Here's a brilliant idea: Expose the masses to the bj-league's most prized assets, its former NBA players — Kyoto Hannaryz guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Tokyo Apache center Robert Swift and Saitama Broncos guard Kenny Satterfield and Apache coach Bob Hill, a veteran bench boss of four NBA teams — during All-Star weekend next month in Osaka.
It would be a win-win situation — for players and fans, media and sponsors, the league office and the sport as a whole, too. That's why the league, which often defies logic, will probably find an excuse to not utilize this quartet's unique star power to help popularize this beautiful game in Japan.
One of the league's leading voices for progressive change, Akita Northern Happinets coach Bob Pierce, proposed a series of clinics, which would certainly create the chance for increased media coverage for a league that often fails to get widespread coverage on the national level.