Bob Hill hasn't coached a game in Japan since March 10, 2011. A lot has changed since then, but a lot hasn't; for instance, Japan basketball's systemic dysfunction.

And unbeknownst to the basketball world at the time, that night's home contest against the Akita Northern Happinets at Yoyogi National Gymnasium No. 2 marked the final game in Tokyo Apache history. The team's American ownership group pulled the plug on Hill's team after the March 11 disasters, and the now-defunct team, citing financial issues, didn't return for the next season.

Even so, Hill still tries to monitor developments within Japan basketball and, particularly, the bj-league, corresponding with his former Apache players, staff and others associate with the league.