| Jeong Hyo-geun | |
| Position: | Power forward |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 7 |
| Weight Lb: | 205 |
| League: | Korean Basketball League |
| Team: | Anyang KGC |
| Number: | 31 |
| Birth Date: | 1993 12, mf=yes |
| Birth Place: | Seoul, South Korea |
| College: | Hanyang University |
| Draft Year: | 2014 |
| Draft Round: | 1 |
| Draft Pick: | 3 |
| Draft League: | KBL |
| Career Start: | 2014 |
| Years1: | 2014–2023 |
| Team1: | Incheon Electroland Elephants / Daegu KOGAS Pegasus |
| Years2: | 2019–2021 |
| Team2: | → Sangmu (loan) |
| Years3: | 2023–present |
| Team3: | Anyang KGC |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul: | 정효근 |
| Hanja: | 鄭效根 |
| Rr: | Jeong Hyo-geun |
| Mr: | Chŏng Hyokŭn |
Jeong Hyo-geun (born December 14, 1993) is a South Korean professional basketball player.[1] [2] for the Korean Basketball League side Anyang KGC and the South Korean national team.[3]
Jeong attended Daekyung Information Industrial High School in Seoul.[4] As a high school student, he was already over 190 cm tall. Most of his peers of similar height were converted into forwards or centers after their growth spurt while the shorter students were assigned to the guard positions but he played as a guard from elementary school all the way until high school.[5]
At Hanyang University, Jeong was moved to the center position by his coach in order to better utilize his height.[6] [7] He eventually became the team's "center-forward" swingman. During his junior season, he was Hanyang's top scorer with an average of 19.8 points in the U-League (ranking second overall).[8] [9]
Jeong was the third overall pick of the 2014 KBL rookie draft and was drafted by the Incheon Electroland Elephants.[10] He was one of the few players in the draft who was not a senior, having chosen to declare early instead.[11] During his rookie season he averaged 5.05 points, 2.48 rebounds and 0.83 assists. He switched position again, this time to forward, at the suggestion of his manager Yoo Do-hoon.[7]
In the 2015–16 season, he averaged 6.78 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists. In his 3rd season there, he averaged 8.18 points, 4.54 rebounds and 1.46 assists.
In the 2017–18 season, he averaged 8.51 points 3.88 rebounds and 1.98 assists. The Elephants finished participated in the Summer Super 8 and Jeong, who had been left out of the national team, took advantage of the absence of key players. He scored 13 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks in the third-place match.[12]
In the 2018–19 season, Jeong formed a partnership with Kang Sang-jae and the duo were among the key players in the team's record-breaking season.[13] The Elephants finished runners-up in the league table and made it to the finals of the play-offs, their best ever season result in franchise history. Jeong averaged 10.77 points, 4.85 rebounds and 2.58 assists.[14] [15] He was voted into the KBL All-Star for the first time.[16] His good form that season earned him a recall to the national team.
In June 2019, Jeong enlisted for mandatory military service and was assigned to the Sangmu team after completing basic training.[17] He was discharged in January 2021 and immediately rejoined his team for the remainder of the 2020–21 season.[18] [19]
Jeong has mostly been a reserve player for the South Korean national team behind the likes of Yang Hee-jong, Lim Dong-seob and Kang Sang-jae in the depth chart. Despite his good form in 2018, he was left out of the squads for the William Jones Cup and Asian Games.[20] He made the final tournament squad for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup where he averaged 3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.3 assist at the tournament.[1] [21]