Song Kyo-chang

Song Kyo-chang (born 3 July 1996) is a South Korean professional basketball player. He currently plays for Jeonju KCC Egis in the Korean Basketball League and the South Korean national team.

In this Korean name, the family name is Song.
Song Kyo-chang
No. 2 – Jeonju KCC Egis
PositionForward
LeagueKorean Basketball League
Personal information
Born (1996-07-03) 3 July 1996
Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea
NationalitySouth Korean
Listed height199.5 cm (6 ft 7 in)
Listed weight95 kg (209 lb)
Career information
High schoolSamil Commercial High School
Playing career2015–present
Career history
2015–presentJeonju KCC Egis
Career highlights and awards
  • KBL regular season champions (2021)
  • KBL Most Valuable Player Award (2021)
  • 2x KBL Best 5 (2020, 2021)
Korean name
Hangul
송교창
Hanja
宋喬昌
Revised RomanizationSong Gyo-chang
McCune–ReischauerSong Kyoch'ang

Early life

Song graduated from Samil Commercial High School in Suwon and was a stand-out since his middle school days.[1] Samil was known as one of the top basketball schools outside of Seoul and he caught the attention of scouts, especially after his performances with the youth national teams. He opted against playing college basketball in order to be eligible for the 2015 KBL rookie draft.

Career

Professional

Song was drafted by Jeonju KCC Egis as the third overall pick. It was the first time since 2005 a high school graduate was drafted so early in the first round.[1] He was sent to the D League reserve team to gain more regular playing time and was gradually integrated into the professional team towards the end of the season.

Song began the 2019-20 season on a sour note, being ejected from the first game of the season for accumulated fouls. He averaged 15.05 points and led the league for points among domestic-born players. He was named into the KBL Best 5 and nominated for the Most Valuable Player Award but lost to Busan KT Sonicboom guard Heo Hoon.[2][3]

The 2020-21 was a break-out season for Song, who averaged 15.6 points and was regularly his team's top scorer in games. Song was named into the Best 5 and won the KBL Most Valuable Player Award, becoming the first "prep to pro" player to win it.[4][5] He and Heo led the league in points scored and assists respectively among domestic-born players and it was the first time domestic-born players have broken into the overall top 10 for both points and assists simultaneously since the establishment of the professional KBL.[6] Additionally, he became the youngest player to reach 3,000 career points.[7] With his five-year contract ending after the season, Song decided not to became a free agent and re-signed after successfully negotiating his contract.[8] In December, he was named Male Basketball Player of the Year at the Dong-a Sports Awards honoring domestic professional athletes across all disciplines.[9]

National team

Song participated in the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship where he averaged 16.5 points and ranked fifth in the tournament.[10][11]

Song was one of several younger players integrated into the senior national team under coach Kim Sang-shik. He participated in the 2019 William Jones Cup and in several qualifiers for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.[12][13] However, he was ultimately cut from the final 12-man squad for the World Cup as Kim Sang-shik opted for a more experienced line-up.[14]

References
  1. "고교생 송교창, 대학생 형들 제치고 KCC로". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 27 October 2015.
  2. "[KBL 시상식] 허훈-송교창-김종규-자밀 워니-캐디 라렌, BEST 5로 선정" (in Korean). BasketKorea.com. 20 April 2020.
  3. "'모두 새 얼굴' 확 바뀐 프로농구 베스트5-수비5걸". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). 20 April 2020.
  4. "2020-2021 현대모비스 프로농구 시상식 결과 안내" (in Korean). Korean Basketball League. 7 April 2021.
  5. "송교창, 고졸 출신 첫 MVP". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 8 April 2021.
  6. "허훈, 최고 듀얼 가드 우뚝…KBL 첫 국내 득점·어시스트 1위 동시 석권". Seoul Shinmun (in Korean). 7 April 2021.
  7. "물음표에서 느낌표로, '고졸 첫 MVP' 압도적 송교창 KBL 새 역사 썼다". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 7 April 2021.
  8. "'영원한 KCC맨' 송교창 "다른 선택 NO, 챔피언 향해 다시 GO!"". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 25 May 2021.
  9. "이정후, 2021 동아스포츠대상 프로야구 '올해의 선수'". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 6 December 2021.
  10. "2015 FIBA U-19 World Championship profile - Kyochang SONG". FIBA.
  11. "이승현-김준일 등 프로 6명, U-대회 대표팀 후보". Rookie (in Korean). 4 May 2015.
  12. "허웅 등 FIBA 농구월드컵 예비엔트리 24명 발표". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). 1 November 2018.
  13. "남자농구 대표팀 명단 발표…이정현·양홍석 등 포함". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). 31 January 2019.
  14. "이대성·허훈·양희종, 농구월드컵 최종명단 12명 발표" (in Korean). 24 July 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.