A lot has changed since May 2006, when the Toyama Grouses made guard Takanori Goya the No. 1 pick in the bj-league draft.
The Grouses were an expansion team putting the pieces together for their inaugural season, which began five months later when the league had eight teams (now there are 21). The talented Okinawan was the face of the franchise before it had an identity.
Fast forward to Sunday, and the well-traveled Goya, who has bounced around the league with stops in Toyama, Osaka, Fukuoka and Tokyo, was the catalyst for his current club, the Shinshu Brave Warriors, in an 81-72 victory over the Yokohama B-Corsairs.