Veteran forward Reggie Warren, a strong presence at both ends of the floor, has been picked up by the Kyoto Hannaryz, the bj-league team announced on Friday.
Warren played in the bj-league in the 2008-09 season, when he suited up for the Saitama Broncos and consistently averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds a game. (In Hoop Scoop's first Top 20 list of bj-league players, which was published in June 2009, Warren earned a No. 5 ranking. In the same Japan Times column, Ryukyu Golden Kings general manager/president Tatsuro Kimura said of Warren: "He has shown he is great team player with his rebounding and his passing."
Warren, a 204-cm 104-kg power forward, has previously played for the Takamatsu Five Arrows, helping the team reach the bj-league championship game in their first season, 2006-07. His pro career has also included stops in Venezuela, Canada, Israel and Turkey. He has also played for the Korean Basketball League's Changwon LG Sakers. The KBL now has a one-foreigner-per-team rule.
The 29-year-old Warren, a University of West Florida product, proved to be one of the bj-league's top players during his three seasons in the league. For instance, in a March 2009 series against the Tokyo Apache, who were several weeks away from their second trip to the bj-league finals, Warren had 42 points and 32 points in back-to-back games.