Kim Yoo-taek (born October 10, 1963 in

Pocheon Pocheon (; ) is an landlocked, inland Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in northeast Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It covers 2 with a population of 160,176 people, according to the 2008 census. Pocheon lies between Seoul and the mou ...

Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi Province (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Seoul, the nation's largest city and capital, is in the heart of the area but has been separately administered as a provincial-level ''special city'' since 1946. Incheon, ...

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 ...

) is a former South Korean

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. Although positioned as a center due to his height, Kim possessed the ball-handling skills of a guard and was equally capable of playing inside and outside. He is considered one of the greatest Asian centers to ever play the game, along with Carlos Loyzaga and

Yao Ming Yao Ming ( zh, c=姚明; born September 12, 1980) is a Chinese basketball executive and former professional player. He played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and the Houston Rockets of the National Baske ...

Early life

Kim began playing basketball because his high school team lacked tall players and recruited him. He played for Myongji High School, whose basketball team was still relatively new.

Career

Kim attended Chung-Ang University alongside Han Ki-bum and Hur Jae. He, Hur and Kang Dong-hee, dubbed the "Hur-Dong-Taek Trio", formed the offensive core of the Chung-Ang University team which dominated college basketball during the 1980's. He joined the Busan-based amateur team of Kia Motors, the predecessor of Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus. Hur and Kang later joined him and the "Hur-Dong-Taek Trio" led Busan Kia to dominate the pre- KBL era competition. In 1996, he reached 4,000 career points. With the founding of the professional league (

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 ...

) in 1997, Kim stayed on with the team and retired in 2000. He was the oldest professional player at that time. After retirements of Hur and Kang, the media dubbed it the "end of an era". Busan Kia Enterprise retired his number 14 jersey in 2000, a legacy carried on by its successor team Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus. He was nicknamed "Stork" (황새) due to his gangly stature and the fact that his ability on the court belied his meticulous and strict appearance.

Post-retirement career

In 2002, Kim was appointed head coach of the basketball team at his alma mater Myongji High School. During his first season in charge, he led them to success at the spring championships. He worked as a commentator for

SPOTV SPOTV is a South Korean pay television network, which features sports programming and some sports-related talk shows. Founded in 2010, the network is the fourth Pay television, premium sports network in South Korea following by KBS N, KBS N S ...

Personal life

Kim has two sons who are professional basketball players. He and his first wife divorced and she was granted primary custody of their son Jin-soo, who later adopted his stepfather's surname Choi as an adult.

References

External links

FIBA.com profile
1963 births Living people South Korean men's basketball players 1990 FIBA World Championship players Olympic basketball players for South Korea Basketball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Chung-Ang University alumni Asian Games medalists in basketball Basketball players at the 1986 Asian Games Basketball players at the 1990 Asian Games Basketball players at the 1994 Asian Games South Korean basketball coaches Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus players Korean Basketball League players with retired numbers Asian Games silver medalists for South Korea Asian Games bronze medalists for South Korea Medalists at the 1986 Asian Games Medalists at the 1990 Asian Games Medalists at the 1994 Asian Games South Korean Buddhists 1994 FIBA World Championship players People from Pocheon Basketball players from Gyeonggi Province 20th-century South Korean sportsmen {{Korea-basketball-bio-stub