Blog Archives - THE BJ-LEAGUE INSIDER

Assist leaders

3/26/2012

Top 10 passers through Sunday.
1. Kenny Satterfield (Saitama) - 6.7
2. Takehiko Shimura (Sendai) - 5.5
3. Naoto Takushi (Oita) and Jermaine Dixon (Hamamatsu) - 5.2
5. Edward Yamamoto (Shimane) - 5.1
6. Johnny Dukes (Sendai) - 4.7
7. Narito Namizato (Ryukyu) - 4.4
8. Yoshiaki Yamamoto (Iwate) - 4.3
9. Jamel Staten (Chiba) and Gary Hamilton (Fukuoka) - 4.0

Did you know?

3/26/2012

There are three players in the bj-league in the top 10 in both scoring and rebounding:

*Yokohama's Justin Burrell
*Oita's T.J. Cummings
*Chiba's Jamel Staten

Staten is also in the top 10 in assists.

Rebounding leaders

3/26/2012

1. Chris Holm (Niigata) - 14.7 rebounds per game
2. Gary Hamilton (Fukuoka) - 11.1
3. Rick Rickert (Kyoto) - 10.9
4. Jamel Staten (Chiba) - 10.8
5. Shawn Malloy (Iwate) - 10.5
6. T.J. Cummings (Oita) and Jeff Newton (Ryukyu) - 10.0
8. Justin Burrell (Yokohama) - 9.9
9. Devin Searcy (Toyama) and Lee Roberts (Shinshu) - 9.7

Note: Through games of March 25

Updated scoring leaders

3/26/2012

Through Sunday's games
1. Michael Parker (Shimane) - 23.1 points per game
2. Maurice Hargrow (Chiba) - 21.4
3. T.J. Cummings (Oita) - 21.1
4. John Flowers (Saitama) - 20.9
5. Kevin Palmer (Fukuoka) - 20.8
6. Jamel Staten (Chiba) - 20.6
7. Dan Fitzgerald (Sendai) - 18.8
AND
7. Derek Raivio (Shinshu) - 18.8
9. Justin Burrell (Yokohama) - 18.7
10. Ricky Woods (Akita) - 18.5

Player's viewpoint - Rashaad Singleton

3/13/2012

The Sendai center reflected on his team's triumph on Sunday over the host Rizing Fukuoka.

"Things during the series were fine," he told me. "We got to end our four-game road trip on a good note. It was very important to us to win on the anniversary of the earthquake disaster, because we know how much our fans support us. It was more than a game, it was statement that Sendai is still strong and determined.

"It was a very emotional game. I dislocated my thumb in the first quarter which threw me off my game offensively, but coach still had faith in my defense and I was able to get some things done for my teammates on the defensive end. It was a great win not just for the 89ers, but for everyone that was affected by the disaster."

A coach's perspective -- about Gary Hamilton

3/11/2012

After Sunday's game, Sendai bench boss Bob Pierce spoke about Rizing Fukuoka forward Gary Hamilton, who used to play for Pierce when they both were with the Shiga Lakestars.

He said, "I'd rather coach him, but I have to say I love playing games against Gary Hamilton, although winning them is a challenge. He has great hands when it comes to grabbing rebounds in traffic and excellent court vision to find cutters.

"Beyond the talent, Gary has a wonderful personality. Win or lose, he's fun to talk to before, during and after the games."

At the heart of the problem

3/11/2012

Transparency is needed.

Obviously, the bj-league's financial structure and security have been affected by the global credit crunch and economic downturn in recent years. And that's only one part of a bigger problem. Analyzing the league's actual operating procedures shows a system that rewards the allure of fast bucks rather than long-term stability and sound business practices.

"When you look at the whole bj-league, I don't think any team will succeed," said one insider.

"Unless the bj-league office and chairman Ikeda change their mind, nothing will change."

Why?

"When you are an investor looking for an opportunity for running a team, you really need to assess the financials of each team," the pundit pointed out. "The disclosure of the bj-league is close to none. Some teams submit a detailed financial result, but some do not.

"That makes the owner of the expansion team nuts. They rely heavily on what the people from the bj-league say. And when they actually run the team, they recognize that the financial information that they provided was not true. Look at Miyazaki. A perfect example of what I am talking about.

"Owners who can't assess business values and a league office who wants to lie for money -- who will benefit from this? None."

A coach's perspective

3/3/2012

An email I received recently:

"Our job as coaches, players, and management is to sell and promote our league. It's not just about winning. Right now I'm watching the 2nd halves of Osaka-Shinshu and Toyama-Fukuoka. I watches the first halves of Oita-Chiba and Kyoto-Shiga. There's been good basketball in all four games!

"Now sell it. Promote it. All the good plays. The story lines. What are people missing if they stay home? And cheerleaders and music, events, giveaways, they're all important. Make whoever came feel part of the team and the action. Cheering for your team is one of the most amazing ways for a group of people to all feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves."

A history lesson

3/1/2012

History teaches us a lot about success and failure. That said, will history repeat itself when the new Tokyo expansion team joins the league next season?

Will the team operate on a shoe-string budget and not capture the public’s attention from the get-go?

Will it be marketed and promote properly and have legitimate support from the league office to survive in the long run?

Let’s take a look back to last June, when the Tokyo Apache pulled out of the league, which prompted lively discussion among league sources, and dozens of emails and phone calls in the days that followed, included the following:

“This is a perfect example of the bj-league failing to market the league properly,” one league source said, reacting to the news. “How can the biggest city in Japan and one of the top in the world lose its franchise? How can a small island like Okinawa draw the biggest crowds in the league?

“I think the reason the Ryukyu Kings are successful is (CEO) Jun Yasunaga. Jun went to the University of Indiana and was part of the New Jersey Nets front office. Jun brought a huge amount of knowledge and experience and knowledge to Okinawa. The Kings are still conducting clinics even though the league was finished a few weeks ago.

“Teams need to go to the kids and basketball clubs and get these people to attend the games. Tokyo was in my eyes arrogant and complacent. They tried the L.A. Laker approach too quick and gave up too early.

“I am also surprised with season ticket sales. A courtside seat for an Oita Heat Devil game was double the price of a Kings game. They increased the price last season and nobody showed up. It makes more sense to me to sell 1,000 tickets at 1000 yen rather than 55 at 2,000 yen.

“Marketing has got to improve or the league will go nowhere. I went to the finals again this year and sat in amazement of how many Kings fans were in the arena (Ariake Colosseum). Okinawa Prefecture has one of the lowest average incomes in the country and fans had to travel the most distance to watch the game but still had the most fans in attendance.

“Perhaps the commissioner needs to bring Mr. Yasunaga to the league front office or hire some American basketball consultants to get the league going in the right direction.

“I have played in basketball tournaments in Oita, Nagasaki and Gunma so I know there is a huge basketball fan base. The league needs to get out and market the teams.”

The source, reflecting on the rapid pace of expansion and how it has outpaced the growth of players, also blurted out: “I can also assure you that with the current rules in place concerning foreign players and the new expansion teams the games are going to become less entertaining. There are not enough talented Japanese players that will make the games competitive. I am sorry but I don’t want to see three Japanese players scoring less than 10 percent of the game’s total points.”

Reading the above remarks, another longtime hoop observer said that the first source made “two great points.”

*Point A: Perhaps the commissioner needs to bring Mr. Yasunaga to the league front office or hire some American basketball consultants to get the league going in the right direction.

“The league definitely needs someone, probably more than one, in the front office with business and basketball experience,” the second source pointed out. “Even just common sense would be helpful! And have standards and procedures that everyone must meet. I remember (commissioner Toshimitsu) Kawachi saying something like the Apache were trying things that they weren’t sure would work, but they were going to let them try anyway. Well they did their own thing right out of the league, and taking the Tokyo franchise with them.

“All that money wasted, when it probably could have been done much better, for much less. I remember talking to Conor (ex-Apache GM Conor Neu) on the phone for over an hour, describing many of the difficulties of running a team in Tokyo, but then they just seemed to ignore or brush aside all advice and suggestions. With the league enabling them by allowing them not to play an home games in 2010, etc. (Writer’s note: The Apache’s first home was on Jan. 6, 2011, though the season started in mid-October). Not smart from either party.

”This should be a wakeup call to get rid of any other under-performing teams, like Takamatsu and Oita, and maybe a few others, but it doesn’t appear that there is any willingness to make those tough decisions that could strengthen the league in the long run.”

*Point B: I can also assure you that with the current rules in place concerning foreign players and the new expansion teams the games are going to become less entertaining. There are not enough talented Japanese players that will make the games competitive. I am sorry but I don’t want to see three Japanese players scoring less than percent of the game’s total points.

“This is probably where basketball will continue to struggle and fail in Japan. Other than (Link Tochigi Brex point guard Yuta) Tabuse, there aren’t any Japanese players that the general population will pay to see on a regular basis,” the second source declared. “The JBL isn’t setting any attendance records, and they already have all the best Japanese players. Everyone thought that the bj-league would fail in year one because ‘no one wants to see so many foreign players on the court,’ as one former JBL import player told me. And yet the league has found its niche in certain markets, Okinawa being the best example.

“Remember (head coach Kensaku) Tennichi succeeded in Osaka those first three seasons -- (winning three championships) -- by often playing four imports at a time.

“As the league pushes towards both expansion AND two imports on the court -- and ‘merge-ability’ with the JBL -- it may find itself losing fans.

“Spain has been one of the more successful European countries in producing NBA players. But I remember going there one year, and one of their top teams, Vitoria, had only two Spanish players on the team that season! And they barely played. And a few years later they sent Luis Scola (Argentina) and Tiago Splitter (Brazil) to the NBA. The more you put the best players on the court, the more the local players will be forced to improve. And there are four Spanish players in the NBA – Jose Manuel Calderon (Toronto Raptors), Rudy Fernandez (Portland Trail Blazers), Marc Gasol (Memphis Grizzlies) and Pau Gasol (Los Angeles Lakers).”

Spanish update: Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio has made a strong impact in his rookie campaign in the NBA.