Choi Jin-soo (, formerly known as Jin Soo Kim; born 11 May 1989) is a South Korean basketball player who played for

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

and the

Korea national basketball team The South Korea men's national basketball team () represents South Korea in international basketball competitions. They are administered by the Korea Basketball Association. Based on the number of overall medals won, South Korea is a major forc ...

. He is the first South Korean to receive a full NCAA Division I basketball scholarship. He is listed as a

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

but he is able to play

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

, and

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

. Usually, he plays small forward in the United States, and power forward when he plays for the Korea national basketball team. He came to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

as a high school freshman in 2004. As a freshman, he was a starting forward for Montclair Prep. He transferred to South Kent for his

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

year. At South Kent, he played for three years as a Forward. In October 2007, he verbally committed to the University of Maryland. He graduated from South Kent in 2008, and became a freshman at the

. In Choi's first game as a Terrapin, he scored 20 points in an exhibition vs.

Northwood University Northwood University (NU) is a private university focused on business education with its main campus in Midland, Michigan, United States. Opened in 1959, more than 33,000 people have graduated from the institution. History Northwood Universit ...

. Choi immediately became a fan favorite of the Maryland students, as they were cheering his name by the end of the game. On January 27, 2009, Choi was declared academically ineligible. Maryland appealed the decision to the NCAA and he was reinstated a few days later. During the 2009 offseason, Choi changed his name from Kim to Choi. He did this to acknowledge his stepfather. Choi's biological father

Kim Yoo-taek Kim Yoo-taek (born October 10, 1963 in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea) is a former South Korean basketball player. Although positioned as a center due to his height, Kim possessed the ball-handling skills of a guard and was equally capa ...

was a well-known

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

n basketball player and former

coach. On January 5, 2010, it was announced that Choi was leaving the University of Maryland. He cited difficulties in playing basketball and taking academic classes at the same time as reasons for his departure. Choi was drafted third in the 2011 KBL

Korean Basketball League The Korean Basketball League () or simply KBL is a professional men's basketball league in South Korea which was established in 1997. The league consists of ten teams and each team plays a total of 54 games (27 home and 27 away) in the regular s ...

draft to the

Goyang Orions Goyang Sono Skygunners () is a professional basketball club based in Goyang, South Korea which plays in the Korean Basketball League. History Dayone Sports era (2022–2023) Rumours of Orion selling its stake in the club intensified in ear ...

References

External links

Player Bio: Jin Soo Kim

Choi Jin-soo Fancafe
at

Daum Daum may refer to: People * Ahron Daum (1951–2018), Israeli-born Modern-Orthodox rabbi, educator, and author *Andreas Daum (active from 1995), German-American historian * Auguste Daum (1853–1909), French ceramist *Christoph Daum (1953–2024), ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Choi, Jin-soo 1989 births Living people Goyang Sono Skygunners players Maryland Terrapins men's basketball players Sportspeople from Suwon Basketball players from Gyeonggi Province Small forwards South Kent School alumni South Korean expatriate basketball people in the United States South Korean men's basketball players Montclair College Preparatory School alumni 21st-century South Korean sportsmen