Park Ji-hyun (basketball)

Park Ji-hyun (박지현 born 7 April 2000) is a South Korean basketball player for the South Korean national team[1] and Asan Woori Bank Wibee of the Women’s Korean Basketball League (WKBL).

Park Ji-hyun
Park Ji-hyun (2020)
No. 1 – Asan Woori Bank WooriWON
PositionGuard
LeagueWKBL
Personal information
Born (2000-04-07) 7 April 2000
Seongnam, South Korea
NationalitySouth Korean
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Career information
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018–presentAsan Woori Bank Wibee / WooriWON
Career highlights and awards
  • WKBL Rookie of the Year (2019)
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing  South Korea
Asian Games
Bronze medal – third place2022 HangzhouTeam
Representing  Korea
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place2018 JakartaTeam

Early life and high school career

Park's interest in sports began from an early age and she started playing basketball in elementary school with her older brother.[2] As a student at Soongeui Girls' High School, she stood out for her versatility, earning a call-up to the senior national team for the 2018 Asian Games.[3] She was the first Korean female basketball player to receive an invitation to the "Basketball Without Borders" Global Camp in 2018 and was one of the All-Stars.[4]

Professional career

WKBL

In 2018, Park was drafted first overall in the first round of the Women’s Korean Basketball League Draft[5] and began her professional career with the Asan Woori Bank Wibee for the 2018-19 season. In 2019, she won the WKBL Rookie Award for the 2018-19 season.[6]

During the 2020-21 season, she averaged 15.4 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1.7 steals, 1.2 blocks per game and was named to the WKBL League Best 5.[7]

National Team Career

Youth Level

Park represented South Korea at the 2016 FIBA Under-17 World Championship for Women in Spain. In six games, she led the tournament with 16.5 points per game[8] and also averaged 7.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 3.3 steals and 0.7 blocks per game. In a game against the United States, Park recorded 17 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals[9] in a matchup against Charli Collier, the first overall pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft.

Park also played at the 2017 FIBA Under-19 Women’s Basketball World Cup in Italy and led the team in points (15.1), rebounds (5.6), assists (3.3) and steals (3.3).

At the 2019 FIBA Under-19 Women’s Basketball World Cup in Bangkok, Thailand, Park led the tournament with 16.4 points per game and 3.9 steals per game.[10] Park posted 26 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals and 1 block in a loss against the United States (highlights) and future WNBA prospects Paige Bueckers, Ashley Joens, and Aliyah Boston.[11] After the game, U.S. coach Jeff Walz commented "She’s talented, she really put it to us in our game. We had a really hard time defending her. She scored behind the three-point line, she drove and hit the pull-up jump shot. She’s a very good basketball player."[12]

Senior Level

Park made her debut with the senior national team, at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games and also participated at the 2018 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.

Park represented South Korea in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and averaged 8.3 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists during the Olympics. In a game against Serbia on August 1, 2021, Ji-hyun recorded 17 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal.[13]

Personal life

Park has an older brother Park Ji-won, who is also a professional basketball player.[14] He played college basketball for Yonsei University and was drafted by Suwon KT Sonicboom in 2020.[2]

She is represented by Gervin Global Management, a sports and entertainment management company founded by George "The Iceman" Gervin.[15]

References
  1. Eurobasket.com profile
  2. "농구 남매 박지원·지현 "코트 접수하겠습니다"". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). 2 December 2020.
  3. "[W드래프트] '감격 1순위' 박지현 키워낸 장명숙씨 "생각보다 훨씬 떨렸어요"" (in Korean). BasketKorea.com. 8 January 2018.
  4. "2018 BWB Global Camp Day 3 Recap". NBA Global. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  5. "WKBL". www.wkbl.or.kr. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  6. 슈퍼루키 박지현 신인상 수상, "왜 눈물이 나죠?", retrieved 2021-07-16
  7. "WKBL". www.wkbl.or.kr. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  8. "Players statistics of the FIBA U17 Women's World Championship 2016 - FIBA.basketball". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  9. "USA v Korea boxscore - FIBA U17 Women's World Championship 2016 - 22 June". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  10. "Park Ji Hyun leading FIBA Under-19 World Cup in scoring". High Post Hoops. 2019-07-28. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  11. "Korea v USA boxscore - FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup 2019 - 21 July". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  12. "Park Ji Hyun leading FIBA Under-19 World Cup in scoring". High Post Hoops. 2019-07-28. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  13. "Basketball - Republic of Korea vs Serbia - Preliminary Round Group A Results". .. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  14. "오빠 프로는 말이야"…'농구남매' 박지원-박지현 / 연합뉴스TV (YonhapnewsTV), 2 December 2020, retrieved 2021-07-16
  15. Management, Gervin Global. "Gervin GlobaL Management". Gervin Global Management. Retrieved 2021-07-16.
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