Lee Hyun-jung (basketball)

Lee's mother, Sung Jung-a, won a silver medal while representing South Korea in basketball at the 1984 Summer Olympics. His father, Lee Yoon-hwan, played semi-professionally before becoming a high school athletic director and coach, while his older sister, Lee Ri-na, played for the South Korean under-16 national team.[1]

In middle school, Lee was only 170 centimeters and played as a guard, making him practice dribbling and mid-range shooting. By the end of his middle school years, Lee grew to over 190 centimeters. He played as a center during defense and a guard during the offense.[2] From his performance in middle school games, Lee was selected as a South Korean men's national basketball team in FIBA Asia Under-16 Championship. He averaged 14 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, leading his team to its first gold medal.[3][4]

Lee attended Samil Commercial School in Suwon, where he played basketball under the coaching of his father.[5] Afterwards, he was selected to the 2016 FIBA Under-17 World Championship and beat China in the round of 16. Lee faced United States in the quarterfinals, and got eliminated from the tournament. After experiencing the world stage, Lee was invited to the Asian Pacific team camp organized by NBA, where he was selected as the Camp All-Star and is offered admission at the NBA Global Academy. In 2018, he enrolled at the NBA Global Academy in Canberra, Australia. Lee learned to speak English while attending the academy.[6] He modeled his game after Klay Thompson.[7]

Lee struggled initially at the NBA Global Academy, but he managed his grades well and adapted well to the academy. In 2018, he scored 26 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 6 assists per game in the U18 Asian Basketball Championship.[8]

After the tournament, Lee performed well at the G-League showcase and received offers from 20 U.S. universities while managing SAT scores well. Lee decided to enter Davidson College, where Stephen Curry came from after the showcase.

Lee committed to playing college basketball for Davidson over an offer from Thompson's alma mater, Washington State. He drew the attention of head coach Bob McKillop and his staff at a Basketball Without Borders event.[6] He would become the fourth player and the second men's player from South Korea to play NCAA Division I basketball.[9]

Lee played for South Korea's junior national team at the 2015 FIBA Asia Under-16 Championship. He averaged 14 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, leading his team to its first gold medal at the tournament.[25][26] Lee represented South Korea at the 2016 FIBA Under-17 World Championship and led the 2018 FIBA Under-18 Asian Championship in scoring, assists and steals.[5] He was named to the senior national team for the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup qualification as well as the 2020 FIBA Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.[27]

His position is a swingman who can play shooting guard and small forward, and his ability to take three-pointers is very accurate, which makes him a sharpshooter. In his sophomore year, Lee had a field goal percentage of 50.3%, a three-point success rate of 43.6%, and a free throw success rate of 90.5%. It is characterized by a shooting form that takes a relatively fast release. The accuracy of catch and shot is considered a huge advantage, and his off-the-ball movement is above average in his division. Lee has a tendency to score with three-point catch and shoot and cut-in.

At the beginning of the second year, he scored more than 10 points in each game with his major offensive route, off-the-ball cut-in, and catch-and-shot. But he struggled in some games due to his opponent's physical intensive checks in the middle. Lee also increases the proportion of other attack options such as mid-range and drive-in.

• Lee Hyun-jung at FIBA
• Lee Hyun-jung at Eurobasket.com
• Lee Hyun-jung at College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com
• Lee Hyun-jung at RealGM
• Davidson Wildcats bio