Jeong Hyo-geun (born December 14, 1993) is a South Korean professional basketball player.[1][2] for the Korean Basketball League side Anyang KGC and the South Korean national team.[3]

Jeong Hyo-geun
Jeong in 2019
No. 31 – Anyang KGC
PositionPower forward
LeagueKorean Basketball League
Personal information
Born (1993-12-14) December 14, 1993 (age 30)
Seoul, South Korea
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
CollegeHanyang University
KBL draft2014: 1st round, 3rd overall pick
Playing career2014–present
Career history
2014–2023Incheon Electroland Elephants / Daegu KOGAS Pegasus
2019–2021Sangmu (loan)
2023–presentAnyang KGC
Korean name
Hangul
정효근
Hanja
鄭效根
Revised RomanizationJeong Hyo-geun
McCune–ReischauerChŏng Hyokŭn

Early life

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Jeong attended Daekyung Information Industrial High School in Seoul.[4] As a high school student, he was already over 190 cm tall. Most of his peers of similar height were converted into forwards or centers after their growth spurt while the shorter students were assigned to the guard positions but he played as a guard from elementary school all the way until high school.[5]

College career

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At Hanyang University, Jeong was moved to the center position by his coach in order to better utilize his height.[6][7] He eventually became the team's "center-forward" swingman. During his junior season, he was Hanyang's top scorer with an average of 19.8 points in the U-League (ranking second overall).[8][9]

Professional career

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Jeong was the third overall pick of the 2014 KBL rookie draft and was drafted by the Incheon Electroland Elephants.[10] He was one of the few players in the draft who was not a senior, having chosen to declare early instead.[11] During his rookie season he averaged 5.05 points, 2.48 rebounds and 0.83 assists. He switched position again, this time to forward, at the suggestion of his manager Yoo Do-hoon.[7]

In the 2015–16 season, he averaged 6.78 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists. In his 3rd season there, he averaged 8.18 points, 4.54 rebounds and 1.46 assists.

In the 2017–18 season, he averaged 8.51 points 3.88 rebounds and 1.98 assists. The Elephants finished participated in the Summer Super 8 and Jeong, who had been left out of the national team, took advantage of the absence of key players. He scored 13 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks in the third-place match.[12]

In the 2018–19 season, Jeong formed a partnership with Kang Sang-jae and the duo were among the key players in the team's record-breaking season.[13] The Elephants finished runners-up in the league table and made it to the finals of the play-offs, their best ever season result in franchise history. Jeong averaged 10.77 points, 4.85 rebounds and 2.58 assists.[14][15] He was voted into the KBL All-Star for the first time.[16] His good form that season earned him a recall to the national team.

In June 2019, Jeong enlisted for mandatory military service and was assigned to the Sangmu team after completing basic training.[17] He was discharged in January 2021 and immediately rejoined his team for the remainder of the 2020–21 season.[18][19]

National team

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Jeong has mostly been a reserve player for the South Korean national team behind the likes of Yang Hee-jong, Lim Dong-seob and Kang Sang-jae in the depth chart. Despite his good form in 2018, he was left out of the squads for the William Jones Cup and Asian Games.[20] He made the final tournament squad for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup where he averaged 3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.3 assist at the tournament.[1][21]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Hyogeun JEONG (KOR)'s profile - FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 - FIBA.basketball".
  2. ^ "Hyogeun Jeong, Basketball Player". Proballers.
  3. ^ "Hyo-Geun Jeong Basketball Player Profile, Inchon ET Land Elephants, News, KBL stats, Career, Games Logs, Best, Awards - asia-basket". Eurobasket LLC.
  4. ^ "[바코 인사이드] 변청운 성남초등학교 코치, "농구 하나만 보고 달려왔죠"". BasketKorea (in Korean). December 27, 2021.
  5. ^ "[고교 농구 - 라이징 영건] 6. 정효근 (대경정산고)". Rookie (in Korean). August 5, 2011.
  6. ^ "프로-아마 최강전, '신개념 멀티플레이어' 한양대 정효근" (in Korean). JTBC. November 30, 2012.
  7. ^ a b "'정효근 국대 만들기' 전자랜드의 프로젝트". Hankook Ilbo (in Korean). January 22, 2015.
  8. ^ "부문별선수순위: 2014 대학농구리그 — 남자부 — 득점" (in Korean). Korea University Basketball Federation.
  9. ^ "득점 1위 한양대 정효근, "상혁아, 그만 비실거려!"". Rookie (in Korean). May 5, 2014.
  10. ^ "전자랜드 '무서운 3학년' 정효근 선발". Incheon Ilbo (in Korean). September 17, 2014.
  11. ^ "[바스켓볼 브레이크] 고교 에이스 송교창의 도전…'얼리 엔트리' 바람부나". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). October 2, 2015.
  12. ^ "전자랜드, 필리핀 클럼팀 꺾고 '3위'로 서머슈퍼8 마무리". Seoul Shinmun (in Korean). July 22, 2018.
  13. ^ "인천 전자랜드 사상 첫 챔피언결정전 진출 희망, 강상재-정효근이 이끈다". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). February 11, 2019.
  14. ^ "Hyogeun Jeong Player Profile, Incheon ET Land Elephants, International Stats, Events Stats, Game Logs, Awards - RealGM". basketball.realgm.com.
  15. ^ "Incheon ET Land Elephants Rosters - RealGM". basketball.realgm.com.
  16. ^ "남자 프로농구 올스타전 전자랜드 박찬희·정효근·강상재 출전". Incheon Ilbo (in Korean). January 6, 2019.
  17. ^ "배구 허수봉·농구 정효근·탁구 정영식 등 상무 합격". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). April 12, 2019.
  18. ^ "정효근 포함 상무 제대 예정자 8인, 치열한 순위 경쟁의 최대 변수". Jumpball (in Korean). January 7, 2021.
  19. ^ "내년 1월 제대 예정 정효근, 휴가 활용해 전자랜드 복귀 준비 중". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). December 28, 2020.
  20. ^ "태극마크 아픔 잊고 심기일전하는 전자랜드 정효근". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). July 19, 2018.
  21. ^ "Jeong Hyogeun - Basketball player profile & career statistics - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com.
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