“It still feels like a dream to be training with the professional athletes I saw on TV, as I was playing in a club just a few days ago.”
Jeong Seong-jo (24, Goyang Sono), a hot rookie who we met at Goyang Sono Arena in the professional basketball (KBL) team on the 3rd, smiled as he expressed his feelings about entering his third week as a pro. He was selected by Sono as the second pick in the third round in the 2024 rookie draft held on the 15th of last month. It was the first time in KBL history that a ‘non-selected player’ joined a professional team. Jeong Seong-jo said, “It still doesn’t feel real. When I wake up, I check again and again whether I have truly become a professional athlete. “More than anything, it feels like a dream to be the person who set the ‘first record.’”
Forward Jeong Seong-jo, who is 1m91cm tall, started playing basketball at a youth club in his hometown, Anyang, Gyeonggi-do, when he was in the sixth grade of elementary school. No elite athlete experience. He joined the basketball team in his second year at Hongik University Middle School, but quit after three months due to an ankle injury. Jeong Seong-jo said, “As soon as I started playing basketball, my ankle started hurting, so I went to the hospital, and was diagnosed that I needed to have my navicular bone (the bone below the calf bone) removed before I could play. “It was a major surgery that took a year to recover from, so I gave up my dream of becoming an elite athlete,” he confessed.
But I didn’t give up on basketball itself. He swept the championships in 3-on-3 street basketball and 5-on-5 basketball in every amateur competition he participated in. I studied well and passed the college entrance exam and entered the Department of Sports Science at Sungkyunkwan University. Jeong Seong-jo said, “I ran to the court whenever I had time, but I never neglected my studies,” and boasted, “I even placed fourth in the school when I was a high school student.” After entering college, I focused on basketball. I joined a club team and traveled around the country. In the amateur basketball world, the name ‘Jeong Seong-jo’ has become so famous that there is no one who does not know it.
Jeong Seong-jo said, “My friends call me ‘Nongchinnom (a person crazy about basketball).’ I skipped school lectures and ran to the court. “Since I played basketball like a meal, my skills improved a lot,” he said. What made his name known to the professional world was the 3-on-3 basketball tournament hosted by the Korea Basketball Association on the 8th of last month. Jeong Seong-jo, who played for the club team, scored a decisive goal in the semifinals and defeated Korea University, which was comprised of elite players. In the subsequent finals, they scored the winning goal 10 seconds before the end, defeating Yonsei University and winning.
In the end, a week later, in the rookie draft, Jeong Seong-jo wore a Sono uniform. Regarding the reason why he participated in the professional draft after only playing amateur basketball, he said, “I am currently a senior in college, and I was very worried about ‘what will I do for a living when I graduate?’ I heard that I worked hard and was good at basketball, so I thought I wouldn’t regret it if I tried to become a professional at least once. “If I didn’t become a pro, I had no regrets and planned to study sports marketing further,” he confessed.
Jeong Seong-jo’s challenge begins now. You must overcome the prejudice that you have not taken an elite course and survive in the harsh professional world. As a top amateur basketball player, he is evaluated as having ‘pro-level shooting’, but his defense, stamina, and understanding of tactics are at a baby level. Jeong Seong-jo said, “The tempo itself is different for professionals. “Professional seniors seem to be at different levels,” he said. “I put aside the dreams I had for a while and started from the bottom. “I will acquire the skills to survive on the professional stage with a humble attitude,” he pledged.
His goal is to become a player who overcomes his limitations. Jeong Seong-jo said, “I have overcome the limitation of being ‘non-elected’ once, but I will continue to have that label attached to me,” and added, “I must overcome even this to become a real basketball player.” About his mission as a professional player, “The first thing is to make my debut. “The next thing is to hit a 3-point shot,” he said, adding, “I want to become a player who will leave a mark in KBL history someday.” “As long as you don’t set limits for yourself, there is nothing you can’t overcome,” he said emphatically.
Pi Joongang ([email protected])
