Scouting Report: Japan

Moniker: Team Hayabusa

Qualification: Placed third in the 2013 EABA Tournament, beating Taiwan, Macau, and Hong Kong, but losing to South Korea and China.

Last FIBA Asia Appearance: 2011 – 5 wins & 4 losses – Beat Jordan, Syria, Indonesia, UAE, and Taiwan but lost to China, the Philippines, South Korea, and Lebanon.

Roster:

Name, Age, Height, Position

JR Sakuragi, 37, 6’8″, Center

Kosuke Takeuchi, 28, 6’9″, Center/Forward

Kosuke Kanamaru, 24, 6’4″, Guard/Forward

Makoto Hiejima, 23, 6’3″, Forward

Ryota Sakurai, 30, 6’5″, Guard/Forward

Atsuya Ota, 29, 6’9″, Center/Forward

Sean Hinkley, 22, 6’7″, Forward

Takahiro Kurihara, 26, 6’4″, Forward

Keijuro Matsui, 28, 6’2″, Guard

Naoto Tsuji, 24, 6’1″, Guard

Daiki Tanaka, 22, 6’4″, Guard/Forward

Yuta Watanabe, 19, 6’7″, Forward

 

Key Players:

1. JR Sakuragi – I am pretty sure that Sakuragi is the oldest guy playing this year, but I doubt if that will slow him down considerably. In the 2012 FIBA Asia Cup, Sakuragi showed that he could still compete and be athletic against the younger bigs of the opposing teams. He normed nearly 13 points and 8 rebounds in that tournament and I wouldn’t be surprised if he duplicates that against Asia’s best bigs.

2. Kosuke Kanamaru – With many of Japan’s resident snipers missing this edition (more on that later), Kanamaru will be the designated go-to-guy on the perimeter. He led Japan in the 2012 FIBA Asia Cup in scoring and three-point shooting. This guy hit 3 treys per outing and connected on 51% of his rainbow attempts. If he gets hot, then Team Hayabusa will be in a good position to advance.

3. Ryota Sakurai – Coach Kimikazu Suzuki has a penchant for using big playmakers, and this is where Sakurai comes in. He is taller than most PGs in Asia and faster than most guys his size, so he presents a potential match-up problem. Here’s more known as a slasher and great finisher in transition, but on a good night, he can also be a lights out sniper.

Points of Interest:

1. Missing Stars – Many guys who have been mainstays for Team Hayabusa are missing from the 2013 roster. The most notable ones are Takuya Kawamura (trying out in the States), Takumi Ishizaki (Europe), Shinsuke Kashiwagi, Tomoo Amino, and Joji Takeuchi (injuries). With a big chunk of its roster composed of young guys or newbies to the FIBA Asia tournament, the big questions is how will they respond?

2. Yuta Watanabe – If China has a pair of fresh young talents in Guo Ailun and Wang Zhelin, and Korea has Kim Jong-Kyu and Lee Jong-Hyun, then Japan has its own teen wunderkind in the person of 6’7 19-year old Yuta Watanabe. Watanabe was actually set to go to the US and enroll in an American high school in the hopes of cracking a US NCAA Division 1 team in the future, but he was called back to Team Hayabusa when Joji Takeuchi’s injury didn’t heal fast enough. Now Watanabe, who is described as a “6’7 big guy with the handles of a guard,” will have his first taste (or baptism of fire) of the highest level of basketball in Asia.

Tournament Outlook: Japan caught a break with the suspension of Lebanon, since I think both the Lebanese and Qataris have a distinct advantage over this EABA nation. They will automatically advance to round 2 and should face stiff competition against the Pinoys, the Taiwanese, and the Jordanians. I am picking Japan to still advance to the quarterfinals as maybe the third or fourth seed in Group E. – Rappler.com