Jerod Ward and Nile Murry suited up for the then-expansion Toyama Grouses in the 2006-07 season, and Julius Ashby made his mark as the starting center for the first-year Takamatsu Five Arrows.

All three players have returned to Japan this season, but are presently playing for different teams — except for Ward, who rejoined the Grouses last weekend.

Murry, who played collegiate ball at Temple University and Texas Christian University and was in the Hungarian League last season, is the starting point guard for the three-time defending champion Osaka Evessa. He's scoring 20.7 points per game and leads the team in assists (119) and steals (51).