Yang Dong-geun (born September 14, 1981) is a South Korean retired

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 for

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 ...

and the Korean national team, where he participated at 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 ...

. During his sixteen-year career, he won the KBL Rookie of the Year and was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) in KBL four times. 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. Since retiring after the 2019-20 season, he has returned to the team as a coach.

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. He overlooked by the "big three" universities in collegiate 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 ...

Playing career

College days

Yang was recruited by

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 ...

despite not being a regular in high school. 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 Cho Sung-min (; April 5, 1973 – January 6, 2013) was a South Korean professional baseball player with the Yomiuri Giants of Japan and the Hanwha Eagles of the KBO League. He also received media attention for his much-publicized marriage ...

would join him two years later. 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 (), 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 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

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 ...

. Although Hanyang finished third, Yang ranked first in assists in the competition.

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. He was selected by

Jeonju KCC Egis The Busan KCC Egis () is a professional basketball club based in Busan, South Korea. The team competes in the Korean Basketball League (KBL) and has established a substantial fanbase in South Korea. Founded in 1997, the team was initially based i ...

, who had the first overall pick, but was immediately traded to

in exchange for two players. 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 Seoul Samsung Thunders () is a professional basketball team, competing in the Korean Basketball League. Ever since the club was founded in 1978, they have been associated with Samsung Electronics. Initially based in Suwon, they relocated to Seoul ...

, he scored 13 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists despite having a distinct height disadvantage. He averaged 11.5 points and 6.1 assists and was named KBL Rookie of the Year. Yang formed a tandem with foreign recruit Chris Williams and led Ulsan Mobis Phoebus to the 2007 Championship, his first title. During the final, they faced a Busan KTF Magic Wings which had

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

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.

Personal life

Yang married his college classmate Kim Jung-mi in 2007 after a seven-year courtship. They have a son and a daughter. Yang is an avid baseball fan and is best friends with Lee Bum-ho. He was at Lee's retirement game in 2019. Yang shares the same name, written with the exact same

Hanja Hanja (; ), alternatively spelled Hancha, are Chinese characters used to write the Korean language. After characters were introduced to Korea to write Literary Chinese, they were adapted to write Korean as early as the Gojoseon period. () ...

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.

References

External links

Profile
at KBL.or.kr {{DEFAULTSORT:Yang, Dong-geun 1981 births Living people Asian Games medalists in basketball Basketball players at the 2006 Asian Games Basketball players at the 2010 Asian Games Basketball players at the 2014 Asian Games Point guards Hanyang University alumni Korean Basketball League players South Korean men's basketball players South Korean basketball coaches Ulsan Hyundai Mobis Phoebus players Shooting guards 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 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup players Competitors at the 2001 Summer Universiade 21st-century South Korean sportsmen