Blog Archives - THE BJ-LEAGUE INSIDER

Individual stat leaders (through end of October)

10/29/2014

Through games of Oct. 27. Source: bj-league.com
SCORING
1. Scootie Randall (Iwate) - 23.0
2. Jemal Farmer (Tokyo) - 22.9
3. Kejuan Johnson (Sendai) - 20.8
4. Yu Okada (Shiga) - 20.7
5. Joshua Dollard (Osaka) - 20.4
6. Masashi Joho (Toyama) - 20.3
&
6. Warren Niles (Yokohama) - 20.3
8. Gary Johnson (Saitama) - 19.1
9. Terrance Woodbury (Shiga) - 18.8
10. Wendell White (Sendai) - 17.9

ASSISTS
1. Masaya Karimata (Fukushima) - 6.1
2. Ruben Boykin (Akita) - 5.9
3. Takato Saito (Shinshu) - 5.5
&
3. Hirotaka Kondo (Niigata) - 5.5
5. Kenichi Takahashi (Aomori) - 5.3
6. Jermaine Dixon (Shinshu) - 5.0
&
6. Tsubasa Yonamine (Iwate) - 5.0
&
6. Akitomo Takeno (Akita) - 5.0
&
6. Kenya Tomori (Gunma) - 5.0
10 Koki Yabuuchi (Takamatsu) - 4.6

REBOUNDING
1. Will Foster (Tokyo) - 15.1
2. Sam Willard (Toyama) - 11.9
3. Chris Holm (Shiga) - 11.5
4. Terrance Shannon (Fukushima) - 11.3
5. Carl Hall (Shinshu) - 10.7
6. Chehales Tapscott (Nara) - 10.6
7. Michael St. John (Nara) - 10.3
8. Lawrence Blackledge (Iwate) - 10.3
&
8. Dzaflo Larkai (Yokohama) - 10.3
10. Stephan Van Treese (Niigata) - 10.1

STEALS
1. Damian Saunders (Aomori) - 2.8
2. Yu Okada (Shiga) - 2.5
3. Gary Johnson (Saitama) - 2.3
4. Gary Hamilton (Osaka) - 2.2
5. Joshua Dollard (Osaka) - 2.1
&
5. Lawrence Blackledge (Iwate) - 2.1
7. Shota Konno (Osaka) - 2.0
&
7. Seth Tarver (Osaka) - 2.0
&
7. Kejuan Johnson (Sendai) - 2.0
10. Anthony McHenry (Ryukyu) - 1.9
&
10. Richard Roby (Akita) - 1.9
&
10. Masaya Karimata (Fukushima) - 1.9

BLOCKS
1. Will Foster (Tokyo) - 3.8
2. Carl Hall (Shinshu) - 2.8
3. Tyran Walker (Akita) - 2.4
4. Lawrence Blackledge (Iwate) - 2.1
5. Todd O'Brien (Oita) - 1.8
6. Damian Saunders (Aomori) - 1.5
7. Kevin Kotzur (Kyoto) - 1.3
&
7. Gyno Pomare (Aomori) - 1.3
&
7. James Hughes (Fukushima) - 1.3
10. Jared Carter (Nara) - 1.2
&
10. Deshawn Stephens (Akita) - 1.2

Article flashback - interview with Isaac Sojourner in Spring of 2011

10/29/2014

By Ed Odeven

Isaac Sojourner provided a classic rant to a Daily Yomiuri column that was completely false.

Here's his response and the 2011 article in full:

In response to Wednesday's Daily Yomiuri column, featuring comments from JBA official Hideaki Usui, former JBL2 and bj-league player Isaac Sojourner offered his insights on Japanese hoops and why the status quo is a major problem.

"The JBA official in my opinion is totally off his rocker," Sojourner said. "There are more foreigners on any, and all bj-league rosters and the (roughly) 20 NBA D-League players currently playing for the teams all over the league. (NBA vets like) Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and David Benoit and others like Jeff Newton, Lynn Washington as well as countless others throughout the years, who have experience from many years played back home at great high schools, prep schools, junior colleges, big-name universities and big-time pro leagues as well. Which right there blows the doors off any and all of these universities here and any other (Japanese) school for that matter.

"How, then can the Japanese players in this league -- the bj-league -- not have the upper hand when they have countless hours spent trying to hold their own against our league's best, year after year, practice after practice, game to game? They can't!" Sojourner compared the issue of weight training in the two leagues as being a fundamental difference, too.

"Let's take the weight issue. Japanese players in this league, if they want to make it through the year, have to lift weights to get stronger and faster in order just to survive; remember, because the average Japanese player in the bj-league on any given night, if not all nights, has to play a foreign player at his position," Sojourner said. "I have personally seen many Japanese players getting better because of the conditions of this league, so to say it can't hold its own weight is utter nonsense.

"If the JBL was so much better, then why can't they make a better showing at the Asian Games? Remember only JBL players could play for the team up until just recently. Most of these players in the JBL were handed just about anything they have ever gotten throughout their basketball lives and they know it.

"If they went to a big school, which all, if not, most of them did -- and please keep in mind that I went to a university here, Hamamatsu -- so I have seen the cheating and the placing of big-named teams in the exact spots they want them in -- then right there, they have not earned much, if this type of thing in fact goes on -- and trust me, folks . . . it does go on -- and therefore don't in my book, have neither the experience needed nor the will to actually win games, because of the fact that they have been handed so much throughout their careers.

"Not saying that some of these players are not in fact good players, some are in fact pretty good talents. I just believe that they would have a difficult time playing in the bj-league under our rules." Usui's declaration that the bj-league is in its developmental stage missed the point about why the league has had a profound impact on Japanese basketball.

"A sad thing about that is, they actually would fair better if their league (the JBL) was in fact closer to our model than theirs," Sojourner said. "So for this JBA official to state the bj-league is in its developmental stage and he wonders if teams like those can really compete in the same arena, to me is just a really bad joke. Of course they could compete.

"You don't think that they could, then why not have a playoff at the end of the year to actually prove who indeed is the best from the two leagues? That should solve the issue right then and there, right?" Sojourner's passionate argument against the JBA's narrow-minded leadership continued with a number of valid points. He continued by critiquing Wednesday's Hard Drives column by John Gibson.

"He went on to say that the 'bj-league, whose Japanese players ostensibly were unable to make it onto JBL rosters, is seen as inferior,' " Sojourner said. "Here again, how can that be? They just didn't make it past your tryout, so they went elsewhere and did make it on a squad and are now really competing for a spot on a team, which is what all 'players' should aspire to do in their careers . . . compete! "No, the fact of the matter boils down to this for me, the two leagues making one big league is not a bad idea at all -- for the overall good of basketball in Japan -- but in order for the Japanese players to get something out of themselves so that they can compete on the world stage every four years is simple. My thinking is that the bj-league model far outweighs the JBL model, so for the merger to be meaningful do something like 50 games -- for now if you want all those teams (36 were stated in the latest rejected proposal) fine -- but they all must keep the players they want to keep and put the other players into some sort of draft, where the weaker teams by record from the previous year get the first picks of the leftover players or totally new players that said team(s) scouted.

"Keep the home-and-away model from the bj-league but keep the home venues to one place. (If) you want to have other games in other venues in the prefectures of every team, save that for the preseason games." Here is his concluding argument: "Lastly, I would try and have maybe no more than four foreigners to a team overall, and that way you could play with the notion of say, teams can only have two to three players from overseas on the court at one time, forcing the current Japanese ballers to up their own games. I could go on and on about things the two should do vs. what they have done/are doing currently.

"However, overall the two leagues need to take a good hard look at any and all good points about the two leagues and make it one for the benefit of the current talent in this country and to foster new and meaningful impact players in the future.

"The key is experience here, the more meaningful games you play due to a high level in talent from year to year, the more your league will benefit." A current bj-league player dished out his insight on related topics but requested anonymity.

"I think the thoughts spoken about the inferiority of the bj-league, is a sad case of speaking on something without knowing the facts," the player said. "Traditionally speaking, the JBL was top dog in Japan, but times have changed. The game has changed.

"The bj-league has been able to attract more former NBA players and coaches than the JBL has to my knowledge," the source added, without citing mentors with NBA ties, such as Tokyo's Bob Hill, the first former NBA head coach in bj-league history, along with former NBA players-turned coaches who have previously worked in the bj-league: Jawann Oldham (Oita), Joe Bryant (Tokyo), David Benoit (Saitama, Kyoto), John Neumann (Fukuoka, Takamatsu) and Brian Rowsom (Oita); and a current bench boss who played in the NBA, Bob Nash (Saitama); and Akita's Bob Pierce, who has worked as an Asia-based scout for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

"The bj-league has shown that a professional basketball model can be successful in Japan. Teams like Akita, Ryukyu, as well as Sendai, have been able to attract die-hard fans to support their club on a consistent basis.

"The bj-league has grown drastically since my first year in Sendai. The local players have gotten much better, and the level of imports has improved. The JBL seems to be going the other direction; it has remained status quo," he concluded. "Public perception needs to change, in order for basketball in Japan to continue to grow."

A primer on Japan basketball's many problems

10/29/2014

This 17-piece collection of Japan Times Hoop Scoop columns highlights many of the biggest problems that Japan pro basketball and the lower levels face. Many of these issues are systemic crises and are the root causes of the sport's shortcomings in Japan and for Japanese teams in global competition.

Articles are presented in chronological order from most recent to oldest:

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2014/07/27/basketball/bj-league/jba-vacillates-clock-ticks-possible-fiba-suspension/#.VFCp5ldbtyI

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2014/04/03/basketball/time-for-fiba-to-suspend-jba-force-necessary-changes-to-be-made/#.VFCqeVdbtyI

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2014/02/13/basketball/bj-league/perpetual-problems-plague-japan-basketball-association/

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2013/08/20/basketball/bj-league/constant-change-lack-of-plan-hurt-bj-leagues-viability/

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2013/05/08/basketball/bj-league/cartwright-gives-parting-thoughts-on-experience-in-japan/

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2011/12/18/basketball/bj-league/dont-expect-japanese-basketball-to-embrace-a-real-workable-plan/#.VFCruFdbtyI

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2011/09/25/basketball/bj-league/problems-plague-every-level-of-game/#.VFCr8ldbtyI

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2011/03/27/basketball/bj-league/time-for-jba-to-give-up-charade-on-merger/#.VFCsSVdbtyI

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2011/03/06/basketball/bj-league/japanese-players-grow-in-bj-league-stagnate-in-jbl/#.VFCtC1dbtyI

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2010/12/05/basketball/bj-league/kawachi-has-backers-detractors/

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2010/06/05/basketball/bj-league/no-end-to-jbas-incompetence/#.VFCs9FdbtyI

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2010/02/20/basketball/bj-league/proposed-new-league-will-have-major-obstacles-to-overcome/

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2010/01/10/basketball/bj-league/evessa-star-says-merger-best-bet-for-hoops-in-japan/

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2009/10/30/basketball/bj-league/teams-need-true-home-venues-for-legitimacy/#.VFCuHFdbtyI

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2009/09/27/basketball/bj-league/source-says-jbl-teams-in-trouble-league-not-viable-in-long-term/

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2009/04/19/basketball/bj-league/a-plea-to-address-pro-basketballs-future-in-japan/#.VFCucFdbtyI

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2009/03/15/basketball/bj-league/jbas-archaic-ways-suffocating-basketballs-development-in-japan/#.VFCuqVdbtyI

Today's rant

10/27/2014

As the clock ticks toward the upcoming FIBA deadline, here's how the mind-numbing impasse can be broken down:

1. The disingenuous bj-league (nobody can be involved in meetings for a merger with a real interest in it, when nonstop expansion takes place for more than a decade. It's all just lip service and wasted time.).

2. The disinterested NBL (aka the old JBL, old Super League, etc. has stalled and stalled for decades to embrace progress to get rid of corporate team mind-set/business/operations or to make even a half-attempt at showing respect for the bj-league's existence). *What if the Japanese soccer leaders, who ran the old corporate league did the same thing? The J.League would still be nothing but an idea*

3. The powerless JBA (Ex-Prime Minister Aso-san should have had the clout to get things done...but didn't. Fukatsu-san got nothing done and went away with a big bang last week -- he quit -- and now Maruo-san is a puppet of the NBL, until proven otherwise).

The damage that a FIBA ban will have on Japan basketball cannot be overstated. And this isn't just for national teams' developments), but also domestically and overseas - including for potential investors and business sponsors and media that will find 15 other things more important to focus on and write/broadcast on, instead of the two squabbling leagues.

Stinging indictment

10/25/2014

People can see right through the nonsense, the spineless leadership and the lack of direction that has haunted the Japan Basketball Association, the NBL (and its predecessor, the JBL), and the bj-league, as FIBA's Oct. 31 deadline for a merger plan inches closer.

The resignation this week of JBA president Yasuhiko Fukatsu only hammers home the point that coming together for the common good to position the sport for future success in Japan and overseas competition is not something that is a key concern for those running the show ... and running it into the ground.

Since FIBA's demands for one -- and only one -- top league in Japan were made in February 2009 during an official visit to Tokyo, there's only been five years of stalling, meetings that resulted in zero accomplishments, wasted time, finger pointing, empty statements, impossible blueprints for a new league (one insane plan called for 36 teams, for instance in a nation where it's not uncommon for a team to use six, seven, or eight "home" gyms during a given season), new committees being formed without any vision or passion to make a difference.

None of this is a surprise, though.

The great sport, played and loved by millions around the world, is held back in Japan by never-ending backstabbing, clinging to the past (the corporate league relics of a time gone by; the wishes of many who stall the merger) and far too many instances of cronyism, nepotism and incompetence. (It's a wonder these two leagues can even administer themselves during the long season. Of course, the NBL's Wakayama Trians' ongoing economic woes, and the Tsukuba Robots management being booted aside and the team being taken over by NBL management are only the tip of the iceberg. ... and bj-league teams have had many similar crises.)

A Japan Today commenter summed it all up quite well by writing:

"Japanese basketball looks like such a mess. I'm hesitant to give them my money by attending a game since they've failed to get their act together for many years. This is a really sad situation for basketball fans and for young people in Japan. The incompetence of the people being paid to manage it is astounding."

Comments were made for this story: http://www.japantoday.com/category/sports/view/japan-facing-ban-from-international-basketball

Interview flashback - 2011

10/16/2014

A longtime hoop observer spoke to me about the problems of the sport here during a March 2011 interview.

Can you offer a few comments on the record that can be used to highlight what is good and bad and what are the real challenges both leagues face now?　And how has the bj-league's growth built a pathway for youth and development of the game as well?

He said, "JBL: If you want to see the best Japanese players, or get an idea of who might be on the Japan National Team, you have to watch the JBL. Only 8 teams, with Hokkaido on the verge of collapse, so the number of teams for 2011-12 is in doubt. About 13 teams in the JBL have folded and gone out of business over the last 15 years, with three others leaving to join the bj-league. Even the best Japanese players are only at about the level of NAIA or NCAA Div. II basketball in the US. Except for Tochigi and Hokkaido, quite often the majority of fans are employees of the sponsoring companies, Hitachi, Panasonic, Toyota, Toshiba, etc.

"(In the) bj-league: Up to five imports per team, so if you want to watch dunks, alley-oops, and athletic play, this is the league to watch. Three former NBA players and one former NBA head coach, so the reputation of this league among players and agents has improved rapidly. The bj-league gets much more respect from abroad than it does from within Japan. With teams located in areas like Okinawa (Ryukyu Golden Kings), Niigata, Sendai, and Akita it has developed strong fan bases in areas that were previously neglected. Although many of the Japanese players have improved dramatically, the bj-league still gets second class treatment without the best Japanese players. It also hurts the leagues image to have teams like Oita and Takamatsu struggle along. If teams can't operate with a minimum budget for players and staff, and if they can't put a minimum number of fans in the stands for every game, they need to be dropped from the league. The league needs to do more to strengthen the good teams and weed out the under-performers."

Do you think the national team needs greater commitments to getting players overseas for colleges and hoop camps, too?

"To be honest, playing college basketball in Japan is a waste of four years. Players rarely improve, and it is not until after they join the JBL (or bj-league) that they start to reach their potential. If the JBA really wanted to improve Japanese basketball they would make a concerted effort to see that as many of the top young players as possible in junior high school were learning English and preparing to go to high school and college in the US. Japanese teams at all levels (mini basketball, jr. high, high school, college) have too many players on the team. Quite often 20-30 or more. Teams don't play that many games, and if 5 players are playing, that leaves 25 sitting and watching. Contrast to high school teams in the US for example, where one high school may have four teams (freshman, sophomore, JV, Varsity, with 12-15 players per team) or to club teams in Europe which are often grouped by ages, 13-14, 15-16, etc.

"Another good change would be to limit each college team to 12-15 players, so that more player would have a chance to play, and more universities would have a chance to get some good players."

I know you've spoken about this before, but in terms of leadership at the JBA, how is this organization hindering the growth of the sport? How much clout does the old-boys network have in keeping the status quo going and going and ....?

"Thirteen teams have folded over the last 15 years. Three others have left the JBL. The JBA has a system that doesn't work. But no one knows what to do about it. It seems like every new proposal is just the same old thing with a different name. Pre-Super League, Super League, The New League, JBL, The Top League.....

"But it's also very disappointing that the bj-league hasn't been aggressive in sending out some counter-proposals. I would love to see some ideas about where to put teams, how to divide up the Japanese players, realistic talk about salaries and expenditures (which no one in the JBL dares to do because it means dramatically slashing salaries and budgets), setting up conferences, schedules, etc., which companies would be team sponsors, which might be league sponsors, etc., etc."

Flashback to 2007

10/16/2014

From a letter received in 2007 that remains quite relevant today:

"Since my arrival (in Japan (in 1989, I have seen the JBL change to the Super League and now the Shin League without ever really changing its flawed structure. I watched as the J-League captured the hearts of fans and pulled sponsors and TV time away from basketball as the JBL and JABBA (now called the Japan Basketball Association) missed opportunities to build a feasible professional model. A new approach is definitely needed.

"From my perspective, the bj-league is a catalyst that has and will continue to push JABBA to readdress its approach to promoting basketball in Japan. As they continue to grow and build fan bases around the nation, JABBA will have little choice but to recognize them as a partner rather than a competitor."

The author concluded this way: "Unless the popularity of basketball can be raised to a level that appeals to the marketing departments of Japanese companies, basketball in Japan will unfortunately remain in the backseat as baseball and soccer capture the majority share of the sport consumer's wallet."

***
The fact that the JBA still despises the bj-league, as evidenced for instance, by petty things such as bj-league board member Tatsuya Abe, who's a "special member" of the JBA, being kicked out of a JBA board meeting a few months back, has made the sport's progress a painfully slow -- and in many ways often nonexistent -- process here in Japan.

2013-14 regular-season won-loss records

10/3/2014

The new season starts in about 21 hours...

But first, here are all teams' won-loss records from the 2013-14 season:

EASTERN CONFERENCE
z-Toyama Grouses (42-10)
z-Iwate Big Bulls (40-12)
z-Akita Northern Happinets (40-12)&
z-Shinshu Brave Warriors (33-19)
z-Niigata Albirex BB (31-21)
z-Aomori Wat's (27-25)
Yokohama B-Corsairs (24-28)
Sendai 89ers (24-28)
Tokyo Cinq Reves (13-39)
Gunma Crane Thunders (13-39)
Saitama Broncos (5-47)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
z-Ryukyu Golden Kings (43-9)*
z-Kyoto Hannaryz (34-18)
z-Shiga Lakestars (27-25)
z-Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix (27-25)
z-Rizing Fukuoka (26-26)
z-Osaka Evessa (24-28)
Takamatsu Five Arrows (23-29)
Oita HeatDevils (20-32)
Bambitious Nara (19-33)^
Shimane Susanoo Magic (11-41)

z-qualified for playoffs
*=champion
&-championship runnerup
^-expansion team

Today's questions

10/1/2014

Turkish Airlines was officially named the official bj-league title sponsor last Thursday. (http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2014/09/25/basketball/bj-league/turkish-airlines-becomes-top-sponsor/)

And it's too early to know if that two-year commitment will become permanent investment in the sport here.

So how will that affect the current 22-team league's reputation and standing within international basketball circles? And how does it stand now against its rival, the 13-team National Basketball League, aka NBL, which was formerly called the JBL (Japan Basketball League)?

Does Turkish Airlines' clout mean that the NBL is suddenly in a real dogfight for big sponsorship bragging rights?

Or, as a longtime Japan hoops observer put it in an email this week, "Does the Turkish Airlines deal mean that foreign companies see the bj-league as a better investment?"

Furthermore, will any of the just-cited points mean anything in six months, five years or 10 years based on FIBA's demands for a merger?

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2014/09/16/basketball/fiba-spells-out-demands-to-jba-as-deadline-approaches/

And will the expected FIBA suspension of the Japan Basketball Association, which has proven to be a highly dysfunctional leadership outfit for years, cause any of the current plans to be scrapped within a year or two, especially if public pressure grows for a merger if the deadline is missed and it proves to be a thorn in the side of Japan national teams?

The current landscape of the sport may be completely unrecognizable within a couple years here.

Making a difference in the community

10/1/2014

Here are a few columns that shed some light on the positive role bj-league teams have played in their communities, as well as abroad.

Tokyo Apache school visit in 2006:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2006/11/02/basketball/bj-league/bryant-apache-reaching-out-to-community/#.VCuzwWd_uh0

The Niigata Albirex BB provide assistance and moral support after an earthquake in Niigata Prefecture in 2007:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2007/08/11/basketball/bj-league/albirex-stand-tall-for-niigata/#.VCuzRmd_uh0

Sendai 89ers captain Takehiko Shimura emerged as an encouraging voice and a brave, positive symbol of hope for the Tohoku region after the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2011/10/07/basketball/bj-league/selfless-shimura-relishing-basketballs-return-to-sendai/#.VCu0h2d_uh0

Shiga Lakestars big man Ray Schafer and his wife, Sarah, were weeklong volunteers during an Otsu Baptist Church project in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, just weeks after 3/11. (See the Lending a hand section near the bottom of the notebook:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2011/05/13/basketball/bj-league/rookie-coach-blackwell-admires-veteran-peers/#.VCvEomd_uh0

Sendai 89ers provide support to South Dakota teenager battling cancer in 2012:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2012/11/23/basketball/bj-league/89ers-lend-support-to-s-dakota-teen-battling-cancer/#.VCuz92d_uh0

Coaches and athletes speak out against corporal punishment in 2013:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2013/01/20/basketball/bj-league/veteran-athletes-coaches-adamant-that-corporal-punishment-has-no-place-in-sports/#.VC5hYFdbvSg

Kyoto power forward Reggie Warren wears a pink headband during game to show support for those fighting cancer. (October 2014):
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2014/10/21/basketball/bj-league/kyoto-forward-warren-dedicates-play-battling-cancer/#.VEc9zWd_uh0