With his exceptional height and confidence, Naoki Uto could add a new dimension to the Japan men's national basketball team.
Standing at 189 cm, Uto is by far the tallest point guard that Japan coach Julio Lamas has called up for his preliminary squad, which is currently working toward the first Asian qualifier for the 2019 FIBA World Cup. None of the other point guards on the provisional squad is over 178 cm (the popular Yuki Togashi is 167 cm).
In addition to his height, Uto also has phenomenal individual skills in both scoring and making assists.