Why Japanese Basketball has a long way to go.

This is not meant to be an essay, just a mere expression of my observations.

Yesterday i watch a tournament of 15 basketball teams of japanese middle schools. In that group of say 175 to 200 kids, i saw about 4 kids that could dribble well enough to beat the guy they were guarded by off the dribble with either hand.

So what does that have to do with anything.

1) I means that when a kid can beat his guy off the dribble, he is a the mercy of a referee having the guts to call a foul on a kid driving to the bucket. In other worlds. If a kid with premium skill is guarded by a stronger kid, the stronger kid get to recover not by his feet, but by his hands. The result, the stronger kid can basically push a kid out of bounds. That is not basketball. You guide the offensive player out of bounds with position, not with strenght of hand.

2) Offense is basically 4 or 5 passes around the key and a jump shot, or 4 or 5 passes, with a pass into the post and then he shots. There is movement, but not to the basket, only lateral movement. No backdoor cuts. Why? because if you get beat, you can just push the cutter out of position. That is not basketball.

3) The games are refereed by the teachers (coaches) of the leauge. Ordinarly, this may not be an issue if coaches are honest. But this is Japan, where places in society matter in word choice, behavior, everything. So guess who has the strongest basketball program in the county? The guy with the highest teaching position in the county. That is at the core of what is wrong with basketball in Japan. You are not good because of who you play for, you are good because of what you can do. I watch a game where this given teachers team play a quarter without a single foul. In fact, his team committed its first foul 13 minutes into the first half. The other team was in the bonus for a 2nd quarter by then. That isnt basketball either.

I love basketball, as i did my most cherished girlfriend. I can not and will not let japan try to japanize the basketball that MY KIDS play. Basketball is back door cuts, over the back calls, guts to call a travel, its even beating your man off the dribble. It isnt 15 passes in a possetion for no reason. It isnt having partical refs that use their game of being a referee to show acknowledgement of a given individuals place. A team hasnt gone to the Ken tai kai (State tournament equivalent) in 10 years. 10! That says everything that needs to be said about the state of basketball in Kasuya gun.


I saw only 2 or 3 teams that could correctly run a 3 on 2 break yesterday.

I worry that my kids will lose not because of their ability, but because the team they play against may be coached by a guy who is a vice principle.

That is where i draw the line with japan. Ok, you think black people arent good enough for your cute college educated daughters. Sure you think all we can do is sing dance and have a good time. Sure most of you cant name 3 black female actresses. Sure you are surprised that i can speak your language. But you will not, destroy the game of basketball for these kids.

Sports is the one play where the playing field is actually supposed to be level. If you take that away from middle school kids, what do they have left? only music and books. Sports is a way to express oneself via atheletic action. It is a way in which someone can define who they are. It is a way in which anything can happen in any given game.

And basketball is emblamatic of all of these things. Until japan understands these things, having a japanese nba player will remain but a dream.