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The following was taken directly from Deadjournalist.com thanks to Chuck Norton:

Written on January 16, 2011 at 9:23 AM by Chuck Norton Exclusive Interview: Rod Benson Filed under Interviewsone comment

Rod Benson

Exclusive Interview: Rod Benson
January 16, 2011
by: Chuck Norton

The first thing I want you to do is take the stereotype that you might have of a professional basketball player and toss it out the window.

Yes, Rod Benson is a professional basketball player. But if you were to remove that title his bio, the rest of what makes up the resume for this 20-something would read: Writer, Entrepreneur, Social Media Expert, Graphic Designer, Marketer and Clothing Designer.

You see, Benson is a modern Renaissance man.

As a writer, he was a regular contributor to Yahoo! Sports’ Ball Don’t Lie section and was a guest-writer for SLAM Magazine. He has – with the exception of most of 2010 – been a blogger with a significant internet following. He was featured in ESPN the Magazine and in the E:60 television series.

The writing is only a scratch on the surface of who he is. Benson also created a lifestyle brand – you could also call it a marketing movement – called “Boom Tho!” in 2006. It was picked up by Pony, who produced a shoe and apparel, before Benson took back over control and design of his brand.

What exactly is Boom Tho? According to his Web site, it is defined as: “adv. 1: an occurrence of an uncommonly good thing. 2. an exclamation or show of excitement.” With apparel, a mascot dubbed “Mr. Boom Tho!” and videos, its foot-hold has grown beyond its California roots to resonate globally – helped in part by Benson’s travels as an athlete.

Mr. Boom Tho!

What of basketball? After spending the several years in pre-season camps with several different NBA teams and playing in the NBA’s D-League and in Europe, Benson – a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley – decided to head to Asia and play basketball professionally in South Korea. He’s playing this season for Wonju Dongbu Promy where he is having an All-Star season.

The success Benson has found as a blogger and underground media darling has actually been detrimental to his ability to grab a foothold in the NBA. Concerns by teams about his “other career” seems to have impacted him more negatively than if he had off-the-court issues.

It’s an ironic juxtaposition that someone who has the ability to connect to a generation of fans whose primary – of not only – source of news and marketing is based on social media has been penalized by his success in the social media arena.

Despite his ancillary endeavors, Benson’s primary focus – and his love – is still basketball. So much so that he gave up blogging and writing upon the request of a recent NBA suitor to show his seriousness about basketball.

But now, he’s back blogging. Benson is one of the more engaging people you will come across. He also seems to be coming to a new level of understanding about himself and his career.

As you’ll see in this interview, as much as Benson is an athlete, he’s actually an artist. He just happens to be an artist in a 6′ 10″ frame.

For more information on Rod Benson, visit his Web site TooMuchRodBenson.com or follow him on Twitter@boomtho.

DeadJournalist.com brings you this exclusive interview with Rod Benson.

Outside of basketball, how have you enjoyed living in South Korea? Were the political tensions with North Korea cause for second thoughts?

RB: South Korea is a good place to live. There are plenty of Americans who decide to live here and enjoy the Asian ways. The North Korea thing always seems to get my friends back home more worried than the people here. You would think North Korea doesn’t exist if you talked to the locals.

Rod Benson

What has been the biggest cultural differences you’ve experienced both on and off the court?

RB: The Korean culture is based on Confucianism so it carries a lot of weight both on and off the court. You have to be respectful of people by getting their attention the right way, bowing, shaking hands properly, even accepting gifts with both hands.

On the court, these traditions make it a little difficult to communicate with the referees. Let’s just say I lead the league in Technical fouls and I’m still not sure why.

Besides the physical separation from friends and family, what do you miss most about living outside of North America? What’s been the best part about South Korea?

RB: I’m a true Californian, so I miss almost everything. There’s nothing like Jamba Juice and In-N-Out for lunch, at the roof top pool, with absolutely no responsibilities. Everything about the previous sentence contradicts my Korean lifestyle.

The best part about Korea is how nice and helpful people are. People are willing to help you, smile, and see you through to the end of your task. You don’t have to worry about a-holes out here.

What’s been the toughest part of your professional career so far? Conversely, what has been the biggest highlight?

RB: The toughest part was my rookie season, right in the beginning. I didn’t know what my game was as a pro, so the time spent finding out was a low point. Basketball is all about confidence, if you don’t have it or can’t fake it, you’re not gonna be happy.

The highlight was playing in Beijing with the Indiana Pacers. I had my career best game and got the sell-out crowd super hyped, even though I was a bench player.

During the season, how do you keep your mind and body in shape to handle the day-to-day rigors of the game, travel and stress?

RB: The mind is easy, when I’m not on the court, I generally don’t think about it. I have a clothing line I’m trying to put together, that takes up the majority of my free time on a daily basis.

The body needs rest to be at it’s best, but part of that rest is light weight lifting. When you muscles get weak, they fatigue more quickly. This season I’ve done a good job of getting both.

There’s been a good bit written about some leagues – we won’t mention them by name – who may be concerned by your success and gift as a writer. Given what is often overlooked by leagues and organizations when it comes to the off-the-court behavior of athletes, I assume that has to frustrate you immensely?

RB: It did in the past, but I’m at peace with it now. Worrying is like a rocking chair, you go back and forth, but it’s not gonna get you anywhere. The writing has provided me a lot more than one year in the NBA ever would have.

You’ve been open about your love for the game of basketball. Was there a point, as a kid, where you realized that you might have a shot to play professionally? Whose game did you admire growing up?

RB: I’d be willing to bet that 80-percent of kids think they can play professionally. When I wasn’t even that good at any sport, my 5th grade teacher brought my mom in for a conference and told her that I should develop as an athlete. My mom still regards this as the worst meeting of all time.

I, like most of the “Space Jam” generation, admired Jordan. Still, as my game developed, I preferred to emulate Kevin Garnett. A skinny guy who could maximize his body? Just my style.

As a writer, you’ve been featured on/in numerous publications. Do you think, after you’ve hung up your kicks, that you’ll pursue a career in some form of media? Is there someone in the media whose skills you admire?

RB: I’ve been able to develop a lot of skills off the court. I figure I’ll end up doing something that makes good use of a lot of those skills.

I admire bloggers quite a bit, because they’re breaking into journalism the hard way. They have to be good, then they work their way up and become contributors and columnists. It’s kind of like the starving musician.

My company has actually decided that we’re going to sponsor bloggers as part of our marketing. Forget skaters and baseball players, we want the cool kids of the internet wearing our stuff. Haha, we’ll see if it works.

Have any other athletes turned writers – guys like Paul Shirley and Doug Glanville – reached out to you to offer advice?

RB: Paul Shirley emailed me a long time ago. I don’t exactly remember what he said. I think that I got started early enough to have developed along side these guys, rather than under their wing. Still, they’re some interesting reads, along with old school Gilbert Arenas.

You were one of the first professional athletes to embrace technology and social media as both a creative outlet and as a way to market yourself and your brand. Was this an intentional directive on your part or was it a positive outcome of the success of the “Boom Tho” movement?

RB: Man, I was embracing social media and tech way before all of this. I made a Web site to ask a girl to prom back in high school. In 2001, that was unheard of. She was already asked. Sucks.

Anyway, I think everything is just a natural outcome of being an early adapter. The first people to buy into the trends are usually the people who grow with the medium.

Now that everyone’s tweeting, the NBA says “go ahead, market yourself” but it feels forced. When I got in, it was just me and I always kept it real. So my brand was an outcome of that persona that I developed online.

How much pride you do have in the success of Boom Tho? Did you expect it to take hold like it did?

RB: I have a lot of pride in it. Most basketball players know all about it, which is a cool thing. In fact, I’d bet that there’s at least one guy on every NBA team that has had some direct contact with Boom Tho. It’s a blessing that a theme based on my lifestyle has become so popular. I want to go to my high school reunion and have a sign made that says “Boom Tho — Suck It.” That might show ‘em.

Are you working on any new promotions or enhancement to your Web site and Web store? How much of a hand to you have in the design of the site and products offered?

RB: Well we’re developing our summer and winter lines for 2011, which will include a lot more than just T-Shirts. In doing so, we will need to change around the Web site and make it more retailer friendly. I do personally handle 100-percent of what the people see.

I do the Web site, design the clothes, produce videos, all of it. It’s hard work right now, but I’ve got the time, and I’ve got the drive to take it beyond a novelty fan T-shirt store, to a full clothing line. Someone’s gotta do it, right? My business partners handle a lot of the sales and administrative stuff behind the scenes.

Athlete are rarely considered artists; but it wouldn’t be a far reach to describe you as an artist. Do you consider yourself an artist even in your athletic endeavors? Or are you just Rod Benson and let the people think what they will?

RB: I’m definitely an artist. Art is original creation. Art takes inspiration from sources in a persons life and transforms them into a medium that relates to a broader audience. I do both of those things.

I make funny music all the time. I do graphic design literally every day. I think of new and exciting ways to keep the crowd entertained on the court so that my value as a basketball player continues to grow. I do these things because I enjoy doing them, so at the end of the day it is just me.

Shifting to music; who have you been listening to in the last few months? Who are you go-to artists when you need some inspiration?

RB: I’m all over on the music game. My most listened to new CD’s I got were Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Kid Cudi – Man on the Moon II, Vampire Weekend – Contra, J. Cole – Friday Night Lights and Sara Bareilles – Kaleidoscope Heart.

I also play a lot of Florence + The Machine. I met them on Halloween, 2009, at a Hollywood hotel while I was wearing my Mr. Boom Tho mascot costume. They invited me up to their room, where I shared drinks with Florence.

See, I didn’t know who there were, I was just hyped to go to an after-party with a cute girl. Then one of them handed me a CD and says they were on Jimmy Kimmel. I didn’t believe them because in Hollywood, everyone’s got a story.

Four days later I find the cracked CD case in my pocket while doing laundry, open it and play it. My life has been musically altered ever since.

Is there an artist that you have been recommending to your friends?

RB: I have a friend who only listens to Gucci Mane and OJ Da Juiceman. He’s white, so it’s hilarious. I suggest all kinds of artists to him, and he always replies the same way: “That’s whack.”

Finally I told him he had to hear the La Roux “In For The Kill – Skream’s Let’s Get Ravey Remix”. He loved it. He’s been opening up a little ever since.

To whom were you listening to in 2001?

RB: In 2001 I was all about Dr. Dre, Eminem, Ludacris, Juvenile and Nelly. The thing was, I went to an all white school, so I always wanted to show how “black” I was by only listening to the most gangsta of the gangsta. Sixteen-year-old reasoning is not very strong.

What Web sites do you read on a regular basis?

RB: I follow CNN, Slate and HoopsHype on twitter, so they get a lot of my attention.

One Drink. One Album. One Movie.

Vodka. Straight.

Eminem – The Slim Shady L.P.

“Old School.”

TOOMUCHRODBENSON.com

Boomthoshop.com

to Toomuchrodbenson.com

Thats all folks.

Someone reminded me of some of the old stuff and called it classic. I decided to revisit some of these posts every so often as to keep people informed about the origins of The Movement.

So, the first All Star Entry: Dont Make Me Punch You in the Balls... Again.

Go back to see the previous dunk from a month ago. This is from New Years Eve.

Everyone thinks they have incredible pictures. I think they're wrong. I think I'm right. Boom.

We'll begin with the toilet. It's not normal and I'll tell you why: It has a button that you press that makes the toilet emit an incredibly loud annoying sound. Why? So no one can hear you taking a dookie. Best part of this whole deal? It's a women's bathroom... In Tokyo.

Hey, guys... How about a peace sign? Tokyo again.

Desmon Farmer can score. Apparently he can also dance-skate. What he can't do is claim to be a thug ever again. At least until he beats me up for posting this.

My little brother clearly has the eagle-eye on. "Hide ya wife, hide ya kids..."

"The plan was, to drink until the pains over, but what's worse, the pain or the hangover?" Gotta love Malibu.

Believe it or not, we had just come from a kickball game. We won.

...At 2 PM...

...At 4PM. I had the best draft suit of all time. OK, maybe #2 behind Samaki Walker.

It's not at all unusual find people asleep in a pool of their own vomit when you're in asia.

Remember folks, you can go back to earlier posts to see where I began my Pacers journey...

Day 5

Today was media day here in Indianapolis. That meant that there were a ton of pictures, interview, and interactions. I was just hoping I didn’t look too messed up from my lack of sleep, even after a hearty night in a hotel. My body clock was not at all adjusted to eastern standard time.

Before the media festivities began, I had to sign my contract. The two other training camp invitees and I were lead into an office, and then one by one into a smaller room. When my time came, I was a little overwhelmed. I guess I just didn’t expect to see Larry Bird in there waiting for me.

Mr. Bird and the GM David Morway were both seated at a table that had the contracts placed on it. I sat down, and they told me where to sign. It’s funny signing a contract that essentially means nothing. It’s bittersweet to know that you’re signing a contract for an NBA team, but also that it’s the same as practicing your signature on a blank piece of paper in the 9^th grade. It an even odder feeling handing these papers to Larry Bird afterward so he can sign them. If I don’t make the team, maybe I should ask for the contracts back so I can have three copies of Larry Bird’s signature intentionally written on the same piece of paper as mine. I could white out a lot of the contract words and replace them with “Rod Benson is awesome. Sign below if you agree with the previous statement.”

After my future collector’s items (the contracts) were signed, I was poised to make a graceful exit, but there was another matter to be handled. David Morway announced that there was something else.

“Rod, we understand you’re a blogger. I’ve seen it. I think it’s good,” he started. “The thing is, here in town weve been dealing with a lot of issues in the past few years as far as our public image and our community perception. That’s not to say that you say bad things on your blog, it’s normal 25 year-old stuff on there. But to be safe, we thing it’s best that you take it down while you’re here. Your twitter page too.

The NBA is working on a policy to handle all of this stuff, and it would just be best that you take it down if it’s not too much effort to do so. You know, I took a look at your twitter page and it said something about a gun, and those things can be perceived the wrong way here. I assume you were talking about the rebounding machine, but still, you get the point?”

“Yea, I was talking about the rebounding machine. I had taken a picture of it too, but I guess it didn’t upload, so a couple of people commented with anti-suicide messages. I get the point. I can definitely take all of it down, no problem,” I answered.

“If it’s not too diffi-“

Larry Bird interrupted Mr. Morway.

“Yea it wont be too much for him to do it, I don’t think. Right? Rod you just gotta understand we had guys out here involved in real gun fights. We’re just working to make sure we have quality guys here and provide a quality image that the community will appreciate,” he said.

“Yea. No problem,” I told them both.

We stood up and shook hands. I walked out of the room and took a minute to collect myself. Larry Bird just asked me to stop blogging. It was such an unexpected five minutes, to say the least. Truth be told, I had always expected someone to ask me to give it up in the name of the team. It was something I had been prepared to do for quite some time, actually. And, to be honest, I didn’t really want the pressure of updating the fans while in Indy anyways. Their request was welcomed. I can just focus on hoops now.

Life is funny sometimes when you realize that something has come full circle. I started toomuchrodbenson.com just over three years ago and today, it came to its end. Well, it aint dead, but it’s at least in a coma. When I think about its conception and birth, I realize how different the circumstances are.

I haven’t really told many people the real reason that I started TMRB back in the day. When I think about its beginning, it makes its end so much more meaningful to myself as a man.

It was the summer of 2006. I had just come off of a very disappointing senior year at Cal. It was supposed to be the one where I defined myself and carved out a place in the NBA draft, but I got injured before the season, then again midway through the season and was never the same player I was the year before. That was extremely tough to deal with. One game, I played so badly, including a costly turnover in the last minute, that I cried in the locker room for the first time in my life. Basketball wise, it was as low as I had ever been.

After the season, I had to actively pursue agents, because nobody would really help me. I ended up signing with Bill Neff, who is still my agent today, partially because he was partners with a guy names Gus Armstead. Gus trains players in Sacramento, so I would still be close to the bay area, my girlfriend at the time, and my friends. I would also get to play against some great competition while I trained for NBA pre-draft workouts.

I ended up only doing 3 workouts, two of them for the Sacramento Kings. The second one, I really impressed them, and they invited me to play in the summer league with them. It felt like I might be starting to return to my old form, with Gus’ help and the intense training.

It was now time for summer league to begin. I showed up at the practice facility with all my bags. We were going to have a three hour practice, then hop on a plane and fly to Vegas. Man I was so hyped. My girl was going to meet me in Vegas. My boys were gonna come out and watch a game or two. My mom had booker her room at the Tropicana hotel (I never knew why she liked that spot). The pieces were all in order.

After the practice, we were all headed to the locker room. On the way, coach Eric Musselman called two other guys and me over. One of the other guys I knew because he was a really good college player and we had the same jersey number. His name was Odarty Blankson. I didn’t know the other guy. It didn’t really matter. Coach Musselman wasted no time in telling us that we wouldn’t be needed.

We didn’t quite understand, at first, but it became clear that we would not be travelling to Las Vegas with the team. I remember feeling equally as devastated as that day I cried after the game. We wandered into the locker room and watched everyone else get dressed and eventually leave on the team bus on the way to the airport.

I had to sit there for hours, literally, alone in the locker room, because I didn’t have a ride arranged and it took a while for someone to be able to pick me up. I felt every piece of my dignity floating away each time the security guard came by and checked on me.

Yes, I’m still here. Jerk.

While I was there waiting, I got a text message from my boy Sam asking if I would be in San Francisco that night. I guess he was one of the few people I hadn’t bragged about my Vegas trip to. He had no idea where I supposed to be. I told him that I could be in San Francisco if there was a good reason. I had nothing else to do.

He explained that a band that he had attended high school with was playing that night and that I should come check them out. He said that they had been pretty successful and that they were really good. Months later I would hear their single on “Smallville.”

I had never been to a rock concert before, so I thought it could be cool. Essentially, I saw it like this: at this point I was no different from any other unemployed 21 year old with problems in this country. A wild party is how kids like that wash away their problems. It’s not like I could see my girl because she was in Eugene, Oregon, staying with her family because it was summer time. Sam provided my only potential outlet for my issues.

When my ride finally came to whisk me away from ARCO Arena, I had them take me to the train station. I was going to San Francisco to let my problems drain away in a river of Smirnoff.

I know you’re thinking: “What does this have to do with TMRB?”

Trust me it’s coming.

Sam and I arrived at some hole in the wall looking spot in San Francisco that I had never been to. We had some drinks and watched the band play. He was right. They were really good. I think a part of me accepted rock music into my life that night.

After the show, we went back stage to kick it with the band. They were as cool as their music was good. We talked about a million things, drank many drinks, and had a ton of laughs. I had completely forgotten that they all, Sam included, went to the same high school as my girlfriend. It seemed like we were all connected long before this night was ever conceived. If it wasn’t the talk about music, it was the talk about hoops, or it was the taco run at 5AM, or the random vehicles we rode in all night. It was kind of a blur. The only real thing I remember was Sam taking off at 2AM. He had to do something early in the morning. Whatever.

I woke up in some loft in the city, wrapped in a sleeping bag. When I looked around the room, the band was there, all over the place, half asleep. They were awaking as the sunlight crept into the room just the same as I was. I had no idea where the two women in the room had come from. All of it seemed to scream “good night.”

It was earlier in the morning than I thought. It was close to 8. We had only had a couple hours of sleep. Hangovers were nowhere to be found, because to be hungover, you need to be sober first. Im sure we weren’t yet. We were laughing and putting together the pieces of the night that was. I couldn’t believe I was still there, with them, when I was supposed to be in Vegas that day, playing in the NBA summer league.

They started to get ready to leave. Apparently, they had to drive back up to Eugene that day to prepare for another show. We started laughing again about how my girlfriend went to the same high school as them. Craziness. It was even crazier that they were going up there at that moment. Wouldn’t it be funny if I just surprised her by showing up with them? Man how funny would that be?

The jokes and questions started becoming dares and suggestions. Then, before I knew it, I was in their van riding up the Interstate on my way to Eugene. We couldn’t stop laughing and joking about how funny this all was.

Six hours later, I was sober, tired, and asking myself why I had decided to do this. It was shaping up to be a terrible idea. I didn’t know these guys, really. The ride was going to take like 13 hours, and I had completely forgotten that the Oregon Country Fair was going on, and that she would be ‘locked’ in the woods for days. I couldn’t even reach her on her phone when I wanted to let the cat out of the bag.

I arrived in Eugene with no real aim as to where to go. Luckily, I knew some other friends of Sam who let me stay with them while I waited for the Fair to be done. Those few days seemed like weeks. I had to tell my mom and friends that I was not in Las Vegas, like they thought I was, but that I was in Eugene, OR, with no specific game plan on how to get back.

Finally, on the fourth day, Leah called me up. It seemed like only minutes later she was there to pick me up and take me to her parents house. Even though she had known for days that I was in town, she was still surprised to see me. It was like she had found out that the rumors were true.

We sat on the couch, awkwardly, and watched “A Beautiful Mind.” When it ended, I got close to her. She finally opened her mouth:

“So, we’re just friends. Right?”

I’m pretty sure I had the dumbest look my face can register. All I could muster was “I guess so.”

We sat there in silence for five more minutes before she took me back to Sam’s friends house. We didn’t say a word. Just like that, it was over. My pointless journey that began as a trip to Vegas with the Kings, ended with an awkward breakup in Eugene.

It took me two days to arrange a flight out of town, but when I did, it was cheaper to catch the train to Portland and fly from there, so that’s what I did. On that train ride, the weight of all my recent losses caught up to me. It really felt like I had nothing left to be taken away from me. No girl, team, or future, my immediate past wasn’t too hot either. It felt like stepping on a nail, and then asking someone to take it out, only to have them shove it in all the way, then walking on it for days.

I opened up my laptop while on the train. I decided I needed to remove myself from myself and do something constructive. I had only had my MacBook for a few weeks and I had yet to use most of the apps on it. I opened up iWeb and just started creating things, mindlessly. The two hour train ride went by in a flash. I was consumed with my creation. The flight back to Sacramento, the next two weeks, the whole following month, I was caught up in my new creation.

I had written funny stories about myself. I had photoshopped pictures and made funny graphics. It started to resemble a product after a while. It started to look like a website. I called it Too Much Rod Benson partially because I had used that name ever since an announcer said it during a Pac-10 telecast, and partially because I figured my friends thought I talked about myself enough already.

The more I worked on it, the more my confidence grew. I began to realize that my creativity was the one thing that could keep me from harboring negative thoughts. It felt great. I started working out again, and killing it on the court. I started going out and meeting women, forgetting about my ex completely. The site took my swag from a zero to a ten in no time. I would go home after every workout, every party, every funny social situation, and write it down. It was doing wonders.

Finally, when my agent told me that I’d be entering the D-League draft, I decided to make a music video, since I had iMovie on that MacBook as well. JGant and I had been saying “Boom Tho”, “got ‘em”, “ready like spaghetti”, and “in there like swimwear” for a while now. I put them all into a lyric and made a song based on all of it. Then we went out on Halloween and filmed all of our escapades. The result was a video called “Boom Got Them Tho.” I then realized that I had something more than swagger. I had “Boom-Tho-Ness.”

This new trait carried me for the past three years. I needed it, especially in the beginning to become the super confident, halfway-narcissistic, super social individual that I am today. My play on the court, my nightlife, my great attitude, all based around that.

So, when Larry Bird asked me to shut down the blog for a while, I realized that I enjoy it, a lot, but I don’t need it anymore. I’m a great player because of it all, but I can be without it too. My Boom-Tho-Ness exudes all the times. Heck, I’m listening to my Boom Tho Mixtape right now as I write this. TMRB started with a basketball failure, and it was put down today while I stand at the doorstep of basketball success.

Media is a reminder of that. I took a million pictures today. I did interviews and videos, the whole nine yards. There’s nothing like doing a photoshoot with Troy Murphy to remind you that you’re doing something big. No, I didn’t make the Sacramento Kings summer league roster, but I sure as hell made the Pacers training camp roster, and I’ve got something to prove.

In the spirit of the holiday, I've created the single greatest Christmas video of all time according to all of the critics who live in Wonju, South Korea. Furthermore, I've also added some of my failed Christmas Card ideas.

And now, the greatest Christmas video of all time:

Dec 13, 2010 (by Jerry Lee)
Kim Joo-Sung (205-C-79) of the Dongbu Promy can be considered the Korean - and older - version of Kevin Durant, who plays for the NBAs Oklahoma City Thunder.

And its the 31-year-olds scoring ability and quickness, combined with his height, that has made Dongbu a regular in recent KBL postseasons.

This year, the Promy is currently tied for first in the KBL with Rodrique Benson and Yoo Ho-young adding depth behind Kim this season - creating the tallest front court combination in the league. Kim is listed at 205 centimeters (6-foot-8), Benson is 207 centimeters and Yoon is 197 centimeters tall. The size advantage allows the trio to attack the basket with success.

Each player has a clear role on the team. Benson is the prototypical center who provides strength in the post and Yoon is a versatile small forward with a respectable 3-point shot as well as an ability to drive to the basket. But as the star player of the team, Kim has the freedom to roam freely depending on the situation.

Its part of the reason why, despite having three big men in its front court, Dongbus offense is able to maintain fluidity. Head coach Kang ****-hee utilizes the three players in accordance with the opposing teams strengths and weaknesses.

Yoon came up big with 20 points and led the Promy to a 89-64 win over the slower ET Land Elephants on Dec. 10. In the following game against the SK Knights, featuring a smaller lineup, it was Kims turn, scoring 32 points to help Dongbu to a 93-88 win on Dec. 12.

Benson has been averaging 18.8 points and 10 rebounds a game, Yoon has been scoring 14.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game while Kim has been averaging 17 points and 5.9 rebounds. And while Kim was gone for the 2010 Asian Games - hes only played nine games this season so far - Yoon and Benson picked up the slack for the Promy.

What makes the Dongbu front court dangerous is that the trio does not merely have height but they are also quick enough to keep up with smaller players. Its the reason why Dongbu guards are able to feed the big men on fast-break plays for easy baskets. ET Lands front court of Herbert Hill, Seo Jang-hoon and Moon Tae-jong, as well as KCC Egis front court of Ha Seung-jin and Chris Daniels dont pale in comparison to Dongbu in terms of size - Ha comes in at a giant-like 221 centimeters. But speed is how Dongbu wins, with ET Land and KCC centers and forwards having trouble keeping up with the Promy front court.

Opposing teams in the KBL also fear Dongbu for its defense. The Promy features a triangle defense with Benson manning one of the two spots near the basket and Kim and Yoon rotating in and out to provide support in defending the low post. On Dec. 10, ET Lands center Seo Jang-hoon was limited to 10 points and seven rebounds and had two turnovers in the low post. Dongbus front court has limited its opponents to 68.4 points per game this season.

When facing Dongbu, the game is good as over if we dont start connecting on our 3-point shots, said LG Sakers head coach Kang Eul-joon.