pro, but it was helpful to try to resemble the coach’s active days.” He continued, “Personally, I was not satisfied this season, but I will work hard during the off-season and show a better image next year.”
It is rare to receive congratulations from players from other teams at awards ceremonies. However, Kim Jun-woo drew attention by receiving a bouquet of flowers from KEPCO’s veteran middle blocker Shin Young-seok at the podium.
In response, Kim Jun-woo said, “I had a brief conversation with senior Shin Young-seok before the awards ceremony,” and “He said that it would be nice for a middle blocker to receive an award after a long time.” He then promised, “I will try to become a player like Shin Young-seok.”
Shin Young-seok is a player who left a strong mark as a middle blocker in the V-League. In the 2009-2010 season, he became the first middle blocker to win the rookie award, and in the 2017-2018 season, he became the first middle blocker to win the MVP (Most Valuable Player) award. Kim Jun-woo became the first middle blocker to win the rookie award 13 years after Shin Young-seok.
This season,토스카지노 Shin Yeong-seok broke KEPCO coach Lee Seon-gyu’s record for the most individual blocks (1054) and took first place (1146) in this category. Through this performance, he was selected in the Best 7 Middle Blocker category and won his 7th award in his personal career.
Shin Young-seok, who stood on the podium, expressed his feelings, “I achieved my goal beyond Coach Lee Seon-kyu’s record this season, and it became someone’s dream.” He continued, “I will work harder next year to become a senior who is not ashamed of the juniors who are looking at their dreams.”
On this day, Kim Jun-woo received 2 million won in prize money for the rookie award. When asked by reporters where he plans to spend the prize money, he said, “I intend to eat delicious food with my teammates and spend it for the brothers and the team.”