Yang_Dong-Geun_(basketball)

Yang Dong-geun (basketball)

Yang Dong-geun (basketball)

South Korean basketball player

Yang Dong-geun (born September 14, 1981) is a South Korean retired basketball player for Ulsan Mobis Phoebus and the Korean national team, where he participated at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.[1] During his sixteen-year career, he won the KBL Rookie of the Year and was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) in KBL four times.[2] He spent his entire playing career with Ulsan Mobis Phoebus, having been at the forefront of Ulsan's dominance in the league from the early 2000's.[3] Since retiring after the 2019-20 season, he has returned to the team as a coach.

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Early life

Yang enjoyed playing basketball since his elementary school days. As he had been short compared to his peers, he never considered going professional until he had a late growth spurt and started playing college basketball. He attended Yongsan High School, which is known as a high school basketball powerhouse, but was neither a highly-rated prospect or a regular at that time. One of his contemporaries was Lee Jung-suk, who was a year behind him.[4] He overlooked by the "big three" universities in collegiate basketball: Yonsei University, Korea University and Chung-Ang University.[3][5]

Playing career

College days

Yang was recruited by Hanyang University despite not being a regular in high school.[3][6] At that time, Hanyang was not a particularly well-known basketball program and was better known for its baseball team. His close friend and future professional rival Cho Sung-min would join him two years later.[4][7]

During his senior year, Yang led Hanyang to a runner-up finish at the MBC Cup. He was then thrust into the spotlight for leading Hanyang to a 96-91 upset against Yonsei in the National Basketball Festival (농구대잔치), the other main collegiate competition. Yonsei had been on a 39-game winning streak in the tournament and boasted a star-studded team which included Ha Seung-jin, Kim Tae-sul and Yang Hee-jong.[8] Although Hanyang finished third, Yang ranked first in assists in the competition.[4]

Professional career

During the 2004 KBL rookie draft, Yang made history by becoming the first player not from a "big three" college basketball program to be drafted first in the first round.[9][10] He was selected by Jeonju KCC Egis, who had the first overall pick, but was immediately traded to Ulsan Mobis Phoebus in exchange for two players.[11] There were initial doubts as he was considered short by KBL standards but he established himself as an integral member of the team due to his physicality and accurate shooting and passing. In his debut game, a loss to Seoul Samsung Thunders, he scored 13 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists despite having a distinct height disadvantage.[4] He averaged 11.5 points and 6.1 assists and was named KBL Rookie of the Year.[5][12]

Yang formed a tandem with foreign recruit Chris Williams and led Ulsan Mobis Phoebus to the 2007 Championship, his first title.[13] During the final, they faced a Busan KTF Magic Wings which had Cho Sung-min and Shin Ki-sung and won four out of seven games in a tightly-contested race. He averaged 19.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 7.3 assists during the playoffs and was named Playoffs MVP.[14]

In May 2007, a week after his wedding and the playoffs, Yang enlisted for mandatory military service.[13] He enlisted together with Cho and they were assigned to the Sangmu team after completing basic training.[15][7]

Coaching career

Yang declared his interest in coaching after retiring as a player and went sent to the United States for a training course. He returned to Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus as a coach under Yoo Jae-hak from the 2021–22 season onwards.[16]

Personal life

Yang married his college classmate Kim Jung-mi in 2007 after a seven-year courtship.[17] They have a son and a daughter.[18]

Yang is an avid baseball fan and is best friends with Lee Bum-ho. He was at Lee's retirement game in 2019.[19]

Yang shares the same name, written with the exact same Hanja characters, as an actor and hip hop artist who is two years older than him. The older Yang is known as an avid basketball fan and posted a retirement tribute on his Instagram to the basketball player quipping that his life as an actor just got started at age forty while a professional athlete's life ended at the same age.[20]

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "Yang Dong-geun". fiba.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
  2. [2]
    "2020-2021 현대모비스 프로농구 시상식 결과 안내" (in Korean). Korean Basketball League. 7 April 2021.
  3. [3]
    "한팀서 17년, 우승 6번 '원클럽 맨'…"질수록 더 강해졌다"". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 18 April 2020.
  4. [4]
    "[민준구의 DEBUT] 다이아몬드 원석과도 같았던 양동근의 데뷔전". Jumpball (in Korean). 4 April 2020.
  5. [5]
    "거참 신기하네, 양동근 선수는 지칠줄 모르네". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 13 October 2017.
  6. [6]
    "[농구대잔치 고3 잔치] 한양대 입학예정 양동근 팀4강 수훈". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 25 January 2000.
  7. [7]
    "'양동근 은퇴에 허전한' 조성민 "갑작스런 이별 아쉬움, 언제나 응원할 것"". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). April 6, 2020.
  8. [8]
    "연대, 39연승서 '스톱'… 한양대에 덜미". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 23 November 2003.
  9. [9]
    "1m68 소년이 KBL 레전드가 되기까지, 양동근 농구 인생에 타협 없었다". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 1 April 2020.
  10. [10]
    "한양대 양동근 1순위 '취직'". The Hankyoreh (in Korean). 4 February 2004.
  11. [11]
    "프로농구 신인 최대어 양동근, 모비스에 둥지" (in Korean). KBS. 4 February 2004.
  12. [12]
    "[프로농구]신기성 MVP…프로농구 신인왕엔 양동근". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). 15 March 2015.
  13. [13]
    "양동근 - 조성민 '내일은 없다'". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). May 1, 2007.
  14. [14]
    "첫 만장일치 MVP 양동근 '5월 신부에게 챔프반지를'". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 2 May 2007.
  15. [15]
    "모비스, 상무 입대 '양동근 특별대우 '". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 2 May 2007.
  16. [16]
    "양동근, 미국 코치 연수 마치고 이달 말 귀국…현대모비스 코치 합류 예정". Jumpball (in Korean). 11 June 2021.
  17. [17]
    "양동근 '감동 프러포즈'...6일 결혼 김정미씨 공개". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 1 May 2007.
  18. [18]
    "코트선 철인… 아들·딸엔 '순한 양' 양동근". Kyunghyang Shinmun (in Korean). 27 April 2015.
  19. [19]
    "굿바이 이범호, 눈물의 은퇴식 "그동안 감사했다"". The Hankyoreh (in Korean). 13 July 2019.
  20. [20]
    "배우 양동근이 농구선수 양동근에게 "난 이제 막 시작했는데…"". Rookie (in Korean). 2 April 2020.
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