After the first weekend of the season featuring most of the league's teams (16 were in action), here are a few questions that come to mind:
1. Is Takamatsu management, which has "guided" the team to 23 wins in the past two seasons combined, interested in and/or capable of putting together a respectable team?
The evidence, thus far, suggests otherwise: Two blowout losses this weekend and a 19-for-82 shooting performance against the Evessa on Sunday.
2. Is Broncos veteran John "Helicopter" Humphrey already the leading candidate for the league's Sixth Man Award?
3. Who has a better nickname than Helicopter in the league? What is it?
4. Is
Indeed, Kawai had huge shoes to fill after Kazuo Nakamura guided the team to consecutive championships the past two seasons and only 33 regular-season losses from 2008-11.
5. Is there a better description of an expansion team's goals than the one just below?
"Standing in the gym of
6. Will Ryukyu guard Narito Namizato, who scored 24 and 19 points in this weekend's games, keep up this super pace for the 52-game season?
7. Will Shimane guard Edward Yamamoto, who had 21 assists over the weekend, be one of the league's elite passers for the entire campaign?
8. Can former league MVP Wendell White maintain his 25.5 points and 14 rebounds per game averages for
9. A day after scoring his 5,000th bj-league point,
10. Will
The thought here is that all teams will take time to adjust to new players, new coaches and new teams in the league and the "real" season will begin after the All-Star break.
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With 16 teams in action this weekend, the bj-league will have its first "busy" weekend of the new season, what with only six teams on the docket last weekend.
On Saturday, seven head coaches will make their debuts with their respective teams: -Akita's Kazuo Nakamura -Oita's Yukinori Suzuki -Chiba's Eric Gardow -Saitama's Dean Murray -Shiga's Alan Westover -Kyoto's Honoo Hamaguchi -Takamatsu's Kenzo Maeda Decades ago, Boston Celtics bench boss Red Auerbach had his famous victory cigars at the end of games. So what will these men do to commemorate their first wins with their new teams? Coach Hernando Planells was fired by the Ryukyu Golden Kings after the 2007-08 season, the team's first in the league. He left behind a lot of enthusiasm for the sport here and some smart ideas about how to grow the game whle pushing hard for greater name recognition and ways to elevate the bj-league's image here and abroad.
Here's a look at what he had to say in June 2008: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sp20070603eo.html Who says basketball players can't be poets? Everyone needs a creative outlet, right?
For Kyoto Hannaryz center Lance Allred, the author of two books, writing poetry is a way to examine his thoughts as he tries to make sense of the world around him, too. The former NBA player, a Weber State product, has published a number of poems (an 80-page Acrobat PDF file) that you can read by visiting his homepage: http://lanceallred41.com/the-pesaro-poems/ Chiba Jets coach Eric Gardow is enthusiastic, hard working, patience, yet firm with his players. He's outgoing and will speak his mind when the subject his basketball.
Frankly, the old politics behind the bj-league/JBL impasse are not too interesting to Gardow, a cancer surivor whose positivity is inspiring. The game is what he cares about, not about some JBA bureaucrat's refusal to acknowledge the role the bj-league has played in advancing the sport since its establishment in 2005. He talked about this during a recent interview in Chiba. "For me, and what I've come through and been through in my life, I really want to focus on the important things," Gardow said. "I always try to stress what's important and what's not. And for me, it doesn't matter who's out on the floor. It doesn't matter what ball we use. (A) basketball doesn't know tall or short, or boy or girl. It doesn't know black or white. It doesn't know important player or local player. It wants to play basketball." What I'm speaking about is many people's perception of the way the bj-league is (mis)managed.
Here's how one keen observer described the league's operations to me a few months ago: "I have never heard the vision and the clear plan of the future basketball league. All i know about the bj-league is that their management ability is worse than ramen-chain restaurants." That said, there's room for improvement, and that's a good thing, a necessary step in the right direction. That is, if those in charge are actually interested in making changes for the betterment of the entire league. Is bj-league commissioner Toshimitsu Kawachi the closest thing to the legendary Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis in Japanese basketball?
Well, for starters, both have a rebel streak in them. Davis served in numerous leadership capacities, including as commissioner of the upstart AFL. He played a huge role in the merger, forcing it to happen you could suggest. There's no merger yet in Japanese basketball, but Toshimitsu Kawachi has changed the course of history for Japanese basketball during his tenure as commissioner of the upstart bj-league, now with 19 teams to the old-guard JBL's eight. If Kawachi and his inner circle are able to convince -- or raid -- the JBL teams of their top Japanese talent, the bj-league could become more relevant. It might be the best move they could make, in fact. If Yuta Tabuse had signed with the Tokyo Apache or another bj-league club in 2008 instead of not rocking the boat and signing with the Link Tochigi Brex, Kawachi's Davis-esque image would've grown. Indeed, Al Davis' passing at age 82 on Saturday reminds us of his long-established method of doing things his own way. He was an icon in American football. but was never afraid to take risks. Kawachi, former Japan national team coach, TV commentator and Niigata Albirex GM, knows a things or two about breaking away from the status quo. The six-team bj-league circa 2005-06 is now an entirely different entity. It matters more and more each year. Just ask fans of all the new teams that have entered the league since then, or the journalists who cover the sport, or the sponsors who have attached their identities in various ways to all these teams. I think it's time for him to play hard ball with the Japan Basketball Association and JBL and fight harder for real recognition, a common draft between the leagues, competitions, more air time on TV, etc. Using those tactics as his M.O., Al Davis would've approved -- of that, I'm certain. Good grief. Every week, the league office gives me a reason to scratch my head and say, "Why?" I should be baffled, but really, it's no surprise.
What am I talking about? Exhibit A: It's way past time to change the top photo on bj-league.com, a shot that's been there for months. The photo showcases the hand of an unidentified person and the league's official Spalding ball. The shot hasn't changed in months. Today's opening day. How about emphasizing the newness and the fun of a new season? Where's the imagination, folks? Commentary Saying a team is on the verge of bankruptcy isn't something new; it's a part of the business. It's happened countless times in sports leagues spanning the globe, including this off-season for the Oita HeatDevils, a team with one of the worst attendance figures on a regular basis in the bj-league in recent seasons. Home games often drew 500 or 600 or 700 fans, sometimes even less. So the team cannot be making much money in ticket sales. The team, however, didn't fold after last season despite pleas, posted on the team website, for fans to donate cash to help the team meet its financial goals. Indeed, money came in and the HeatDevils are gearing up for another season as one of the league's six original teams (the Tokyo Apache have suspended operations, so only five of them are playing ball this season). To review: http://www.philstar.com/sportsarticle.aspx?publicationsubcategoryid=200&articleid=697499 Will other teams follow suit and beg for fan "donations" online in the coming years? We shall see. Whatever. It may work. Exhibit A: This past week, the HeatDevils signed 2009-10 MVP Wendell White (UNLV) to a contract for this season. He commanded a big salary to play for the Kyoto Hannaryz last season after helping the Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix win a championship during his MVP campaign. So maybe there's money after all. Or enough now after a few fans shelled out some big bucks to "save the team." (Will those same fans attend games if the team starts losing a lot? One wonders now, too, if Oita will do the same thing next off-season. Or, if things get bad, will there be another method to raise funds? Nevertheless, it's a good thing for basketball fans that White is back in the league. He's an excellent player. And I'm convinced he'll become a fan favorite in Oita Prefecture. Stay tuned to an interesting hoop tale, originating from Kyushu island. Today's commentary
Three of the best players in bj-league history -- forwards Michael Parker (Evergreen State) and Josh Peppers (Central Florida) and guard Michael Gardener (Southeastern Louisiana) -- made their debuts here during the 2007-08 as members of the inaugural Rizing Fukuoka squad. That team was coached by John Neumann. To this day, that team remains one of the most exciting, versatile collections of talent this league has ever seen. I'm still intrigued by what would've been if Neumann had remained the Rizing coach to this day, with Gardener, Parker and Peppers playing together, along with spitfire guard Akitomo Takeno (spelled as "Takemo," in the story posted below; my typing miscue, but he's a player that cannot be forgotten, a fun-to-watch backcourt standout). If the aforementioned trio had stuck together on the same team, would the Rizing have been title contenders for four straight years? I think it's fair to say that would've occurred. Also, by the addition of Parker (featured in this week's One on One in The Japan Times), Peppers and Gardener to the league, it showed Japanese basketball fans that Neumann, a supreme talent in his playing days, has an eye for talent. He knows how to find good players. Peppers has showcased his talents with the Rizing, the Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix, the Sendai 89ers and, most recently for the Shiga Lakestars. Gardener went on to play for the Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix, then the Takamatsu Five Arrows under Neumann. After a one-year hiatus playing elsewhere, he's back in the bj-league, reunited with ex-Phoenix coach Kazuo Nakamura. Gardener will be a major part of the Akita Northern Happinets' run-and-gun offense this season. As for Parker, he remained with the Rizing through the 2010-11 season, becoming a fan favorite along the way, collecting three scoring titles and four steals crowns. Now, he's a key part of the Shimane Susanoo Magic's second-year squad. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sk20080418b1.html |
Ed OdevenI'm a sports writer, columnist and editor for The Japan Times. Archives
April 2015
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