U.S.-born player on unified Korean hoops team all about name on front of jersey

Han-Byul Kim

To Han-Byul Kim (178-G/F-86, college: Indiana), a U.S.-born half-Korean player on the unified women's basketball team at the Asian Games in Jakarta, the name on the front of the jersey is far more important than which side of the border the players come from. Kim, born Kimberly Roberson to a Korean mother and an American father in Indiana, is one of eight South Korean players on the joint team competing in Jakarta, joined by three North Koreans. "To me, if you wear the same jersey as me, it doesn't matter. We're all the same team," said Kim, who received her South Korean citizenship through special naturalization in 2011. "Whether it's North Korea or South Korea, I am just excited for the opportunity." Kim, a product of Indiana University, has been one of Korea's top offensive weapons in Jakarta. She averaged 19 points and 6.5 rebounds over the past two games, but during Korea's 104-54 rout of India, Kim only played 14 minutes and scored nine points on 4-of-4 shooting. Head coach Lee Moon-kyu rested more of his regulars and got all six reserves into the lopsided win. So far, Korea has had two blowout wins -- it beat Indonesia 108-40 last Wednesday -- and suffered an 87-85 overtime loss to Chinese Taipei last Friday. Kim said there are things to be gained from both types of games. "A tough loss is good because a close game will help us in the future," she said. "The blowouts get us rhythm, and we can try to work on stuff we need to work on. It's not hard to stay focused (in lopsided games)." South Korea is the defending Asian Games champion in women's basketball, but North Korea has never won a medal in the event. And Kim said there won't be an easy game on the road to the podium this time. "Everybody is a hard opponent. We have to take every game seriously and try to make sure we do what we're supposed to do and not worry about them," she said. "We've got to focus on ourselves."
Courtesy of: yonhapnews.co.kr