Heo Ung
Heo Ung (born August 5, 1993) is a South Korean professional basketball player. He plays for Wonju DB Promy in the Korean Basketball League and the South Korean national team.[1]
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No. 3 – Wonju DB Promy | |
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Position | Shooting guard |
League | KBL |
Personal information | |
Born | Seoul, South Korea | August 5, 1993
Nationality | South Korean |
Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
Listed weight | 172 lb (78 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Yongsan High School |
College | Yonsei University |
KBL draft | 2014 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5th overall |
Playing career | 2014–present |
Career history | |
2014-present | Wonju DB Promy |
2017-2019 | → Sangmu (loan) |
Heo Ung | |
Hangul | 허웅 |
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Hanja | 許雄 |
Revised Romanization | Heo Ung |
McCune–Reischauer | Heo Woong |
Early life
Heo only began focusing on basketball in middle school, relatively late compared to many of his KBL peers, as his father, retired basketball player and coach Hur Jae, had been staunchly opposed to him and his younger brother becoming professional athletes. He spent a year and a half of his elementary school years in the United States when his father was sent for coaching training and worked as a coach at Pepperdine University.[2] During this period, he and his brother were among the few Asians at their school and played basketball to escape being targets of racism and bullying.[3][4][5] The family returned to South Korea when their father became the new Jeonju KCC Egis head coach and the brothers attended Yongsan Middle School and Yongsan High School, both of which are known for their basketball teams.
College career
Heo turned down his father's alma mater Chung-Ang University to play for Yonsei University. His younger brother would join him at Yonsei two years later.[6]
During his freshman year, Heo impressed at the Professional-Amateur Series, in which college basketball teams played a series of friendly games against KBL professional and reserve teams.[7] He won the College Basketball Rookie of the Year award.[8] His last year at Yonsei ended on a sour note when Yonsei lost to rival Korea University in all three major collegiate titles: being knocked out by Korea University in the MBC Cup quarter-finals, finishing runner-up to them in the league and losing to them in the championship finals. However, he impressed in the MBC Cup quarter-final loss to Korea University by scoring 27 points, including eight 3-pointers, and caught the attention of KBL scouts.[6] He dropped out during his junior year after deciding to turn professional.[8]
Professional career
2014–2019
Heo declared for the 2014 KBL rookie draft and it was widely predicted that he would be picked by Jeonju KCC Egis, which was coached by his father Hur Jae. Jeonju KCC Egis had been assigned the fourth pick but Hur Jae chose Kim Ji-hoo from Korea University instead to prevent his son's career from being overshadowed. Heo was instead picked by Wonju DB Promy at fifth. He made his debut in October against Goyang Orions, contributing 5 points, 3 assists and 2 interceptions.[9] He won the All-Star fan vote at the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 KBL seasons.[10]
In May 2017, Heo enlisted for mandatory military service and was assigned to the Sangmu team after completing basic training.[11] He was discharged in January 2019 and immediately returned to DB Promy's roster for the last few rounds of the 2018-19 season.[12] By then his younger brother turned professional and DB Promy's match-up with his brother's team Busan KT Sonicboom in February drew much attention as it was the first time they had played against one another in the KBL.[13]
2019–present
Heo was plagued by persistent back and ankle problems during the 2019-20 season but averaged a career-high of 13.7 points in 14 games and ranked second for 3-point shots among domestic-born players.[14] With the signing of free agent Kim Jong-kyu, he formed an offensive triumvirate together with Kim and long-time DB teammate Doo Kyung-min as DB finished the season at the top of the league table; due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the play-offs were canceled and the season's results were forfeited.[15] He underwent surgery on his ankle at the end of the season, which had been cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[16] After spending the off-season in rehabilitation, he returned in time for the 2020-21 season.[17]
Several games into the 2020-21 season, Heo suffered a knee injury. Due to injury problems ravaging the team throughout the season, the players had little time to gel and Heo occasionally had to play despite not being in peak physical condition. DB finished the season at 9th place, second from the bottom of the league table.[18]
The 2021-22 season began well for Heo as he put up 26 points and 5 rebounds against Suwon KT Sonicboom in the season opening game.[19] With the departure of Doo, who was traded to Daegu KOGAS Pegasus, he was forced to fill Doo's void as the team's main three-pointer specialist.[20] However, in October against Goyang Orion Orions, he failed to score ten three-point shots in a row, leading commentators to humorously draw parallels with his father setting the same unwanted personal record during the 2000-01 season.[21] In December, Heo reached two personal career benchmarks: the most points scored in a single game and reaching 3,000 points. He scored 39 points in DB's narrow loss to Changwon LG Sakers on December 1.[22] Two weeks later, against Daegu KOGAS Pegasus, he became the 97th player in KBL history to reach 3,000 career points.[23]
National team
Heo was selected for the youth national teams as a high school student and participated in the 2011 U-19 World Championship.[24] He participated in the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup and the 2018 Asian Games.[25][26] Early on, during his father's tenure as the national team coach, Heo's selection was constantly a source of criticism and accusations of favouritism, which came to a head after South Korea failed to defend their gold medal at the Asian Games. His and his younger brother's selections were particularly criticized by the press and other league team coaches. Both brothers were also excluded from the squad list for the next several games after the Asian Games.[27] He was recalled for the qualifiers for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup and named in the World Cup preliminary squad but did not make the final 12-man squad.[28][29]
Personal life
Heo is the older son of retired South Korean basketball player and former national team coach Hur Jae. His younger brother Heo Hoon also played for Yonsei University and currently plays for Suwon KT Sonicboom.
Heo Ung and Heo Hoon launched a jointly-run YouTube channel called Ko Sambuja (코삼부자), documenting their lives as professional athletes.[30] Ko (코) is the Korean word for nose, a tongue in cheek reference to the brothers and their father having large noses, and sambuja (삼부자) means "father and son trio".[31] In July 2021 they received the Silver Creator Award button for surpassing 100,000 subscribers.[32]
Filmography
References
- FIBA profile
- "[농구]허재 美 페퍼다인大 코치로 변신". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). 20 July 2004.
- "[양터뷰] 허재네 농구 드라마, 작가는 이 여자". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 5 May 2020.
- ""학교 농구부 텃세 상상 초월, 왜 이런 환경서 운동하는지…"". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 15 October 2017.
- "KBL 최고의 흥행보증수표! '피는 못 속인' 농구대통령의 두 아들, 허웅&허훈 ②". Rookie (in Korean). 2 August 2020.
- "[우리가 미래다 ④]"우리는 홀로서기 중!" 연세대 허웅-허훈 형제" (in Korean). BasketKorea.com. 21 March 2014.
- "<농구최강전> 연세대 허웅 "아빠보다 잘생겼죠"". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). 28 November 2012.
- "[농구]'허재 아들' 연세대 허웅, 프로 조기 진출". The Chosun Ilbo. 24 August 2014.
- "26년전 허재와 아들 허웅의 데뷔전…닮은 점, 다른 점은?". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). 3 November 2014.
- "허웅 "아버지, 올스타 투표 1위 먹었어요"". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). 22 December 2015.
- "김수찬·한상혁·김종범·이대헌, 상무농구단 추가 합격". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). 28 June 2017.
- "DB 이상범 감독이 구상하는 허웅 활용법은?". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). 15 January 2019.
- "'리틀 허재' 형제의 난...허웅-허훈 첫 맞대결, 형이 웃었다". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 13 February 2019.
- "[내가 최고] '농구의 꽃' 3점을 가장 많이 넣은 선수는?" (in Korean). BasketKorea.com. 14 April 2020.
- "김종규와 두경민, 서로를 향한 믿음" (in Korean). BasketKorea.com. 2 October 2020.
- "부단히 복귀 준비하는 허웅 "앞으로 10년을 바라보며 재활에 집중"". Jumpball (in Korean). 3 July 2020.
- "재활 후 팀 훈련 복귀한 DB 허웅 "부상 없는 시즌이 최우선 목표"" (in Korean). BasketKorea.com. 6 September 2020.
- "허웅 16점 DB, kt 꺾고 '최하위 탈출 보인다'…허훈은 17점". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). 1 February 2021.
- "허훈 빠진 자리에서 허웅이 훨훨 날았다". The Hankyoreh (in Korean). 10 October 2021.
- "허훈 없이도 나는 KT, 허웅 맹활약 DB…'허형허제' 시즌 될까". The Hankyoreh (in Korean). 19 October 2021.
- "[기록] DB 허웅, 아버지 허재 전 감독처럼 3점슛 10개 실패". Jumpball (in Korean). 1 November 2021.
- "DB 허웅 39점 올렸지만, LG 서민수 위닝 자유투". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 1 December 2021.
- "[기록] 'DB 에이스' 허웅, 통산 97번째 정규경기 3,000득점 달성" (in Korean). BasketKorea.com. 13 December 2021.
- 2011 FIBA U-19 World Championship profile
- 2017 FIBA Asia Cup profile
- "Business as usual for coaching father, playing sons on men's Asiad hoops team". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). 8 August 2018.
- "Sport isn't always a family affair". Korea JoongAng Daily. 9 September 2018.
- "허웅 등 FIBA 농구월드컵 예비엔트리 24명 발표". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). 1 November 2018.
- "이대성·허훈·양희종, 농구월드컵 최종명단 12명 발표" (in Korean). 24 July 2019.
- "코삼부자 by 허웅 허훈 허재". YouTube.
- "'농구대통령'에서 '국민 시아버지'로… "두 아들 덕에 재벌 부럽지 않아요"". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 18 June 2021.
- "FINALLY Silver Button Unboxing" (in Korean). 코삼부자 YouTube Channel. 30 July 2021.
- Kim Hye-young (September 1, 2021). "김정은 자매-허웅×허훈 형제-이지훈 남매… '호적 메이트' 초특급 출연진 공개" [Sister Kim Jong-un - Ung Heo × Brother Hoon Heo - Siblings Lee Ji-hoon… 'Family Register Mate' Super Special Cast Revealed]. iMBC (in Korean). Retrieved September 1, 2021 – via Naver.
- Go Jae-wan (May 4, 2022). "[단독] '허삼부자' 허재·허웅·허훈, JTBC 새 예능 '허섬세월' 출격" [[Exclusive] 'The Three Rich People' Heo Jae, Heo Woong, and Heo Hoon, JTBC's new entertainment show 'Awkward Times' scramble] (in Korean). Sports Chosun. Retrieved May 4, 2022 – via Naver.
External Links
- Career Statistics from the Korean Basketball League website (in Korean)