A native of Busan, Heo grew up playing baseball in elementary school.[1] He was persuaded to switch sports and attended Dong-a High School, one of Busan's most notable high school basketball programs, and was schoolmates with national teammate Kim Tae-sul.[2] As he was taller than most of his peers in high school, he played as a center, before converting into a forward in college.[3]
Career
College
Heo went on to Konkuk University. During his senior year, he led the unfancied team to the final of the National Basketball Festival, a winter tournament contested by college teams and KBL D-League reserve teams, and was the tournament's top scorer.[4][5][6]
Professional
Heo was the second overall pick of the 2009 KBL rookie draft and was chosen by Daegu Orions, which later moved to Goyang and became Goyang Orion Orions.[7][8] Although he came from a lesser-known college basketball program, he emerged as the Orions' brightest prospects and dubbed the team's "solver" due to him scoring decisive points in the fourth quarter of crucial games.[6] He finished his rookie season with an average of 10.5 points in 51 games.[9]
During the 2019–20, Heo was plagued by a recurring hamstring injury which sidelined him for more than half the season's games.[13] After the 2020-21 season ended, he became a free agent but chose not to renew with the Orions.[14] He signed a three-year contract with Seoul SK Knights ahead of the 2021-22 season.[15][16]
