The Iwate Big Bulls went 12-14 under head coach Shinji Tomiyama, who took over as bench boss when the team was 7-19 in January (when Vlasios Vlaikidis stepped down), and they won their final five games of the season. They were one of the most improved teams in the bj-league over the final several weeks of the 2011-12 campaign.
Now they are back to square one as a team, completely rebuilding for their second season. This approach seems pointless, many proven winners will point out.
Did the 31-year-old Tomiyama want to remain the head coach?
Did the team even offer him an opportunity to run the team for a full season?
Those are the key questions.
And this: Did GM Motofumi Iguchi exhibit any trace of patience when looking ahead to the 2012-13 season and realizing his team needs time to build a championship contender? Or does he, like so many other front-office personnel in this league, have the false impression that winning is only a one-year project?
My thought: Whatever progress the Big Bulls made under Tomiyama has been lost. The team will start all over again in the fall.
A league insider, however, offered a different perspective on Saturday evening:
"He (Iguchi) went up there to rescue that situation. Iwate was a disaster. No organization. No ticket sales. No promotion. American players fending for themselves. Players showing up to practice without shoes. Bad contracts. Basically the outside world's image of a bj-league team.
"Iguchi had to set up rules for player conduct. Stopped all the free ticket handouts and started actually trying to sell tickets. Got rid of some players whose contracts were unnecessary. Trying to establish a professional framework. That's why he's looking for a new coach."
Now they are back to square one as a team, completely rebuilding for their second season. This approach seems pointless, many proven winners will point out.
Did the 31-year-old Tomiyama want to remain the head coach?
Did the team even offer him an opportunity to run the team for a full season?
Those are the key questions.
And this: Did GM Motofumi Iguchi exhibit any trace of patience when looking ahead to the 2012-13 season and realizing his team needs time to build a championship contender? Or does he, like so many other front-office personnel in this league, have the false impression that winning is only a one-year project?
My thought: Whatever progress the Big Bulls made under Tomiyama has been lost. The team will start all over again in the fall.
A league insider, however, offered a different perspective on Saturday evening:
"He (Iguchi) went up there to rescue that situation. Iwate was a disaster. No organization. No ticket sales. No promotion. American players fending for themselves. Players showing up to practice without shoes. Bad contracts. Basically the outside world's image of a bj-league team.
"Iguchi had to set up rules for player conduct. Stopped all the free ticket handouts and started actually trying to sell tickets. Got rid of some players whose contracts were unnecessary. Trying to establish a professional framework. That's why he's looking for a new coach."
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