“Coach, what kind of player was Yang Hee-jong?”
Yang Hee-jong, the man who always stood at the center of the golden age of Anyang KGC. He announced his retirement at the end of the 2022-23 season. At the end of the living history that led to the first championship match and the first combined championship, the two people who were happy to deliver a message.
Former DB coach Lee Sang-beom and Carrot coach Kim Seung-gi were once the main characters who led KGC to the top of KBL along with Yang Hee-jong. Coach Lee is remembered for winning his first championship match, and coach Kim winning his first combined championship.
Coach Lee has been with Yang Hee-jong since the 2007-08 season when he was a rookie. At first, the relationship between the two people, which started as a coach and player relationship, gradually developed into an acting coach-athlete, and after Yang Hee-jong was discharged from the military, a coach-athlete.
In the 2011-12 season, coach Lee and Yang Hee-jong enjoyed the best moment by winning the first championship game after beating Wonju Dongbu, ‘Dongbu Sanseong’. 온라인바카라
Coach Lee said, “(Yang) Hee-jong is a ‘very good player’. He has many players who are good at basketball. But there are not many good and great players,” he said. “A ‘very good player’ means a player who is good at basketball, can set an example, and can lead the team well. A team with such a player eventually wins,” he said.
He said, “Looking back at the first championship, our players were really young. Thinking about it now, it can be said to be really flashy, but most of them were rookies or players who had just returned from military service. What brought them together was veterans like Eun Hee-seok and Kim Seong-chul, but above all, it was possible because of Hee-jong.”
Coach Kim, who won the first combined championship in the 2016-17 season and the ‘Perfect 10’ in the 2020-21 season, was also full of praise for Yang Hee-jong. He said, “Heejong is a very special player to me. He won two championships in nearly 10 years,” he said. “There were both good and bad things during the time we spent together, but there are more good memories. If I get a chance, I want to visit her at her retirement ceremony and give her a bouquet of flowers. That’s why Heejong is a special person.”