Lee Hang-beom’s Miracle: Making the Pros

He is only 1m 68cm tall. He has played on the street basketball stage and he didn’t go to college. He did military service as an artilleryman. His past history can’t explain his becoming a pro basketball player.

But a miracle occurred when he accomplished his dream to be a professional basketball player. He is 24-year-old Lee Hang-beom. He got to wear KCC’s uniform as he was drafted in 14th place among rookies of the Korean Basketball League at the Seoul Education and Culture Hall on February 4. When he heard his name called, Lee shed tears with a look of disbelief. It was the moment that the shortest player passed through the draft as the first ever high school graduate.

“I am extremely happy. The memories of suffering in the past struck me. It was a tough time, but I didn’t give up.”

Enjoying basketball games with his buddies just for fun near Han River in 8th grade, Lee became a basketball player after being picked up by former Kumho Life coach Shin Dong-chan, and was noteworthy as a point guard in Hong-ik high school. He was scouted in Seong Kyunkwan University in the end of 1998, but he couldn’t enter the college due to his low SAT score.

He drank a bitter cup for his challenge to the 2001 draft after he made up his mind to go to the pro league directly. He then joined the army that year and performed his military service at the front-line camp of Yeoncheon, Kyungi-do. He frequently did weight training to maintain his body and did not give up basketball. Now he finally enters the professional stage with the benefit of his training with his high school juniors at his alma mater since his discharge from military service last June.

Lee wept, saying, “Frankly I would have been glad if I had been picked up as just a trainee. I will do my best to reach their expectations, considering my tough days,” with his hair cut short to show his preparedness.

The actor of medium standing and his father, Lee Byung-chul (56), said, “I felt sorry when I saw him training by himself,” and hugged his son with great joy.

KCC Coach, Shin Seon-woo, who chose Lee, commented, “I saw him in a practice match and he was remarkable. I thought that he was very quick and he had great capacity.”

Meanwhile, point guard Yang Dong-geun (23-year-old, Hanyang University junior) was named as the first-round pick and will wear a Mobis uniform. As soon as he was chosen by KCC, he was traded to Mobis. This was because Mobis had the privilege since Mobis traded Basset for KCC’s Hoff. It is the first time in seven drafts that a player from Hanyang University has been selected first.

Yang Dong-geun, the younger cousin of TG Sambo’s Yang Kyoung-min, scored 18 points, captured 5 rebounds, and made 3 assists per game in the last Basketball Festival.

Guard Lee Jeong-seok (Yeonsei University), the one year junior of Yang Dong-geun in Yongsan High School and the player who jumped to the pro league after finishing three years, was selected by SBS as the second pick. Only 17 players out of 33 participants entered the pro league at the draft and, the second fewest number ever.

Jong-Seok Kim kjs0123@donga.com