THE BJ-LEAGUE INSIDER
  • Basketball Writer in Japan blog
  • 2014-15 team rosters
  • 2014-15 import players
  • 2014-15 season - by the numbers
  • Archived stories in The Japan Times
  • A look at the league's foreign coaches
  • What others are saying
  • Useful hoop sites in Japanese
  • (Through 2010-11 season) Top players in bj-league history: An in-depth analysis and survey
  • Year-by-year team involvement
  • 2012-13 Import players' college list
  • 2012-13 rosters
  • 2011-12 team rosters
  • 2011-12 foreign players and coaches list
  • Former NBA players' update
  • An introduction to the bj-league
  • Thought of the day
  • Memorable quotes
  • Media gets a raw deal
  • A source of inspiration
  • Interviews
  • Cost-cutting measures hurt league's image
  • The top Japanese rebounder is ...
  • The reality is ...
  • Respect for his peers
  • Best Five teams - 2005-06 to present
  • By the numbers
  • Not good enough
  • Poignant comments
  • JBL vs. bj-league and the problems both face
  • The way it is
  • Kawachi's impact
  • More memorable quotes
  • Photo gallery

Three things

10/21/2011

0 Comments

 
On this rainy morning in South Tokyo, three thoughts are swirling through my head:


1. It's great for the bj-league whenever Osaka and Ryukyu square off, as they will today in the first truly meaningful rivalry series of the season.

Between them, Evessa star Lynn Washington and Golden Kings franchise player Jeff Newton, or both, have appeared in all six bj-league title games, three as teammates of Osaka when the powerhouse won titles in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

When Newton left Osaka and headed for the Ryukyu islands, he helped transformed the second-year team into a title contender in 2008, and a natural rivalry formed between the two teams. It's been terrific to follow.

Players on both teams have kept this rivalry interesting, fresh and highly competitive since then, too. Now, with five-time All-Star Cohey Aoki on Washington's side and Narito Namizato on Newton's, new pieces have been added to both team's championship aspirations.

2. Michael Katsuhisa and Geoffrey Katsuhisa will be on the sidelines as assistant coaches for the first time today on opposite teams, as Michael's Yokohama B-Corsairs and Geoffrey's Chiba Jets -- two expansion teams -- square off. Both guys know their Xs and Os and provide fast, thorough, accurate translations for head coaches Reggie Geary and Eric Gardow, respectively.

In the future, their sibling rivalry could grow into something bigger if both young men become bench bosses in this league. Stay tuned.

3. Iwate Big Bulls coach Vlasios Vlaikidis leads his team into action this weekend against the Akita Northern Happinets. The games will be only the third and fourth in Iwate team history, and coming off a bye week Vlaikidis noted “we need games.”

He said earlier this week that after eight games he’d start to be able to make measured analysis of his players and the team as a whole.

Yes, it takes time to know if a brand new team is progressing along the path its leader has mapped out.

0 Comments

    Ed Odeven

    I'm a sports writer, columnist and editor for The Japan Times.
    This site is an extension of my work covering the bj-league. News, commentary, notes, quotes and anecdotes about the bj-league.

    Archives

    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011

    Categories

    All
    2011-12 Season
    89ers
    Afl
    Akita
    Al Davis
    All-Star Games
    Aoki
    Bad Attendance
    Bj League
    Bj-league
    Blocked Shots
    Bob Hill
    Bob Pierce
    Broncos
    Cancer Survivor
    Champion Head Coaches
    Chiba Jets
    Coach Blackwell
    Coaches
    Coach Gardow
    Coaching Carousel
    Cohey Aoki
    Constant Chaos
    David Benoit
    Debuts
    Dwane Casey
    Earthquake
    Eastern Conference
    Eric Gardow
    Evessa
    Fan Donations
    Fan Perspective
    Final Four
    Fukuoka
    Gardener
    Geoffrey Katsuhisa
    Gimmicks
    Golden Kings
    Great East Japan Earthquake
    Hamamatsu
    Happinets
    Heatdevils
    Herb Brown
    Hernando Planells
    Holm
    Home Page
    Honoo Hamaguchi
    Humphrey
    Itakura
    Iwate Big Bulls
    Japan Basketball Association
    Japan Women's National Team
    Jbl
    Jeff Newton
    Jeffrey Parmer
    J.League
    John Flowers
    Johnny Dukes
    Joho
    Katakana
    Kazuo Nakamura
    Kyoto Hannaryz
    Lance Allred
    Lawrence Blackledge
    League Operations
    League Promotions
    Lynn Washington
    Magic Johnson
    Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf
    Maki
    Management Ability
    March 11
    Media Problems
    Michael Gardener
    Michael Jackson
    Michael Jordan
    Michael Katsuhisa
    Miyazaki
    Motofumi Aoki
    Nakama
    Nakamura
    Nakanishi
    Namizato
    Narito Namizato
    Natalie Nakase
    Nba Lockout
    Neumann
    New Teams
    Nfl
    Nhk
    Oita
    Okinawa Fans
    One-year Anniversary Of Earthquake
    Osaka
    Osaka Evessa
    Parity
    Parker
    Peppers
    Phil Jackson
    Photos
    Poetry
    Poor Pr
    Pr
    Rashaad Singleton
    Reggie Geary
    Ryan Blackwell
    Ryukyu
    Ryukyu Golden Kings
    Saitama
    Saitama Broncos
    Sendai
    Sendai 89ers
    Shiga Lakestars
    Shinji Tomiyama
    Sportcourt
    Statistics
    Takamatsu
    Takamatsu Five Arrows
    Takehiko Shimura
    Takushi
    Tanaka
    Thomas
    Tohoku
    Tokyo Cinq Reves
    Tomohide Utsumi
    Top 10 Scorers
    Top Japanese Players
    Toshimitsu Kawachi
    Vlasios Vlaikidis
    Washington
    Wendell White
    Yokohama
    Yokohama B Corsairs
    Yokohama B-Corsairs
    Yu Okada
    Yuta Tabuse

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.