Korean basketball prodigy offered spot by Spanish league teams

Yang Jae-min

By Baek Byung-yeul

Korean teenage basketball player Yang Jae-min has been offered a spot on multiple Spanish basketball league teams.

The Korea Times learned Monday that the 17-year-old forward received tryouts with multiple Spanish clubs while staying there for two weeks last month and was offered a position from Fuenlabrada, a professional basketball team in the Liga ACB and youth club Torrelodones.

Standing at almost 200 centimeters, Yang is regarded as a top prospect in Korea with his already impressive physical skills. Last year, Yang was chosen as the best FIBA (International Basketball Federation) Asia player in the small forward sector after clinching the FIBA Asia U16 Championship title.

After selecting top position players, the FIBA commented on him: “One guy to watch out for in the near future is Korean phenom Yang Jae-min. The 1.98-meter 16-year-old is a one-man wrecking crew who can potentially become his country’s main man once he matures.”

Yang Won-jun, Yang’s father and secretary general of the Women’s Korean Basketball League (WKBL) confirmed his son has been offered positions from Spanish teams and added that nothing has been decided yet.

“My son left for Zaragoza, Spain, on Sunday to represent Korea at the FIBA Men’s U17 World Championship, and we will be cautious in deciding his future,” the WKBL secretary general said.

“As he currently plays for the Kyungbock High School basketball team, it is not just our business. We will discuss his next step together with his high school after he returns from Spain,” Yang said. “I told him to do his best in the FIBA championship without letting his mind wander.”

If Yang decides to play in Spain, he will be the first Korean basketball player to play in a foreign basketball league team since Ha Seung-jin who made his NBA debut in 2004.