3-on-3 basketball gold medalists name Lee Hyun-jung as their role model

The college players who made history by winning South Korea's first Asian Games gold medal in 3-on-3 basketball all named the same role model: Lee Hyun-jung, the ace of the national 5-on-5 team.

Lee Dong-geun, captain of the men's 3-on-3 national team and a Korea University student, said at a medallists' press conference at Korea House in Nagoya on Saturday that he wants to be like Lee Hyun-jung. "His basketball skills go without saying, but his mindset and mental strength stand out," Lee said. "He's the ace, yet he never shies away from the dirty work and always fires up the team — that's the kind of player I want to become."

Lee Dong-geun and his teammates claimed South Korea's first gold medal in 3-on-3 basketball on Friday, defeating Qatar in the Asian Games final.

South Korean basketball has been on a roll at the Games: the men's 5-on-5 team reclaimed the top spot for the first time in 12 years, and the 3-on-3 squad has now added another gold to the haul.

The 3-on-3 players, who normally compete in the 5-on-5 format, said they learned a great deal from watching Lee Hyun-jung lead the 5-on-5 national team at the same tournament.

Kim Seung-woo of Yonsei University said watching Lee play for the national team left a strong impression. "His attitude was something else, and I knew I had to learn from it — particularly his energy level on the court and the way he plays defense," Kim said.

Lee Ju-young, also of Yonsei University, said he has long looked up to Heo Hun of KCC and holds Lee Hyun-jung in equally high regard. "Lee Hyun-jung has something that just radiates from who he is as a person — that's what makes him so impressive," Lee said.

Gu Min-gyo of Sungkyunkwan University named Lee Hyun-jung alongside Kobe Bryant as his role models. "I think mental toughness and attitude are the most important things in basketball," Gu said. "They are both at the top when it comes to those qualities, and that's what I want to emulate."

South Korea's best previous finish in 3-on-3 basketball at the Asian Games was a silver medal at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games, when the format made its debut. This time, the team made history with a roster made up entirely of four college students — not a single professional player.

Head coach Bae Gil-tae said he could have selected professional players but chose these four because he believed they were the best combination for the Asian Games. "I picked them because I thought they would be the ideal fit for this tournament," Bae said.

"In 3-on-3, balance between offense and defense on a shorter court is crucial, and players have to pour out in 10 minutes the same energy they would over a full 40-minute game," he said. "The aggressive defensive style demands excellent physical conditioning, so I built the roster not only around skill but around players who could bring the kind of relentless defensive intensity that 3-on-3 requires."

Bae said the team's motto was "high-five at the highest place imaginable," and that the players had prepared with that same ferocity and delivered. "As a coach, I have nothing but respect for these players," he said.

Lee Ju-young said adapting to 3-on-3 alongside their regular 5-on-5 game was no easy task, given the different rules, ball and defensive style. Playing outdoors in scorching heat after being used to indoor courts added another layer of difficulty, he said. "It is an honor to have our names written into history as part of the first gold medal in 3-on-3 basketball," Lee said with a smile.

All four players on the men's 3-on-3 squad are set to enter the KBL draft in November and will soon make the jump to the professional ranks.

Bae said both the men's and women's teams had reached the medal rounds in both the 5-on-5 and 3-on-3 formats, with two gold medals confirmed. "I think we can call the players across all disciplines a 'golden generation,'" he said. "I cautiously predict that the day will come when these 3-on-3 players move up to the 5-on-5 national team and help Korean basketball establish itself even more firmly on the world stage."