Croatian Zeljko Pavlicevic, a former Japan national team bench boss, has accepted an offer to become the Shimane Susanoo Magic's first head coach, the bj-league announced on Tuesday.
The expansion team will play its inaugural season in 2010-11.
In a brief phone conversation on Tuesday, Pavlicevic confirmed he has received a two-year contract.
The 59-year-old coach has won a pair of Euroleague titles during a career that now spans four decades, guiding Croatian club Cibona to the 1986 championship and Split, another Croatian team, to the 1991 title. He coached Japan from 2003-06, including the 2006 FIBA World Championship squad, with other stints in the former Yugoslavia, Serbia and Greece.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.