At a press conference at SBS headquarters in Seoul on Nov. 26, he shared, “I joined only worried about MINHO (of SHINee) and his legendary drive. But once I got here, I realized it’s not just MINHO―our coach and every teammate is dead serious about basketball. That really shocked me.”
"Rising Eagles" follows head coach Seo Jang-hoon as he forms a celebrity squad with the audacious goal of conquering Asia, taking on top local amateur teams and even a Filipino celebrity team. Captained by SHINee’s MINHO, the roster includes 2AM’s Jeong Jin-woon, NCT’s JOHNNY, singer Son Taejin, actors Oh Seung Hoon, Park Eun Seok and Kim Taek, models Moon Soo In and Lee Dae Hee, shopping host Park Chan Woong, and influencer Jung Kyu Min of 'EXchange 2.'
Knowing his SM Entertainment senior MINHO’s reputation for “all gas, no brakes,” JOHNNY joined with that in mind―only to find the rest of the team just as intense. “Keeping up with that energy wasn’t easy at first, but at some point I realized I was matching it,” he said. “I think viewers will feel that momentum and find themselves getting swept up in it too.”
The Rising Eagles’ competitive streak is real. “These guys are scary―in the best way,” JOHNNY joked. “In the green room they’re chill, but once the game starts even the most polite ones drop the formalities, and people you’ve never heard curse start trash-talking.” He added that it took a minute to adjust, “but then it hit me hard that I’m part of this team.”
With former pro star Seo Jang-hoon as head coach and Jeon Tae-pung as assistant coach, the feedback can be blunt. “Coach Seo pulls no punches―but he’s right,” JOHNNY said. “He tailors his words to each player’s level. I’m a ‘T’ on the MBTI, so I used that straight talk as fuel. If you watch how he develops the players, the show gets even more fun.”
"Rising Eagles" premieres Saturday, Nov. 29 at 5 p.m. KST on SBS.
[Photo: Baik Seung-Chul]
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Sun-ae)