The roots of the UPenn Bullets can be traced to the fall of 1995, when original members Kenny Park and Dennis Kim met during their freshmen year at Penn. Kenny was from Upland, California, and had played for the Webb High school. Dennis hailed from Northern Virginia, where he had honed his skills as a Korean playground legend. The first tournament they entered together was a KSA sponsored Temple tourney, played in a dark gym with virtual strangers. The team finished with a disappointing record, but it laid the foundation for years to come. After a hiatus of two years, the team had its official beginnings.
In the fall of 1997, during freshmen move-in, Dennis had the good fortune of meeting Philip Ting, a brash young baller out of La Palma, California, another alumnus of the Webb Schools. Phil's dorm room was in Hill House, but truly he lived in Bernard F. Gimbel Gymnasium. Another virtual resident of Gimbel was the infamous Leroy Wilkes, a 5'11", 110 meter hurdler, from Dayton, Ohio. Through Gimbel and Korean class with Dennis, Leroy became a fixture, as a power player that intimidated, with his 400 lb bench press. Ben Jung, a Philly native, and another resident of Hill House, the heart and soul of the Bullets, joined the ranks. With his will to win, his team mentality, and his genial nature, Ben provided much needed balance to a team of wannabe stars.
The next players to join the scene arrived in Philadelphia in 1998, Randy Wong and David Lee. Randy arrived from Renton, Washington, a wicked three point shooter that dunked, and David Lee, a point guard in the mold of Khalid el Amin, from Syosset, New York. Along with Bjorn Jang, a good friend from the Jersey shore, with a love for the game, and Kenny's little brother, Kevin, an athletic, hard nosed swing man from NYU, this core group entered a number of tournaments along the East coast, at the University of Maryland, Rutgers, and Temple. There were highlights, and the team came together, especially as personalities. The spring of 2001 marked the symbolic end of the Bullets, as Kenny Park, Phil Ting, and Leroy Wilkes all left Philadelphia.
The resurrection of the Bullets franchise occurred in the winter of 2002, as an old VA friend, Boo Kim reacquainted with Dennis. Soon discussions of a CYC Temple Tournament led to a call to Phil Ting, and the Bullets were born again. Phil Ting flew out from Cali, along with DC Shin, a UMD baller with an ultra consistent midrange, Big Seung, a true 6'5" big man from Rutgers, and Scott Yun, a Baruch College player with a money jumper. The team came together very quickly, leading all the way to a championship trophy. Ben Jung came out to watch the final, and the first Bullets trophy was hoisted, the culmination of an arduous journey.
The next challenge facing the Bullets was a UVa tournament, March 29, 2003. This tournament introduced new members, as a very strong Dirty Jersey team joined forces with the current Bullets team, and the results were extraordinary (detailed recap). The team ran through the tournament with shocking ease, winning all playoff games courtesy of a mercy rule.
The next tournament (detailed recap) provided stiffer competition, the pre-North American Chinese Invitational Basketball Tournament, in Philadelphia, at LaSalle University. The eventual semifinal loss left the Bullets with a 3-1 record and a claim to a top 5 spot among Asian teams on the east coast; without four of their starters.
The 2004 season began with new members and new hope of championship glory. The first step was the annual UVa KSA tournament, on April 18. The team welcomed its newest members, Krizzio Washington and Brian Tran, in style, cruising to an easy tournament win (detailed recap). Both Krizzio and Brian Tran came to the Bullets via the phenomenon that is known as Lifetime Fitness, a gym in Fairfax VA. This gym is where the ballers and wannabes of Northern VA congregate at all hours of the night, where the true ballers always find each other, as these two were discovered and quickly brought into the elite franchise known as the Bullets.
The next tournament was a return to the pre-NACBAIT, at Temple University. The result was another success (detailed recap), with a win in the AA silver bracket and another trophy. The Bullets were challenged by the organization and patience of teams, but still came away with the championship. The important lesson learned was that without more disicpline and effort, the Bullets will not be able to be the dominant east coast squad. But with more time together, the talent is clearly there.
As a response to the growing reputation of the team, and the discovery of a group of enthusiastic female ballers, the franchise decided to expand, and the Bullettes were formed, with their debut slated for August 7th, in Philadelphia. Led by a group of true ball loving girls, the team came together swiftly. Their cinderella run through the Temple summer tournament was breathtaking and exciting, winning their three playoff games by a total of 4 points, and knocking off heavy pre-tournament favorite NY Cruisiers off along the way. The victory is all the more encouraging by how well the team came together, the chemistry, and the fact that even more star players will be available for the future.
The Bullets on the other had, met a rude end in the semifinals, in an upset, after a strong run throught pool play and playoffs up to that point. Clearly, the Bullets are the class of Asian basketball at this point, and its up to the team to prove it.