Cho Sung-min (; born December 23, 1983) is a South Korean retired professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He played for

Busan KT Sonicboom Suwon KT Sonicboom () is a professional basketball club based in Suwon, South Korea which plays in the Korean Basketball League. Their home games are played at the Suwon KT Sonicboom Arena. Founded in 1997, the team was initially based in Gwangju ...

and

Changwon LG Sakers Changwon LG Sakers are a professional basketball team located in the city of Changwon in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. They play in the Korean Basketball League (KBL), and their home arena is Changwon Gymnasium which has a capacity for ...

in the

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 ...

and was a member of the South Korean national team. In his prime, Cho was considered one of the league's most accurate three-point and free throw shooters, earning the nickname "Chosun Shooter" (). He was the free throw percentage leader for four consecutive seasons and is only second to

Moon Kyung-eun Moon Kyung-eun (born August 27, 1971) is a former South Korean male professional basketball player and basketball coach. He was part of the team at the 1994 Asian Games, 1996 Summer Olympics, 1998 Asian Games and the 2002 Asian Games. From 2012 ...

in the all-time percentage record, successfully scoring 92.3% of his free throws during the 2011–12 season.

Early life

The youngest of three children, Cho is a native of

Jeonju Jeonju (, , ) is the capital and List of cities in South Korea, largest city of North Jeolla Province, South Korea. It is both urban and rural due to the closeness of Wanju County which almost entirely surrounds Jeonju (Wanju County has many resi ...

. He became interested in basketball as an elementary school student due to the popularity of the basketball-themed manga and its animated adaptation ''

Slam Dunk A slam dunk, also simply known as a dunk, is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air, controls the ball above the horizontal plane of the rim, and scores by shoving the ball directly through the basket with on ...

'' and the television series '' The Last Match''. He attended Jeonju High School, where he first attracted the attention of scouts for his accurate shooting.

College career

Cho went on to

Hanyang University Hanyang University (HYU, ) is a Private university, private research university in Seoul and Ansan (ERICA campus), South Korea. ''Hanyang'' () derives from the Names of Seoul, former name of the capital Seoul used during the Joseon period. The u ...

where he was a junior of future national teammate and best friend

Yang Dong-geun Yang Dong-geun (; born June 1, 1979), also known as YDG, is a South Korean actor and rapper. He started his career as a child actor, drawing attention for his roles in the television shows ''Seoul Ttukbaegi'' (1990) and ''Hyung'' (1991). He be ...

. At that time Hanyang was mostly known for its baseball team and its basketball team was still not considered a major contender to the "big 3" universities of domestic college basketball:

Yonsei University Yonsei University () is a Private university, private Christian university, Christian research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Yonsei is one of the three most prestigious universities in the country, part of a group referred to as SK ...

Korea University Korea University (KU, ) is a Private university, private research university in Seoul, South Korea. Established in 1905 by Yi Yong-ik, Lee Yong-Ik, a prominent official of the Korean Empire, Korea University is among South Korea's oldest List of ...

and

Chung-Ang University Chung-Ang University (CAU; ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea. The university operates two campuses: main campus located in Dongjak District, Seoul, and an additional campus in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province. CAU consists of 1 ...

. His college career was mostly overshadowed by a star-studded Yonsei team which included

Yang Hee-jong Yang Hee-jong (born 11 May 1984) is a South Korean former professional basketball player. Early life Yang is a native of Suwon and had been a star taekwondo athlete in elementary school but his PE teacher suggested that he try basketball as he ...

Kim Tae-sul Kim Tae-sul (; born August 13, 1984) is a South Korean basketball coach. During his fourteen-year professional career, Kim played for five different teams, the longest stint being at Anyang KGC where he won the KBL Championship. He was also a mem ...

and future 2006 KBL draft first overall pick Jeon Jeong-gyu. He notably scored 32 points in the final of the National Basketball Championships (college division), one of the collegiate tournaments prior to the establishment of the

U-League The U-League, officially KUSF College Sports U-League (Korean: KUSF 대학스포츠 U-리그), is operated by the Korea University Sports Federation (KUSF), the organization which oversees college sports in South Korea. The KUSF U-League operates in ...

Professional career

Busan KT Sonicboom (2006–2017)

Cho was drafted by Busan KTF Magic Wings in 2006 and was the eighth overall pick. Incidentally, Cho shared the same name as an older baseball player of the same name who had recently divorced popular actress

Choi Jin-sil Choi Jin-sil (; December 24, 1968 – October 2, 2008) was a South Korean actress. She was considered one of the greatest actresses in South Korea, nicknamed "The Nation's Actress" for playing leading roles in some of the highest-rated Korean ...

, leading the younger Cho to quip in an interview that he hoped to become famous enough to make the name "Cho Sung-min" associated with him and not his older fellow athlete. In his first full season, Cho and veteran point guard Shin Ki-sung formed the backbone of the KTF Magic Wings team which reached the play-off finals to face regular season champions

Ulsan Mobis Phoebus The Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus is a professional basketball club in the Korean Basketball League. History Foundation and amateur era Before the professional Korean Basketball League was established in 1997, domestic basketball was an amateur s ...

's team. However, Cho had to be stretchered off during Game 6 after colliding with Yang and Shin dedicated the hard-fought win to him. KTF lost the seventh game and Mobis won the Championship. Unlike many of his counterparts who generally enlisted for mandatory military service after two or three years, Cho decided to enlist in May 2007, at the end of his rookie season. He and Yang enlisted together and were assigned to the Sangmu team after completing basic training. The 2013–14 season was a record-breaking one for Cho as he became the first guard to rank first in scoring among domestic players. Forwards, including

swingmen A swingman is an athlete capable of playing multiple positions in their sport. Basketball In basketball, the term "swingman" (a.k.a. "wing" or "guard-forward") denotes a player who can play both the shooting guard (2) and small forward (3) positi ...

doubling as shooting guards, and centers had traditionally dominated in the scoring category while scoring-oriented point guards were still relatively uncommon at that time. He also simultaneously ranked first in both the three-point field goal and free throw percentages for a second consecutive season. No other player has accomplished this feat ever since. KT Sonicboom, which had finished second last the previous season, managed to qualify for the play-offs.

Changwon LG Sakers (2017–2021)

In February 2017, it was announced that Cho would be traded to

in exchange for its highest drawn pick of the upcoming rookie draft and forward Kim Young-hwan, who was on the last year of his contract. The move surprised observers and pundits as Cho was then KT Sonicboom's longest-serving player and considered to be the "face" of the franchise. Cho retired at the end of the 2020–21 season. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the club was unable to hold a full retirement ceremony for him. Instead, it was held prior to the first game of the 2021–22 season between his two former teams, LG and KT.

National team career

After his good form during the 2013–14 season, Cho was chosen for the final squad to compete at the

2014 Asian Games The 2014 Asian Games (), officially known as the 17th Asian Games () and also known as Incheon 2014 (), were a pan-Asian multi-sport event held from 19 September to 4 October 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. On 17 April 2007, Incheon was awarded ...

, hosted on home soil. Cho stood out for his accuracy in games where the South Korean team was at a disadvantage in terms of height. He hit the game winner in against Iran putting South Korea on top, 79–77. Cho was part of the final 12-man which competed in the

2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 17th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the tournament previously known as the FIBA World Championship. The tournament was held from 30 August to 14 September 2014. Hosted by Spain, it was the la ...

. He averaged 6.2 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.

Personal life

Cho lost both of his parents in September 2006 when they were involved in a car accident. He had been in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

area for off-season training when they travelled there to visit him. His father's last words were not to tell him about the accident so that he could concentrate on preparing for the upcoming season. As a result, Cho did not attend the funeral and was only told about the accident after he returned to South Korea. When KT Sonicboom won the regular season title in 2011, he dedicated the win to his late parents. In May 2012, Cho married his university girlfriend, flautist Yoon Sook-jeong. Yoon, a graduate of

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a public university, public research university in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the SKY (universities), SKY universities and a part of the Flagship Korean National Universities. The university's main c ...

, is a former principal flautist of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Symphony Orchestra. The couple have a daughter (born in 2015).

References

External links

Career Statistics
at KBL.or.kr {{DEFAULTSORT:Cho, Sung-min 1983 births Living people South Korean men's basketball players Korean Basketball League players Suwon KT Sonicboom players Shooting guards 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup players Basketball players at the 2010 Asian Games Basketball players at the 2014 Asian Games Hanyang University alumni Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea Asian Games silver medalists for South Korea Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Sportspeople from Jeonju 21st-century South Korean sportsmen Asian Games silver medalists in basketball Asian Games basketball players for South Korea Asian Games gold medalists in basketball