Seoul SK Knights head coach Jeon Hee-chul has made it clear that his squad must push the tempo and avoid static play when they face the Anyang Jeonggwanjang Red Boosters on Oct. 20 at Jamsil Students’ Gymnasium in the 2026-2027 KCC Professional  Basketball regular season.

Opening Weekend Lessons and the Red Boosters’ Frontcourt Absence

The SK Knights opened their league campaign on Oct. 18 after the FIBA BCL Asia tournament was canceled. In that opening outing, SK dropped a decision to Goyang Sono, surrendering a high volume of three-pointers along the way. Now, Jeon’s group looks to secure its first victory of the season against an Anyang side playing without injured import forward Jon Mooney, who is sidelined with a knee injury.

Jeon acknowledged that the late confirmation of Mooney’s absence leaves little room for radical tactical shifts. “We didn’t know in advance, so we can’t change many things. We’ll do what we prepared,” Jeon said. “Because Mooney isn’t there, the opponent will likely use a lot of unconventional zone and variable defenses, and we need to prepare for that.”

Transition Speed and Inside Domination

Anyang enters the matchup holding the league’s top spot in assists while conceding the fewest helpers to opponents, boasting disciplined team defensive schemes. Jeon stressed that simple half-court sets will not break down that resistance.

“The opponent is currently first in assists and minimum assists allowed, and their defensive assignments are well-organized,” Jeon said. “Therefore, we shouldn’t play simple  basketball; we must play moving basketball. We need to play offense better than we play defense, and only then will our defense improve.”

To exploit Anyang’s lack of a traditional interior anchor in Mooney’s absence, SK plans to push the pace off defensive rebounds and capitalize on transition opportunities.

“If Wanry and Hicks play together in the second and third quarters, we must dominate the inside,” Jeon said. “If we don’t, we can’t win. We must be able to attack before the opposing defense gets set through tempo pushes.”