Charlie Parker calls himself a teacher, saying he takes pride in this aspect of his job.

As the fourth bench boss in Gunma Crane Thunders history — Tadashi Hayashi, Ryan Blackwell and, most recently, Hiroki Fujita also called the shots — Parker is trying to establish a winning foundation in his first season at the helm. And there's a lot of teaching to do for the third-year franchise, Parker admitted during a Tuesday phone conversation.

The Crane Thunders (4-14) pieced together their first winning streak of the season last weekend, whipping the host Yokohama B-Corsairs (4-16) by a combined 50 points in two games.

"We still have a long way to go," said Parker, a longtime NBA assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks (1996-2007) and New Orleans Pelicans (2007-10).

Gunma had nine straight losses to open the season and dropped 12 of its first 13 games. Parker called the rough start a "growing experience for all of us, me included."

"I think part of the reason," he said, "is that (mostly) everybody is new . . . " Speaking in general terms, the veteran coach noted the squad's roster includes many players who weren't on the team last season, when Gunma went 13-39.

Reaching the playoffs for the first time is the team's target. To attain that goal, the Crane Thunders must finish among the top eight teams in the 12-team Eastern Conference this season, with an expanded playoff format adding two teams to both conferences for the first time.

"I think that would be a major accomplishment," Parker said.

He added: "Of course, our first goal is to win every game. . . . But I don't like to look so much at what's at the end of the season, more so on what's happening this Saturday and Sunday and take it one game at a time."

As a teacher, Parker, whose coaching career began at the University of Findlay (Ohio) in 1972 and included a stint last season as an assistant with the Texas Legends of the NBA Development League, is focused on developing a defensive foundation for the Crane Thunders. It begins with the basics.

"I'm trying to get them to understand such things as rotations and trapping, how to get through screen-and-rolls, how to deny the ball, how to keep the ball out of the lane, simple basic things that most NBA teams already know," said Parker, who worked extensively with former Akita Northern Happinets guard Yuki Togashi in Texas after the 2013-14 bj-league season to prepare him for the NBA Summer League and the current NBA D-League season.

Gunma center Melvin Ely, 36, is one of the bj-league's older players. He's also the lone player in the 22-team circuit who's appeared in NBA regular-season games — 375, to be precise, between 2002 and 2014 for the Clippers, Bobcats, Spurs, Nuggets and Pelicans. The Fresno State product averaged 5.3 points and 3.2 rebounds during his NBA career, and won a championship ring as a Spurs backup in 2007.

Ely has posted solid numbers in his first 17 games, averaging 10.0 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks while shooting 62.3 percent from the floor. While Parker points out that Ely can "really post up against anybody in the league and be productive," the coach insisted that the team needs to do a better job of maximizing Ely's talents.

"It's been a real struggle to put the ball in his hands at the right time in the right place and give him the opportunity to score for himself," the coach said.

Part of the problem, he added, was "these guys didn't really understand spacing."

But here's a sign of progress: Last weekend, the Crane Thunders dished out 29 and 34 assists as the offense clicked against Yokohama, and "we've kind of figured out where we should be spacing-wise," said Parker.

The veteran coach, who turns 66 on Christmas Day, described his first season in the bj-league as a "good challenge."

Asked for his overall impressions of the league, Parker responded by saying, "I've been tremendously respectful of the bj-league. The coaching in it, the coaching is really good. There's some very good coaches in the bj-league, and obviously some good American players. But I've also been impressed by the skills of the Japanese players, particularly on some of the top teams."

Gunma's most consistent players have been forward Carlos Dixon, the leading scorer at 15.6 ppg, Ely, forward Masanobu Ito and guard Yosuke Sugawara, according to Parker, who added that getting Sugawara to stay out of foul trouble is a key goal.

To become a more consistent team, Parker said Gunma needs to reduce its opponents' 2- and 3-point shooting percentages, become a stronger rebounding team (“teams that beat us, they all outrebound us,” he said) and score more points (the Crane Thunders have 90 or more points only twice, its last two games).

Upcoming games: This weekend's series are Aomori vs. Tokyo, Iwate vs. Ryukyu, Fukushima vs. Niigata, Gunma vs. Shimane, Saitama vs. Sendai, Hamamatsu vs. Yokohama, Kyoto vs. Toyama, Osaka vs. Shinshu, Nara vs. Oita and Takamatsu vs. Akita.

League accolade: Hamamatsu forward Mo Charlo's hot shooting sparked the Phoenix in a weekend sweep over Fukuoka.

The University of Nevada alumnus is the Lawson/Ponta Weekly MVP, it was announced on Wednesday. He scored 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting with five rebounds, four assists and two blocks in the series opener. On Sunday, he had 25 points on 10-for-17 shooting with three assists and two steals.

The 31-year-old Charlo, an NBA Development League All-Defensive First Team selection and D-League All-Star in 2014, leads Hamamatsu with 16.7 ppg.

Injury update: Fukuoka guard Cohey Aoki sat out last week's games (two losses) against Hamamatsu with a foot injury. The Western Conference squad, meanwhile, is off this weekend, giving the eight-time All-Star additional time to rest.

"(He) received treatment all week and it got better, but not enough to play," Rizing coach James Duncan told The Japan Times on Monday. "We have a bye week so he can be ready for when we play again in two weeks. He definitely would have helped against Hamamatsu. Our guys play extremely hard, but losing Cohey and having a new player (forward Cyrus Tate) for only two practices was tough."

Fukuoka (4-16) is in ninth place in the 10-team West.

Did you know?: Shiga center Chris Holm is the league leader in field-goal percentage (64.9). ... Holm's Lakestars teammate Yu Okada was 0-for-12 from 3-point range in last weekend's two losses to Akita.