Kang Dong-hee (born 20 December 1966) is a South Korean former

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 and coach. He competed in the men's tournament at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. In his prime, Kang was regarded as the best domestic point guard of his generation and was nicknamed "Wizard of the

Court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

" (코트의 마법사).

Early life

Kang spent his schooling years in

Incheon Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...

and was first introduced to basketball in elementary school but stopped playing for a number of years due to his short stature. His interest was reignited when some soldiers from the nearby military base visited his middle school and played basketball with the students. He attended Songdo High School, one of the oldest high school basketball programs in Gyeonggi Province.

Playing career

Kang played for Chung-Ang University. Together with Hur Jae and

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 ...

, the "Hur-Dong-Taek Trio" formed the core of the Chung-Ang University team which dominated college basketball during the 1980s and still regarded as one of the most legendary group of players in Chung-Ang history. He joined Kim and Hur at the Busan-based amateur basketball team of Kia in 1990 and played a major role in the team's dominance of the pre- KBL semi-professional league. During the inaugural professional KBL season, Busan Kia achieved a rare "double" of winning the championship and topping the league table while Kang had the rare honor of winning both the regular season MVP and playoffs MVP. He averaged 15.6 points and 7.3 assists in the regular season and 18.0 points and 6.0 assists in the play-offs. In 2001, Kia was bought over by Hyundai and became the presently-named Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus. Kang stayed with the reorganized team for another season before joining

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 ...

. He retired at the end of the 2003-04 season, the same time as Hur. At the time of his retirement, Kang was the first player in KBL history to record 2000 assists and score a triple-double. He led the league in assists for four seasons.

Coaching career

Kang went into coaching, joining the coaching staff of Wonju DB Promy in 2005 and then serving as head coach from 2009 to 2013. His tenure as a coach came to an end due to his indictment for match-fixing.

Controversy

In August 2013, the Uijeongbu District Court indicted Kang on four counts of match-fixing and illegally accepting money from brokers and sentenced him to ten months in prison and a fine of 47 million won. He was reportedly the first head coach of a professional team from the four major domestic team sports (football, basketball, baseball and volleyball) to be arrested, charged and imprisoned for match-fixing. The investigation into Kang was linked to a wider crackdown and investigation into illegal sports betting which involved a number of personalities from the entertainment industry, including Kim Yong-man and

Lee Soo-geun Lee Soo-geun (; born February 10, 1975) is a South Korean comedian who has worked on a number of comedy shows on South Korean television. He began his career as a comedian on KBS '' Gag Concert''. Career Before entering the entertainment indu ...

. In a separate disciplinary hearing, the KBL voted to expel him as a registered coach that September. Since serving his sentence, he largely keeps a low profile and holds seminars and talks on the dangers of gambling addiction. In 2021, he sent a petition to the KBL to reconsider the expulsion, to which the KBL reaffirmed its initial stance and declined his petition. Kang appeared on the

JTBC JTBC (shortened from Joongang Tongyang Broadcasting Company; ; stylized in all lowercase) is a South Korean nationwide pay television network. Its primary shareholder is JoongAng Holdings, with a 25% stake. It was launched on December 1, ...

sports variety program ''Let's Play Basketball'' (뭉쳐야 쏜다) in an episode scheduled to air in June 2021, the theme being "National Basketball Festival", the main basketball competition of the pre-KBL era. He had been invited as he was a member of the Busan Kia team of the 1980s and early 1990s which dominated the competition. After JTBC released the trailer online, Kang's appearance was met with much negativity from viewers, leading JTBC to issue an apology. His full shots were edited out of the episode.

Personal life

Kang married Lee Kwang-sun in 2004 and they have two sons. He was the last of the "Hur-Dong-Taek Trio" to marry and also has two sons like Hur and Kim.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kang, Dong-hee 1966 births Living people South Korean men's basketball players 1990 FIBA World Championship players 1994 FIBA World Championship players 1998 FIBA World Championship players Basketball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Asian Games medalists in basketball Asian Games silver medalists for South Korea Asian Games bronze medalists for South Korea Basketball players at the 1990 Asian Games Basketball players at the 1994 Asian Games Basketball players at the 1998 Asian Games Medalists at the 1990 Asian Games Medalists at the 1994 Asian Games Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games Olympic basketball players for South Korea People from Imsil County Sportspeople from North Jeolla Province 20th-century South Korean sportsmen