Doo Kyung-min (born 22 September 1991) is a

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He plays for

Daegu KOGAS Pegasus The Daegu KOGAS Pegasus (in Korean: 대구 한국가스공사 페가수스) is a professional basketball club in the Korean Basketball League (KBL). Established in 1994, the team plays in the KBL since its existence. Since 2021, the club is based ...

in the

Korean Basketball League The Korean Basketball League (KBL; ) is a professional men's basketball league in South Korea which was established in 1997. The league consists of ten teams and each team plays a total of 54 games (27 home and 27 away) in the regular season. H ...

and for the South Korean national team.

Early years

Doo enjoyed playing basketball as a child. His father is a former basketball coach, who was initially opposed to him becoming a professional player. Doo did not attend a high school with a notable basketball program like many of his KBL peers did. Instead he attended the nearest high school, which had a basketball team but was not a highly rated prospect.

College career

Doo was admitted to

Kyung Hee University Kyung Hee University (abbreviated to KHU) (Hangul: 경희대학교; Hanja: 慶熙大學校) is a private research university in South Korea with campuses in Seoul and Suwon. Founded in 1949, it is widely regarded as one of the best universities i ...

, where his contemporaries included

Kim Jong-kyu Kim Jong-kyu (born July 3, 1991) is a South Korean professional basketball player. He currently plays for Wonju DB Promy in the Korean Basketball League and the South Korean national team. Early life Kim was not initially interested in basket ...

and Kim Min-goo. He spent his freshman year mostly as a substitute player. At that time, Kyung Hee was not known as a major force in college basketball, but the trio eventually led the team to a back-to-back sweep of the regular season title, the championship and the

MBC Cup The MBC Cup (Korean: MBC배) is an annual competition organized by the Korea University Basketball Federation (Korean: 한국대학농구연맹) and sponsored by broadcaster Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC). It is one of the oldest basketball ...

. Doo gained the reputation as a 'behind the scenes' player who never drew as much attention as his more illustrious and skilled teammates but stepped up when needed. During the 2012 championship finals, he gained significant attention after putting up a combined 54 points (in both legs). He was named most valuable player of the 2012 MBC Cup tournament. In 2013, he played a key role in Kyung Hee reaching the final of the tournament for a fourth consecutive year, by orchestrating a comeback from a 20-point deficit to defeat

Hanyang University Hanyang University (Korean: 한양대학교) is a private research university in South Korea. The main campus is located in Seoul and its satellite campus, the Education Research Industry Cluster (ERICA campus), is in Ansan. ''Hanyang'' (한양, ...

in the semifinals. During his senior year, the Kyung Hee team were unable to overcome

Korea University Korea University (KU, ) is a private research university in Seoul, South Korea, established in 1905. The university is included as one of the SKY universities, a popular acronym referring to Korea's three most prestigious universities. The ...

, losing to them in both the U-League championship and the MBC Cup final.

Professional career

DB Promy (2013–2021)

Doo was drafted third overall in the 2013 KBL rookie draft by

Wonju Dongbu Promy The Wonju DB Promy is a professional basketball club in the Korean Basketball League (KBL), located in the city of Wonju. From its founding in 1996, the team has always been based in its home province of Gangwon. It has the rare distinction of be ...

. The first two picks were his Kyung Hee teammates Kim Jong-kyu and Kim Min-goo, marking a rare occasion in which the first three picks of a draft came from the same university and not from a traditional "big 3" college basketball program ( Yonsei,

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

and Chung-Ang). The 2017-18 season was Doo's breakthrough season as he averaged 16.45 points and 3.8 assists. DB topped the league table and reached the play-off finals but lost to

Seoul SK Knights The Seoul SK Knights ( ko, 서울 SK 나이츠) is a professional basketball club in the Korean Basketball League. The club was originally founded by Jinro Group in 1997 as Cheongju Jinro McCass. Before the official launch of the basketball cl ...

. Doo won the KBL Most Valuable Player Award and was voted into the Best 5. Despite his stellar performances during the season, he was controversially cut from the final squads for both the

William Jones Cup The R. William Jones Cup (), also known as the Jones Cup, is an international basketball tournament organized by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) held annually since 1977 in Taiwan. It was named in honor of basketball promoter ...

and

2018 Asian Games The 2018 Asian Games ( id, Pesta Olahraga Asia 2018 or ''Asian Games 2018''), officially known as the 18th Asian Games and also known as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 or Indonesia 2018, was a Asia, continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 A ...

. Doo enlisted for

mandatory military service Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

in May 2018 and was assigned to the Sangmu team after completing basic training. He was discharged in January 2020. In the two games immediately after his return, he made an immediate impact and scored 93.5 points. He formed a partnership with shooting guard

Heo Ung Heo Ung (born August 5, 1993) is a South Korean professional basketball player. He plays for Jeonju KCC Egis in the Korean Basketball League and the South Korean national team. Early life Heo only began focusing on basketball in middle sch ...

and his college teammate

, who had joined DB that season. However, the season ended prematurely and play-offs were canceled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

; the results for the 2019–20 season were forfeited, although DB finished at the top of the league table. The 2020–21 season was forgettable as injuries ravaged key players. DB ended the season at 9th place, second last in the league table. In the January game against

Goyang Orions Goyang Carrot Jumpers (Korean: 고양 캐롯 점퍼스) is a professional basketball club based in Goyang, South Korea which plays in the Korean Basketball League. Before the change of ownership in 2022, they were called Orions. History Da ...

, Doo scored a

buzzer beater In basketball and other such timed sports, a buzzer beater is a shot that is taken before the game clock of a quarter, a half (if the half is the second one, then, a game), or an overtime period expires but does not go in the basket until after t ...

with 1 second left on the clock to win the game 92–90; it was voted Play of the Season at the annual KBL awards ceremony. He was traded to

, formerly Incheon Electroland Elephants, for

Kang Sang-jae Kang Sang-jae (born 31 December 1994) is a South Korean professional basketball player. He began his career with the Korean Basketball League side Incheon Electroland Elephants and is now playing for Wonju DB Promy. Early years A native of Daegu ...

and

Park Chan-hee Park Chan-hee (Hangul: 박찬희, Hanja: 朴贊希; born 23 March 1957) is a retired South Korean boxer. As a professional he held the WBC and lineal titles in the flyweight division. As an amateur he won a gold medal at the 1974 Asian Games ...

Daegu KOGAS Pegasus (2021–present)

Doo did not play much during the first several games as he was still recovering from an injury and not in peak condition. He struck a back court partnership with Kim Nak-hyun, his experience complementing Kim's pace.

National team

Doo has mostly been a reserve guard for the national team due to the presence of veterans

and

Kim Sun-hyung Kim Sun-hyung (born July 1, 1988) is a South Korean professional basketball player. He plays for Seoul SK Knights in the Korean Basketball League and the South Korean national team. Early life A native of Incheon, Kim initially harbored dre ...

and later the emergence of

Choi Jun-yong Choi Jun-yong ( ko, 최준용 ; born April 4, 1994) is a South Korean basketball player for Seoul SK Knights and the South Korean national team. Career High school and college career Choi attended Kyungbock High School and was classmates with ...

Heo Hoon Heo Hoon (born 16 August 1995) is a South Korean professional basketball player. He currently plays for Suwon KT Sonicboom in the Korean Basketball League and the South Korean national team. Early life Heo enjoyed playing various sports from ...

and Kim Nak-hyun. He participated in the qualifiers for the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup, 2018 Asian Games and the 2019 FIBA World Cup but never made the final 12-man squad for any of the tournaments.

Personal life

Doo married former actress Im Soo-hyun in February 2018. Their son was born in January 2020.

References

External links

Career Statistics
from the

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Doo, Kyung-min Living people 1991 births Guards (basketball) Basketball players from Seoul South Korean men's basketball players Korean Basketball League players Kyung Hee University alumni Daegu KOGAS Pegasus players Wonju DB Promy players