Heo Ung
No. 3 Busan KCC Egis
PositionShooting guard
LeagueKBL
Personal information
Born (1993-08-05) August 5, 1993
Seoul, South Korea
NationalitySouth Korean
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight172 lb (78 kg)
Career information
High schoolYongsan High School
CollegeYonsei University
KBL draft2014: 1st round, 5th overall pick
Playing career2014–present
Career history
2014-2022Wonju DB Promy
2022-presentBusan KCC Egis
2017-2019Sangmu (loan)
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Representing  South Korea
Asian Games
Bronze medal – third placeJakarta–Palembang 2018Team
FIBA Asia Cup
Bronze medal – third place2017 Lebanon
William Jones Cup
Silver medal – second place2016 Taipei
Bronze medal – third place2017 Taipei
Bronze medal – third place2018 Taipei
Heo Ung
Hangul
허웅
Hanja
許雄
Revised RomanizationHeo Ung
McCune–ReischauerHeo Woong

Heo Ung (born August 5, 1993) is a South Korean professional basketball player. He plays for Jeonju KCC Egis in the Korean Basketball League and the South Korean national team.[1]

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 the annual "friendship games" as well as all three major collegiate titles: being knocked out by Korea University in the MBC Cup quarter-finals, finishing runner-up to them in the U-League regular season standings 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

DB Promy (2014–2022)

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 then 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] Initially the back-up to the backcourt pair of Park Byung-woo and Doo Kyung-min, Heo was gradually given more playing time due to Park's injury problems and poor form.[10][11] With Park enlisting at the end of the season, Heo was expected to step in as the main shooting guard for the upcoming 2015–16 season. Despite being only in his second season as a professional, he topped the All-Star fan vote.[12] By the end of the season, he had established himself in the team and won the Most Improved Player Award, having averaged 12.03 points and playing in all 54 league games.[13][14]

In May 2017, Heo enlisted for mandatory military service and was assigned to the Sangmu team after completing basic training.[15] He was discharged in January 2019 and immediately returned to DB Promy's roster for the last few rounds of the 2018-19 season.[16] 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.[17]

2019–2022

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.[18] With the signing of free agent Kim Jong-kyu, he formed an offensive triumvirate together with Kim and Doo as DB finished the season at the top of the league table; due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the playoffs were canceled and the season's results were forfeited.[19] He underwent surgery on his ankle at the end of the season, which had been cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[20] After spending the off-season in rehabilitation, he returned in time for the 2020-21 season.[21]

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.[22]

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.[23] 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.[24] 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.[25] 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.[26] Two weeks later, against Daegu KOGAS Pegasus, he became the 97th player in KBL history to reach 3,000 career points.[27] He became the first domestic player since the 2011–12 season to score more than 900 points in the regular season, a rare feat for a shooting guard in a league which is still largely dependent on foreign players (mainly forwards and centers) to score.[28] DB failed to qualify for the playoffs but he was voted into the KBL Best 5 for the first time and was the player from the lowest-ranked team to be selected.

Jeonju KCC Egis (2022–present)

Heo became a free agent at the end of the 2021–22 season. On May 24, it was announced that he had signed a five-year contract with Jeonju KCC Egis.[29][30][31]

National team career

Heo was selected for the youth national teams as a high school student and participated in the 2011 U-19 World Championship.[32] He participated in the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup and the 2018 Asian Games.[33][34] 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.[35] 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.[36][37]

In 2022, Heo was recalled to the national team for the first time in three years. Following his good form during the 2021–22 season, he was named in the squad to face the Philippines for a series of pre-2022 FIBA Asia Cup friendly games and was the first-option shooting guard.[38][39] He made the final 12-man squad for the Asia Cup together with his younger brother, marking the first time since the 2018 Asian Games the brothers had been in the same squad for a major international tournament.[40][41][42]

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.[43] 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".[44] In July 2021 they received the Silver Creator Award button for surpassing 100,000 subscribers.[45]

Since June 2022, Heo has been represented by ESteem Entertainment.[46]

Filmography

Television shows

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2021 Boss in the Mirror Special MC Ep. 109–111 (with Hur Jae) [47]
Family Register Mate Special Cast Test broadcast [48]
2022 Impossible Time Cast Member [49][50]
Sports Golden Bell Contestant Chuseok Special [51]

Web series

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2022 Frankly In-house Dating Ji Hoon-ji Promotional Video (PV) [52]

References

  1. FIBA profile
  2. "[농구]허재 美 페퍼다인大 코치로 변신". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). 20 July 2004.
  3. "[양터뷰] 허재네 농구 드라마, 작가는 이 여자". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 5 May 2020.
  4. ""학교 농구부 텃세 상상 초월, 왜 이런 환경서 운동하는지…"". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 15 October 2017.
  5. "KBL 최고의 흥행보증수표! '피는 못 속인' 농구대통령의 두 아들, 허웅&허훈 ②". Rookie (in Korean). 2 August 2020.
  6. 1 2 "[우리가 미래다 ④]"우리는 홀로서기 중!" 연세대 허웅-허훈 형제" (in Korean). BasketKorea.com. 21 March 2014.
  7. "<농구최강전> 연세대 허웅 "아빠보다 잘생겼죠"". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). 28 November 2012.
  8. 1 2 "[농구]'허재 아들' 연세대 허웅, 프로 조기 진출". The Chosun Ilbo. 24 August 2014.
  9. "26년전 허재와 아들 허웅의 데뷔전…닮은 점, 다른 점은?". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). 3 November 2014.
  10. "'2시즌 부진했던' LG 박병우, "자신감 찾아서 달라지겠다"". Jumpball (in Korean). 4 July 2019.
  11. "<프로농구> 동부산성에 가려진 박병우 '나도 있소!'". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). 4 January 2015.
  12. "허웅 "아버지, 올스타 투표 1위 먹었어요"". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). 22 December 2015.
  13. "'많이 컸네' 허웅·전준범 일취월장… MIP 경쟁 치열". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 21 December 2015.
  14. "[성장한 남자들] '동부의 슈퍼노바' 허웅, 농구 DNA를 증명하다!" (in Korean). BasketKorea.com. 9 April 2016.
  15. "김수찬·한상혁·김종범·이대헌, 상무농구단 추가 합격". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). 28 June 2017.
  16. "DB 이상범 감독이 구상하는 허웅 활용법은?". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). 15 January 2019.
  17. "'리틀 허재' 형제의 난...허웅-허훈 첫 맞대결, 형이 웃었다". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 13 February 2019.
  18. "[내가 최고] '농구의 꽃' 3점을 가장 많이 넣은 선수는?" (in Korean). BasketKorea.com. 14 April 2020.
  19. "김종규와 두경민, 서로를 향한 믿음" (in Korean). BasketKorea.com. 2 October 2020.
  20. "부단히 복귀 준비하는 허웅 "앞으로 10년을 바라보며 재활에 집중"". Jumpball (in Korean). 3 July 2020.
  21. "재활 후 팀 훈련 복귀한 DB 허웅 "부상 없는 시즌이 최우선 목표"" (in Korean). BasketKorea.com. 6 September 2020.
  22. "허웅 16점 DB, kt 꺾고 '최하위 탈출 보인다'…허훈은 17점". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). 1 February 2021.
  23. "허훈 빠진 자리에서 허웅이 훨훨 날았다". The Hankyoreh (in Korean). 10 October 2021.
  24. "허훈 없이도 나는 KT, 허웅 맹활약 DB…'허형허제' 시즌 될까". The Hankyoreh (in Korean). 19 October 2021.
  25. "[기록] DB 허웅, 아버지 허재 전 감독처럼 3점슛 10개 실패". Jumpball (in Korean). 1 November 2021.
  26. "DB 허웅 39점 올렸지만, LG 서민수 위닝 자유투". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 1 December 2021.
  27. "[기록] 'DB 에이스' 허웅, 통산 97번째 정규경기 3,000득점 달성" (in Korean). BasketKorea.com. 13 December 2021.
  28. "'KBL 대스타' 허웅이 10년 만에 다시 작성한 대기록!" (in Korean). BasketKorea.com. 6 April 2022.
  29. "동반데뷔·동반입대·동반입단…이승현·허웅 KCC행". The Hankyoreh (in Korean). 24 May 2022.
  30. "'이젠 KCC맨' 허웅 "아버지 이끄는 데이원, 전혀 생각 안했다"". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). 24 May 2022.
  31. "프로농구 KCC, 5년 7억 5000만원에 허웅⋅이승현 영입". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 24 May 2022.
  32. 2011 FIBA U-19 World Championship profile
  33. 2017 FIBA Asia Cup profile
  34. "Business as usual for coaching father, playing sons on men's Asiad hoops team". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). 8 August 2018.
  35. "Sport isn't always a family affair". Korea JoongAng Daily. 9 September 2018.
  36. "허웅 등 FIBA 농구월드컵 예비엔트리 24명 발표". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). 1 November 2018.
  37. "이대성·허훈·양희종, 농구월드컵 최종명단 12명 발표" (in Korean). 24 July 2019.
  38. "허웅-허훈-여준석이 주도한 남자농구대표팀의 평가전 흥행". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). June 19, 2022.
  39. "이제는 '국대 아이돌'... 허웅 "농구 부흥 이끌 기회가 왔다"". Hankook Ilbo (in Korean). June 16, 2022.
  40. "농구대표팀, FIBA 아시아컵 최종 명단 확정…'해외 진출' 여준석 제외". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 20 June 2022.
  41. "남자농구 아시아컵 최종 엔트리…여준석 대신 이우석 합류". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). 20 June 2022.
  42. "Philippine friendlies show Korea on good form ahead of FIBA Asian Cup". Korea JoongAng Daily. 22 June 2022.
  43. "코삼부자 by 허웅 허훈 허재". YouTube.
  44. "'농구대통령'에서 '국민 시아버지'로… "두 아들 덕에 재벌 부럽지 않아요"". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 18 June 2021.
  45. "FINALLY Silver Button Unboxing" (in Korean). 코삼부자 YouTube Channel. 30 July 2021.
  46. Lee Yu-na (June 3, 2022). "허웅, 에스팀엔터와 전속 계약..."새로운 영역에서 소통할 것" (공식)" [Heo Woong, an exclusive contract with ESteem Enter..."Communication in a new area" (official)] (in Korean). YTN. Retrieved June 3, 2022 via Naver.
  47. Cha, Hye-rin (May 23, 2021). "허웅 "父 허재, TV 켤 줄만 알고 컴퓨터는 해 본 적도 없어" 폭로" (in Korean). iMBC via Naver.
  48. 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.
  49. 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.
  50. Hyun Jung-min (May 19, 2022). "허재X허웅X허훈 삼父子 섬 생활기…'허섬세월' 6월 15일 첫 방" [Jae Heo X Woong Heo X Hoon Heo The three sons living on an island… The first episode of 'Impure Time' on June 15th] (in Korean). Sports World. Retrieved May 19, 2022 via Naver.
  51. Jang, Da-hee (September 2, 2022). "서장훈-전현무, KBS 추석특집 '스포츠 골든벨' MC 호흡" [Seo Jang-hoon and Jeon Hyun-moo, MCs for KBS Chuseok Special 'Sports Golden Bell'] (in Korean). spoTV News. Retrieved September 2, 2022 via Naver.
  52. Gong Yeo-ju (July 7, 2022). "허재 아들' 허웅, '대놓고 사내연애' 주연 맡았다...첫 연기 도전(공식)" [Heo Jae's son' Heo Woong, 'Frankly dating a man' took on the lead role... First acting challenge (official)] (in Korean). YTN. Retrieved July 7, 2022 via Naver.
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