Masashi Joho has an impressive track record of success in the bj-league, playing for four playoff-bound franchises — two-time champion Osaka Evessa, two-time champion runnerup Tokyo Apache, Shiga Lakestars and Toyama Grouses — in the league's first eight seasons.

So he knows a thing or two about what it takes to excel in Japan's first pro basketball league.

Now in his prime, the 31-year-old Joho remains a franchise cornerstone for the Grouses, who are 6-0 through Sunday, the best start in the eighth-year franchise's history.