The defending champions, Anyang, were expected to be weakened by the departure of key players Oh Se-geun (SK), Moon Sung-gon (KT), and Byun Jun-hyung (Commerce). However, they have defied expectations this season and are cruising to a 7-4 record. The team has been able to do this because they don’t rely on a single player, but rather a team effort, based on coach Kim Sang-sik’s motion offense.
One of the driving forces has been the steady play of Devan Maxwell (32, 201 cm). Maxwell signed a seven-week contract with Chung as a temporary replacement for Omari Spellman (26, 203 cm), who went down with a stress fracture in his shin. He played for Chungkwanjang at the 42nd William Jones Cup in August, averaging 18.1 points, 9.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.4 steals and 2.3 blocked shots in seven games, earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
Maxwell’s play continued to exceed expectations after the season opener. In 11 regular-season games, he averaged 8.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.5 blocked shots in 16:18 minutes. He lacks explosive scoring ability, but he has the feeding ability to keep his teammates alive, and he’s a good defender. He splits playing time with Darryl Monroe and has a good synergy with the Korean players.레모나토토 주소
Coach Kim Sang-sik said of Maxwell before the team’s game against Changwon LG in the 2023-2024 regular season at Anyang Gymnasium on Sunday, “He’s fine as a second option. He doesn’t score a lot, but he does a lot of hard work. Even when he’s not scoring, he’s doing more than that. Because Maxwell is not greedy, domestic players have increased their scoring.” He expressed his satisfaction.
Maxwell’s contract runs until the 26th against Wonju DB. As the contract expired, coach Kim Sang-sik was in a quandary: should he keep Maxwell until the end of the season as the team was progressing well, or should he bring back Spellman, who was out of shape after a long break but had a clear strength in scoring. In fact, some clubs that are considering replacing foreign players are waiting for Maxwell to finish his contract with Jung Kwan-jang.
“Maxwell has been in sync since before the season. Spellman, on the other hand, knows the team’s patterns but hasn’t been able to fit in with the new players. With Spellman’s return approaching, I’ve heard some people say, ‘He’s doing well, why don’t you just replace him with Maxwell?’ It’s a difficult decision for a coach to make.” Kim says.
In the end, it came down to Spellman. Spellman averaged 19.9 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 32 minutes and 10 seconds in 51 regular-season games last season. Although his weight has been an issue every season, he was a proven foreign player in the KBL, so it was hard to give up on him.
Coach Kim Sang-sik said, “Spellman is big and has an explosive three-point shot. He’s been keeping up with the players in morning training. He’s also lost a lot of weight. The most important thing is that the shin pain is gone. If that doesn’t happen, we may extend Maxwell’s contract.”