Yang Hee-jong

Korean name
Hangul	양희종
Hanja	梁熙鍾
Revised Romanization	Yang Hui-jong
McCune–Reischauer	Yang Hŭichong

Yang Hee-Jong
No. 11 – Anyang KGC
Position	Forward
League	Korean Basketball League
Personal information
Born	May 11, 1984 (age 37); Suwon, South Korea
Nationality	South Korean
Listed height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Career information
High school	Samil Commercial High School
College	Yonsei University
Playing career	2007–present
Career history
2007–present	Anyang KT&G Kites / Anyang KGC
2009–2011	→ Sangmu (military service)
Career highlights and awards
	KBL Championship (2012, 2017, 2021); KBL regular season champion (2017); KBL Defensive Player of the Year (2014);
Representing South Korea
Men's Basketball
Asian Games
East Asian Games

Yang Hee-jong (born 11 May 1984) is a South Korean professional basketball player. He plays for the Anyang KGC of the Korean Basketball League and the South Korean national team.

Early life[]

Yang is a native of Suwon and attended Samil Commercial High School. He was more interested taekwondo but his PE teacher suggested that he try basketball as he had the physique and athleticism.^[1] Samil was known as one of the top basketball schools outside of Seoul and Yang quickly drew the attention of college basketball recruiters as well as youth national team selectors.^[2]

Career[]

College[]

Yang played college basketball for Yonsei University. His teammates at that time included Kim Tae-sul and Ha Seung-jin, who had been his junior in high school.^[2]^[1]

Professional[]

Yang was drafted third overall by Anyang KT&G Kites in the 2007 KBL rookie draft.^[3]

During the 2016-17 season, Yang played a pivotal role in Anyang KGC achieving a rare "double", winning both the regular season and the KBL Championship. He formed the core of a formidable team which included Lee Jung-hyun and Oh Se-keun.^[4]

After the 2018-19 season, Yang became a free agent after his contract ended. He decided to remain at Anyang KGC and signed a three-year contract.^[5]

With the emergence of Moon Seong-gon, it was expected that Yang's starting position would be under threat. Instead he formed a defensive partnership with Moon, his experience complementing Moon's stamina and pace.^[6] The duo have won three KBL Defensive Player of the Year awards between them and voted into the KBL Defensive Best 5 multiple times. During the semi-final rounds in the 2020-21 play-offs, they were dubbed "Defense Kings" after holding back a Busan KT Sonicboom team which had some of the league's best young players and most prolific shooters.^[7] Anyang KGC went on to win the KBL Championship that season.

National team[]

Yang was called up to the youth national teams and participated in the 2003 FIBA Under-19 World Championship. He made his senior national team debut at the FIBA Asia Championship 2007.^[8] At the FIBA Asia Championship 2009, Lee had his best individual tournament to date and helped the Koreans to a seventh-place finish while averaging a 12 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.^[9] Despite his efforts, Korea failed to qualify for the semifinals of the tournament for the first time in their 25 tournament appearances.