L.J. Hepp wanted to set the record straight about his unexpected departure from the Oita HeatDevils.
This took place during a late-night conversation on Friday with The Japan Times, when the basketball coach said the team fired him earlier in the week due to events beyond his control.
"Four (import) players threatened to leave Japan," said Hepp, who had the HeatDevils (17-21 entering the weekend) in playoff contention. "Three went through and broke their contracts. Team (officials) came to me and said that it's terminating my contract because I could not convince them to stay."