Ed Odeven covers primarily basketball for The Japan Times. He reported on a wide range of sports from the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Summer Games for this newspaper. A native of the Bronx, N.Y., Odeven is a graduate of Arizona State University. He previously worked for the Arizona Daily Sun in Flagstaff, Ariz., reporting on high school, collegiate, professional and Olympic sports (Flagstaff is a major international Olympic training site due to its high elevation) and writing a weekly column. His articles have appeared in Venezuela Online News, The Gleaner (Jamaica), the Monitor (Uganda), The Moscow Times, Swimming World Magazine and numerous other publications.
For Ed Odeven's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Thomas Kennedy, a dynamic scorer for the Gunma Crane Thunders for four seasons, has joined the Hiroshima Dragonflies. The move was announced by Hiroshima on Thursday. Kennedy led the B. League second division in scoring (27.9 points per game) this past season and started all 60 ...
There was a recurring theme game after game during the Alvark Tokyo's march to their second consecutive B. League title. Trust amplifies winning. As much as anything, trust defined the 2018-19 Alvark squad. Head coach Luka Pavicevic set the tone with savvy game plans and confidence-building strategies. ...
After decades of stagnation and instability, Japan men's basketball is finally headed in the right direction. As the B. League marks the third anniversary since its founding, the nation's interest in one marquee game on May 11, the last day of its third season, highlighted ...
A year ago, the Alvark Tokyo built a 10-point cushion by halftime, then overwhelmed the Chiba Jets Funabashi in the second half of the B. League Championship Final, winning by 25 points. Saturday's showdown was a two-point game at the break. This time, Tokyo's 19-point lead ...
Former Gonzaga University forward Rui Hachimura will not attend the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. Hachimura's name did not appear on the final list of 66 invited players that was released on Tuesday. The showcase event for draft prospects will be held next week in ...
Two powerhouse East Division teams are right where they want to be. The Alvark Tokyo need one more victory to capture back-to-back B. League titles, while the Chiba Jets Funabashi can claim their first league title by avenging last May's 85-60 defeat to the Alvark ...
Strength in numbers defined the Alvark Tokyo's performance on Tuesday night. Seven of nine Alvark players who stepped onto the court scored eight or more points against the Ryukyu Golden Kings in Game 3 of their B. League Championship semifinal series. In addition, the defending champions ...
The Chiba Jets Funabashi soared to great heights during the regular season. But the East Division champions had higher aspirations all along, and the team's third straight Emperor's Cup title in January provided the biggest hint of all. The Jets, the 2017-18 title runners-up, ascended one ...
The Alvark Tokyo scratched and clawed their way to a third-place finish in the brutal East Division during the regular season. Forty-four wins in 60 games was what they accomplished. Indeed, it wasn't easy. On Saturday, the resilient defending champions moved a step closer to achieving ...
Johnny Neumann forged an unconventional path in life. As a prep basketball phenom at Overton High School in Memphis, Tennessee, in the late 1960s, Neumann was recruited by UCLA's John Wooden and Kentucky's Adolph Rupp, coaching titans of powerhouse programs in that era. He had ...
