Cho Sung-won

Cho Sung-won (born August 24, 1971) is a South Korean basketball coach, former commentator and retired player. His twelve-year playing career began during the last years of the amateur era and coincided with the establishment of the Korean Basketball League. As a coach, he is one of the rare few who have coached both men's and women's teams at both the professional and collegiate levels. He was most recently head coach of Changwon LG Sakers.

Known as a three-pointer specialist during his playing days, Cho was nicknamed "Kangaroo Shooter" as his shooting motion resembled that of a kangaroo jumping. He was considered short for his position as a forward-shooting guard swingman, prompting him to find ways to overcome his lack of height.

Early years Cho started playing basketball late compared to most of his contemporaries, only taking up the sport in eighth grade. He attended Hongik University High School but was not a stand-out and was told to quit the team at one point. However, his passion for basketball led him to continuously practice and earn his spot in the team. At Hongik, he first met Lee Sang-min, who would be his Hyundai and Sangmu teammate and professional rival as both players and head coaches.

Playing career College Cho went on to Myongji University.

Professional Prior to graduating, Cho was scouted by both Hyundai Electronics and Samsung Electronics and signed with the former. By the time they were discharged in 1997, the professional league had just been established. With the signing of Hanyang University forward Choo Seung-gyun that year, the famed "Lee-Cho-Choo trio" was formed and spearheaded Hyundai's domination during the early years of the league. Cho's scoring prowess and Choo's physicality and shooting accuracy were backed up by Lee's playmaking and passing skills. Cho first gained the reputation as clutch performer; his form was inconsistent at times during the regular season but he would score during crucial moments of the fourth quarter and in the playoffs.

Cho was signed by Changwon LG Sakers in a surprise trade for Yang Hee-seung after the 1999–2000 season ended. Under coach Kim Tae-hwan, LG stormed the league with Cho at the forefront, averaging a record 103.6 points in nine games, an unprecedented record to this day. With his new team, Cho averaged 25.7 points during the 2000–01 regular season, ranked 1st among domestic players (5th overall, among both domestic and foreign players) and was also free throw percentage leader, winning the KBL Most Valuable Player Award. He was also known as a "clean" player who was never whistled for an unsportsmanlike foul and rarely argued with referees or match officials.

In 2015, Cho took over as head coach of the University of Suwon, one of the few universities sponsoring a women's basketball team. He turned the largely unknown program into a championship contender and finished runner-up twice in the U-League women's basketball playoffs. In 2017 he moved to Myongji University to be the new head coach.

Cho returned to Changwon LG Sakers after eighteen years, taking over from Hyun Joo-yup in April 2020.

Personal life Cho earned his doctorate in 2017 from Myongji University.

Cho is extremely guarded about his personal life and his family, rarely mentioning his family even in casual interviews and not posting a wedding announcement in the newspaper as is the practice among fellow professional athletes. He has a son Cho Jung-min who played college basketball for Dankook University.