After another offseason of major changes, the bj-league is entering year eight of its curious existence.
Preseason competition will get the wheels in motion for the 21-team circuit, featuring two expansion clubs (Tokyo Cinq Reves, Gunma Crane Thunders), a squad that went 2-50 a season ago (Takamatsu Five Arrows) and a defending champion with a new head coach (Ryukyu Golden Kings, Koto Toyama), along with the championship runnerup that shifted from the Eastern Conference to the Western Conference (Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix).
Next Saturday marks the return of ever-energetic bench boss Kazuo Nakamura of the Akita Northern Happinets stepping on the court to press his charges to excel. The Happinets play host to the Korean Basketball League's Wonju Dongu Promy in a two-day exhibition series.