Park Ji Su: From ''begging'' for playing time to FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup debut at 15

SEOUL (Korea) - There were no tears at the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Park Ji Su this time in 2019. At least not in the same sense as she had shed during a post-game press conference during the OQTs four years ago in France.

Korea had missed out on the final spot to the Rio 2016 Olympics, and the wound was still fresh. She had put up impressive numbers throughout the OQTs with averages of 7.0 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. Park recorded 13 points and 14 rebounds in their first encounter against Belarus during these Qualifiers in a 66-65 win.

A rematch took place a couple of days later, this time with a ticket to Rio on the line. Korea lost the game, denying Park of her first appearance ever in the Olympics.

She was disappointed and frustrated. The weight of being the future of Korean women's basketball has that toll on a person. It certainly didn't make the situation any easier to handle being only 17 years old at that time.

That's how it's always been for Park Ji Su. The expectations have always been high, even at a ridiculously young age, but when they're not met, it hurts.

Four years later, there were no signs of those painful tears anymore. Park dominated with 15 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 6 blocked shots in a win against Great Britain - a crucial victory that turned out to clinch Korea's ticket to Tokyo.

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Aside from the upcoming Olympics, Park has been-there-done-that at nearly every other stage that there is in the basketball world.

While most of us were still struggling to complete even the basic chores around the house at the age of 13, Park was representing Korea at the global level. She played against opposing players 3-4 years older than her at the FIBA U17 Women's Basketball World Cup in the Netherlands.

The youngster, who was only in her first year as a teenager, wasn't only there for the ride either. She averaged 24.0 minutes for solid statistics of 9.0 points, 8.1 rebounds, and an eye-popping 3.9 blocks per game.

That was just the start. Park played in the U17 Women's World Cup and the U19 Women's World Cup twice, averaging a double-double in all but her debut tournament.

Only a couple of months after her second U17 World Cup in 2014, Korea decided that she was ready. At the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2014 in Turkey, Park Ji Su made her senior national team debut at just the age of 15 years old.

Once again, even though she was now going up against some players ten years older than her, Park powered through. She led Korea with 11.0 points while also collecting 5.0 rebounds per game.

Park made her Women's Asia Cup debut a year later in 2015, winning a bronze medal at the age of 16 years old.

She's only gotten better and better ever since.

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At 1.98 M (6'6"), Park has a big, athletic build, which gives her the capability to gobble up rebounds and block shots in large amounts. This doesn't come as a surprise to her parents, both of whom are athletes themselves. Her father also played basketball while her mother was a volleyball player.

It was not until the second grade when she saw her older brother playing basketball that she decided to pick up the sport.

"Watching the ball go through the hoop just looked so fun, so I told my parents I wanted to play basketball," said Park, as per Her Hoop Stats.

Park barely got any playing time early on, a situation difficult to imagine for the current national team superstar. She lacked the skills at the time but brimmed with passion for the game. It was even disclosed that she had sent out a secret message on social media to her coach, begging for more playing time.

Park doesn't have to ask for playing time with the national team anymore these days, as now she's needed on the court for as long as possible any time the team takes the court.

After her continued success at the international level, Park was drafted to the WNBA with the seventeenth overall pick in 2018. She made waves again, being the second-youngest player to ever play in a WNBA game in her debut on May 20, 2018, with the Las Vegas Aces.

Park hasn't been able to replicate the impact she has had with the national team in her first two WNBA seasons yet, but she's had her positive strides. More importantly, fans have got to keep reminding themselves that she is still only just 21 years old.

"She's very smart," Bill Laimbeer, coach of the Aces said of Park. "And she's arguably our best positional defender. She's always in position defensively, which is great. She challenges every shot, goes after every rebound - all the good traits you want in a basketball player."

It's easy to forget how young she still is, with how quickly she stepped on to the scene way back in 2012. She's been playing - and starring - at the senior national team level for over half a decade already.

So it's understandable if you keep on forgetting she's only 21 years old right now, an age where some players are only about to get their first chances at the highest level. Just remember that there is a whole in store for the future of Park Ji Su.

FIBA