Fiery leader Kazuo Nakamura is officially on board as the Akita Northern Happinets' new head coach. The announcement, made earlier this week, was in the works for weeks.
It was a major story The Japan Times broke in the days before the Final Four in May.
Nakamura guided the Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix to back-to-back championships before accepting this new challenge in his home prefecture. The 70-year-old replaces original coach Bob Pierce, who was let go after one season at the helm.