After the NCAA Tournament Final Four concludes, the two teams that advance to the championship game are granted a short rest period. The championship game is set for the Alamodome in San Antonio!
Once both teams arrived in San Antonio and checked into the hotels pre-arranged by the NCAA, media from around the world began to make their moves.
🇰🇷 Exclusive Interview: Jinwoo
ESPN and TNT Television planned to start their championship special coverage with Villanova University.
The two television stations could first use a brief amount of time and space to introduce Villanova University. Then, they would dedicate more time to an exclusive interview with the powerhouse team, the Kentucky Wildcats.
However, for the media from Korea, there was only one team they needed to interview: the Kentucky Wildcats. As for Villanova University? Naturally, there was no need to interview them!
A Korean media team arrived at the hotel where the Kentucky Wildcats were staying.
Jinwoo, after all, was the first Korean player in the history of the country's basketball to reach the NCAA Tournament finals as a team's core.
He would undoubtedly follow in the footsteps of great international players to enter the NBA in the future.
The Korean media set the interview location at the venue of the NCAA Tournament championship game—the Alamodome!
"Jinwoo, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Mr. Kim from KBC Sports!"
With Jinwoo's first meeting with major Korean media, this exclusive interview program with an NCAA player, the first in the history of Korean basketball, officially began!
After some brief pleasantries, the interviewer quickly got to the point: "Jinwoo, as a Korean player living in the American college basketball scene, have you ever encountered any unfair treatment?"
"Unfair treatment certainly exists..."
Jinwoo's answer was very direct: "But I really haven't encountered any discriminatory remarks. Aside from livening up the atmosphere in the locker room, I haven't encountered any unfair treatment."
To be honest, aside from offering a few passionate performances in the locker room, Jinwoo truly hadn't encountered discrimination.
"Jinwoo, can you tell us if you felt any pressure when facing Deandre Ayton and Trae Young, two hot prospects for the number one pick, during the NCAA Tournament?"
"There's definitely pressure, but I don't think the pressure they put on me is that significant..."
"..."
Jinwoo chatted very smoothly with the Korean media. He answered all questions directly, without any beating around the bush or concealment.
🏆 Villanova's Challenge
Meanwhile, at the hotel where Villanova University was staying, Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, Mikal Bridges, and Eric Paschall, among others, all accepted pre-championship interviews from ESPN and TNT.
The attention Villanova University received this year fluctuated.
Before the Kentucky Wildcats and Duke Blue Devils Final Four game, Villanova University had already eliminated their opponent and advanced to the championship game. At that time, it was the peak of Villanova University's popularity for the entire season.
However... with the Kentucky Wildcats eliminating Duke University, Villanova University instantly became an afterthought.
And Jinwoo and Alexander of the Kentucky Wildcats became the hot topic of discussion among media and fans. Some fans even began discussing whether Jinwoo would become this year's top pick. This completely disregarded Villanova University!
"We are well aware that fans all over the world are looking forward to the Kentucky Wildcats lifting their 9th championship trophy in team history."
"But unfortunately, they will find it very difficult to stop us from winning the championship!"
So what if the whole world is expecting you to win the championship?
I just love to achieve a comeback in such an underestimated situation!
It wasn't just Jalen Brunson who thought this way. The entire Villanova University team approached their exclusive interviews with ESPN and TNT Television with this mindset.
Except for Villanova University Head Coach Jay Wright!
"People seem to have misunderstood the essence of college basketball!"
The Villanova University head coach, who was being interviewed by TNT Television, shook his head and sighed: "The biggest difference between the NCAA and the NBA is that here, star players don't call the shots!"
"We have the best team roster in this league!"
As Coach Wright said, aside from Alexander and Jinwoo, the Kentucky Wildcats had no other player who could consistently pose a threat to them on offense.
In contrast, Villanova University's roster was entirely made up of potential NBA-level players:
* Point guard Jalen Brunson
* Sixth man super scorer Donte DiVincenzo
* Small forward Mikal Bridges
* Power forward Eric Paschall
* Center Omari Spellman
The depth of Villanova University's roster was also widely believed to be the reason they were able to reach the final championship game!
And in Coach Wright's view:
The NBA might advocate for individual heroism.
But the NCAA Tournament places more emphasis on teamwork!
Take, for example, teams with two hot prospects for the number one pick. Arizona State University, apart from Deandre Ayton, had mostly role players. The situation was similar at the Oklahoma Sooners; apart from Trae Young, all other players were also role players. They had the two hottest super players in this year's draft. However, their overall team level was low, which was also why they couldn't go further.
"I would never deny the excellence of Jinwoo and SGA; they are both hot prospects in this year's draft."
At the end of the interview, Coach Wright emphasized again: "But college basketball is a team game, and relying solely on the two of them is completely unfeasible!"
"The Kentucky Wildcats have obvious weaknesses, while we do not!"
"Therefore... I can't think of any reason why we would lose to the Kentucky Wildcats."
The highlights from the 2018 National Championship game: Villanova v. Michigan showcases Villanova's dominant team performance. 2018 National Championship game: Villanova v. Michigan