TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. -- Some things are inevitable: political scandals in election years, bad hair days, predictable plots in action-movie sequels.

And don't forget this: Athletes finding themselves at a crossroads at age 30.

Many pros begin to decline as their physical skills erode. Or, they prolong their career by learning how to better use their talents in competition and manage their time away from the spotlight.

Chalk up the latter as the approach Kazuhiro Shoji takes into the bj-league's second season.

The 32-year-old forward revealed as much after the Saitama Broncos completed a demanding 2 1/2-hour workout recently at Mihara Junior High School's gym.

"I've healed the injuries that I've had," he said through an interpreter. "I went into the gym and I've rebuilt my whole body. That's why I feel like I've done a good job in this preseason.

"For me, it is going well."

Shoji is a newcomer to the Broncos. He played for the Fukuoka Red Falcons of the JBL Super League last season, but the team folded due to financial difficulties.

Now he is eager to make an impact for his new squad, which opens the 2006-07 campaign on Nov. 4 at home against the expansion Toyama Grouses.

"I'm one of the older players on the team so what I want to do is I want to talk with the younger guys and (say), 'Hey, we are going to have our good times and we are going to have our bad times but we've got to try to make the bad times as smooth as possible so that we can win the game,' " Shoji said.

"That's what I would like to tell the younger players."

When new Broncos coach Kenji Yamane was asked to assess Shoji's value to the young team -- 11 of the 14 players on the preseason roster are in their 20s -- he responded with this statement: "I see him as a team leader."

To his credit, Shoji isn't worried about labels. He's only concerned about playing ball.

"That's not something that I need to decide," he said of being called a leader. "So if the other players say, 'Oh, I'm a leader,' that's fine, but I'm not going to say that."

In the past decade, the 191-cm player has had a productive basketball career.

A graduate of Hokuriku High School and the University of Takushoku, both well-known hoops schools, Shoji played on the 1996 Young Men's Asian Championship squad.

The next year, he suited up for the Sumitomo Steels, but the team disbanded.

He played for Toyota in 1998 and then moved on to Daiwa Shoken in '99 before joining the then-JBL club Niigata Albirex, which is now a bj-league club.

Shoji showcased his scoring ability during the 2001 East Asian Games.

In a six-day span that May, he produced four double-digit scoring efforts, pouring in 20 against Kazakhstan, 16 vs. Korea, 15 against Australia and 12 vs. China.

Watch him practice and you'll see a naturally gifted athlete square up to shoot mid-range jumpers, run the floor with graceful strides and leap in the lane to snare rebounds.

Shoji prides himself on his versatility.

"There really isn't a weakness in my game," he said. "I can play most of the positions at a certain level. That's my strength."

His enthusiasm about the second year of the bj-league is contagious, too, a positive sign for a league looking to establish itself.

And here's what he had to say about the way the fans supported the original six teams (two more join the fold this fall) during the league's inaugural season:

"One thing that really sticks out in my mind is that there's a lot of fans at the game site, no matter where you go."

With a year of collective experience under its belt, the league should improve this season, observers say.

Or as Shoji told The Japan Times, "Yes, the players should get better this season so that's what I'm looking for."

So how did he get better during the off-season?

"I basically lifted weights every day," he said.

Yes, Shoji also devoted time for fine-tuning his shooting, dribbling and spin moves.

Yet there were ample opportunities for leisure.

"When I wasn't lifting weights I would go play golf. I like to travel, so where I go I can play," Shoji said.

Perhaps there's some truth to that old bit of advice: Stay young by having fun.