Nagoya's Burrell key for team in transition
Justin Burrell has distinguished himself as one of the elite basketball players in Japan this decade. The dynamic forward helped lead the expansion Yokohama B-Corsairs to the bj-league Final Four in 2012 and earned the circuit's regular-season MVP award. Since then, he's been a vital contributor ...
Title-winning Brex decline to offer a new contract to veteran coach Wisman
After leading the Tochigi Brex to their first B. League title — and a second league championship under his watchful eye — Tom Wisman was not offered a contract for the 2017-18 campaign. Now, nearly two months after Tochigi's 85-79 triumph over the Kawasaki Brave ...
Nagoya's Bachynski stepping up with Burrell injured
The absence of the injured Justin Burrell, one of the elite stars in Japan pro basketball over the past decade, has forced the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins to make some adjustments. The All-Star power forward is out of the lineup with a right-calf injury, having missed ...
Geary has Nagoya thriving with defense
The Nagoya Diamond Dolphins have opened the new season with a strong overall showing over the first three weeks. Second-year coach Reggie Geary's team has won four straight games and shares the league lead for the best record (5-1) through Sunday. Four other teams — ...
Alvark, Brex enter NBL playoffs as top teams
Before the B. League, a brand-new men's top hoop circuit in Japan, tips off next season, the NBL launches its playoffs this weekend. The Toyota Alvark and Link Tochigi Brex, who battled for the top spot in the standings throughout the regular season, are in ...
Former Olympian Hopkins, long jumper at 1964 Tokyo Games, dies at 74
Gayle Hopkins, who advanced to the final round in the men’s long jump at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics, died in his sleep on Sunday night or early Monday morning in Tucson, Arizona, according to sources close to the matter. Hopkins was 74. He was a ...
Aoki looking to set B-Corsairs on even keel
As the season marches closer to the finish line, the Yokohama B-Corsairs are striving to develop consistency and climb in the Eastern Conference standings. Since the start of December, first-year bench boss Taketo Aoki’s club has had the following results: win, loss, loss, win, win, ...
Geoffrey Katsuhisa set to take reins in Iwate
Geoffrey Katsuhisa will be named the new head coach of the Iwate Big Bulls, The Japan Times has learned. An announcement is imminent, basketball sources said on Tuesday. The 34-year-old Katsuhisa has served as an assistant coach for the Chiba Jets since their inception in 2011 ...
Coach Geary leaves Jets, joins Diamond Dolphins
Reggie Geary is done as head coach of the Chiba Jets, the NBL Eastern Conference club announced Wednesday. He wasn't out of work for long. Geary is headed to Nagoya, where he will become the new bench boss for the Mitsubishi Diamond Dolphins. Geary's contract with the ...
Healthy Tabuse enjoying stellar all-around season for Link Tochigi Brex
Yuta Tabuse was the last man to arrive to speak to reporters on this particular day. But it probably wasn't the first time and won't be the last time. The reason is obvious: The 33-year-old star guard, who's had to cope with a series of ...
Geary, Jets hoping to overcome NBL turbulence
The Chiba Jets have been hit with a severe reality — that much is certain. But that's something they expected when they defected from the bj-league to the NBL before this season. "We understood there would be a challenge," Jets head coach Reggie Geary said ...
Major coaching changes defined 2013
Taking a (recent) trip down memory lane. . . . It's no big surprise that 2013 has been another year of big twists and turns in the bj-league, which one can never accuse of being totally predictable, especially within the coaching ranks. The year's first ...
