Kazuo Nakamura on Tuesday was named the Niigata Albirex BB's new head coach.
He last coached a bj-league team for the 2013-14 season, when his Akita Northern Happinets went 40-12 and earned a championship runnerup finish.
Nakamura ran the show in Akita for three seasons before stepping down last May. He takes over a Niigata team that won 15 of 17 games under Fujitaka Hiraoka to close out the regular season — and lost to Akita in the Eastern Conference semifinals.