Kim Joo-sung (basketball)

Kim Joo-sung (Korean: 김주성; born 9 November 1979) is a South Korean basketball coach and retired player. A forward-center, he spent his entire sixteen-year playing career with Wonju DB Promy. Since 2019 he has been a coach at Wonju DB Promy.

Kim Joo-Sung
Personal information
Born (1979-11-09) November 9, 1979 (age 44)
U-dong, Haeundae-gu, Busan
NationalitySouth Korean
Listed height6 ft 8.75 in (2.05 m)
Listed weight203 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High schoolDong-a High School
CollegeChung-Ang University
Playing career2002–2018
PositionPower forward / center
Coaching career2019–present
Career history
As player:
2002–2018Wonju DB Promy
As coach:
2019–presentWonju DB Promy
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Representing  South Korea
Men's basketball
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place 1998 Bangkok Team
Gold medal – first place 2002 Busan Team
Silver medal – second place 2010 Guangzhou Team
Gold medal – first place 2014 Incheon Team
FIBA Asia Championship
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Japan Team
Bronze medal – third place 2011 China Team
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Philippines Team
Kim Joo-sung
Hangul
김주성
Hanja
Revised RomanizationGim Ju-seong
McCune–ReischauerKim Chu-sŏng

Early life edit

A native of Busan, Kim grew up in the district of Haeundae-gu. Kim only began focusing on basketball in high school, relatively late compared to many of his KBL peers.[1] His younger sister Kim Hyang-ran is a former volleyball player. The siblings had a financially unstable upbringing as their childhood coincided with the 1997 Asian financial crisis, which greatly affected South Korea, and both their parents had physical disabilities caused by polio and scoliosis.[2]

College career edit

Kim played college basketball at Chung-Ang University and drew comparisons to Seo Jang-hoon for his height.[3] During the 2000 National Basketball Festival tournament, he ranked first in rebounds and points scored and named the MVP.[4] His stellar performances in other Korea University Basketball Federation tournaments earned him a call-up to the national team.

Playing career edit

Wonju TG Xers / Wonju DB Promy edit

After college, Kim joined the Wonju TG Xers. He was the first overall pick of the 2002 KBL rookie draft.[5][1] Kim had one of the best rookie recording averages with 17.04 points, 8.72 rebounds, 2.24 assists, and 2.07 blocks in the season. In addition, he helped the team win the championship keeping the goal in the post-season of the 2002-2003 league. Kim averaged 18.85 points, 8.85 rebounds, and 2.43 shoot-blocks and won the Most Valuable Player of the league in the 2003–2004 season. However, the Xers failed to win the championship of 2003–2004, losing to Jeonju KCC Egis. In spite of the team's loss, The Xers won the championship in the 2004–2005 season, and Kim won the Most Valuable Player of the post-season for the first time.

The Xers was taken over by Dongbu Group, was reorganized to Wonju Dongbu Promy, later shortened to Wonju DB Promy due to the company's rebranding. Though the Promy took third place, they failed in the playoff, losing to Daegu Orions. The next year, Kim was injured and could not participate. Therefore, Promy ranked eighth in the league and did not qualify for the play-offs.

In the 2007–2008 season, his team won the championship by defeating Seoul Samsung Thunders. Kim won the KBL Most Valuable Player Award for the second time and led the league in blocks that season.

During the 2011–12 season, Kim was a key player in Dongbu's defensive prowess, which led to the team earning the nickname "Dongbu Mountain Fortress".[6] Along with center Rod Benson (206 meters) and forward Yoon Ho-young (197 meters), the trio were dubbed the "Triple Posts of the Dongbu Mountain Fortress" by the press after shutting down some of the league's best offensive players.[7] Kim went on to win the KBL Defensive Player of the Year award while Yoon was named regular season MVP and Benson won the Foreign Player of the Year award.

Kim announced that he would be retiring after the 2017-18 season. Although he was mostly the sixth man, he played a crucial role in Promy finishing at the top of the league. He was nominated for the Defensive Player of the Year and won the Sixth Man Award at the annual KBL awards.[8]

Kim is the first player to exceed 1000 blocks in the KBL, earning him the nickname "Emperor of Blocks" (블록슛 황제).[3][2] He was ranked second, behind Seo Jang-hoon, for the all-time most number of rebounds in KBL history; Seo's record was eventually surpassed by Ra Gun-ah in January 2022.[9][10][11] He was the league's highest-paid domestic player from 2004 to 2012.[12][13] In December 2018, Wonju DB Promy announced that his number 32 jersey would be permanently retired, the club's second jersey to be retired after his former teammate Hur Jae.[14][15]

National team edit

Kim was first called up to the senior national team while in college. He won two gold medals at the Asian Games, the 2002 and 2014 editions.

Coaching career edit

Kim returned to his former team in 2019 as a member of the coaching staff.[16] Since the 2020-21 season, he also oversees the club's D League reserve team.[17][18]

Personal life edit

Kim married Korean-American entrepreneur Park Ji-sun in 2008 after an eight-year courtship.[19][20] They have two daughters.[2]

Kim's sixteen-year playing career with Wonju DB Promy overlapped with that of Hur Jae and the latter's older son Heo Ung, who was drafted by Promy in 2014. It marked a rare instance in domestic basketball of a player being teammates with both a father-son duo for the same professional team.[21]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "[스타포커스]삼보 김주성 "일단체중부터늘려야죠"". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). February 3, 2002.
  2. ^ a b c "<프로농구> '1천 블록' 김주성 "농구는 내 인생 행복이자 행운"". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). January 6, 2016.
  3. ^ a b "김주성 전 농구선수(사회체육학부 98학번)". Chung-Ang University News (ChungDae Shinmun) (in Korean). Chung-Ang University. May 21, 2018.
  4. ^ "[농구대잔치] 김주성 '펄펄'…중앙대 2연패". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). January 28, 2000.
  5. ^ "대형 센터 김주성, 삼보 유니폼 입었다". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). January 29, 2002.
  6. ^ "19-20 DB, '동부산성' 이후 8년 만에 최고 수비 수치". Rookie (in Korean). March 27, 2020.
  7. ^ "'동부산성'의 위력 앞에 모비스 무릎 꿇다". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). January 5, 2012.
  8. ^ "2020-2021 현대모비스 프로농구 시상식 결과 안내" (in Korean). Korean Basketball League. 7 April 2021.
  9. ^ "'5236개' 라건아, '국보급 센터' 서장훈 리바운드 넘었다" (in Korean). 19 January 2022.
  10. ^ "[프로농구] 굿바이 김주성 "지금의 나를 있게 한 건 서장훈"". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). April 21, 2018.
  11. ^ "For Kim, it's been all about the struggle". Korea JoongAng Daily. March 20, 2017.
  12. ^ "김주성, 8시즌 연속 KBL '연봉킹'". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). July 1, 2012.
  13. ^ "김주성 6억…8시즌연속 KBL 연봉킹". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). July 1, 2012.
  14. ^ "프로농구 DB 김주성 은퇴식…32번은 '영구 결번'" (in Korean). JTBC Official YouTube channel. December 26, 2018.
  15. ^ "[프로농구] Goo'D B'ye 김주성…전설이 된 32번". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). December 26, 2018.
  16. ^ "프로농구 DB 김주성 코치-김종규, 나란히 '제2의 농구인생' 시작". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). September 29, 2019.
  17. ^ ""놔 두라고!" 신명호 코치, 김주성에 맞대결 승리…1순위 차민석 데뷔 연기" (in Korean). KBS. December 2, 2020.
  18. ^ "[D리그] '혹독한 신고식' 김주성 코치 "출발이 아쉬웠다"" (in Korean). BasketKorea.com. November 17, 2020.
  19. ^ "김주성 선수 '결혼 골인' 170cm 사업가와 5월에". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). March 14, 2018.
  20. ^ "농구스타 김주성, 요가 사업가와 5월 결혼". The Hankyoreh (in Korean). March 13, 2008.
  21. ^ "은퇴 앞둔 남자농구 대들보 김주성". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). February 11, 2018.

External links edit