Sometimes, new, different circumstances make you a much better player.
Under first-year coach Bob Hill, Tokyo Apache guard Jumpei Nakama looks like a completely different man on the floor and is enjoying a career year.
As a matter of fact, the 27-year-old has almost doubled his stats. At the bj-league All-Star break, he averaged 10.9 points and 3.8 rebounds, leading the team (12-8; third in the Eastern Conference) in minutes played (558) this season, while he had 4.5 points and 1.9 rebounds per game in the 2009-10 campaign.