Sport & Design Blog: live from Tokyo, Japan!
Meet QUAI 54 founder Hammadoun Sidibè: DAY 8
The legacy of Levallois is growing...
This year, the 8th edition of Quai 54 is moving to an epic new venue, bringing the top 16 teams in the world to a spot called Palais de Tokyo. The Rising Suns du Japon in the Palais de Tokyo? Wait... what?! Not sure what the name stands for exactly, possibly a museum? but I like it...of course. Our players' eyes lit up when they saw the new Quai 54 poster. Maybe we can use that to pump up the team even more. Not in our house!
Not in our Palais!!
Quai 54とは？
Even after making some noise with our first entry in Quai 54 last year (media, interviews, etc.) I think a lot of people here in Japan are still wondering what the event is all about. Language and cultural barriers may have something to do with it. Anyways, I really wish we could get some subtitles in Japanese for this video. If you haven't seen it yet, here's a clip of our very first meeting with tournament founder, Hammadoun Sidibè. The cafe was a little bit dark for the video, but try to listen to his words. By the end, you will understand why Quai 54 is the one and only Jordan-sponsored international hoops tournament in the world.
Hammadoun a.k.a. ‘Doun knows how to build a legacy, how to become legendary, and all that. He talks about playing with heart, and what players need to win in Quai 54. His tournament slogan reminds all the players who come to Paris each year: Bring Your Game, Not Your Name. I guess since Japan doesn't really have a name in the basketball world yet (except for maybe Tabuse?), all we can do is bring our game. For the guys on our RS2010 team, its simple: we just need to play fundamentally strong basketball, and bring all the hustle and intensity we possibly can for 24 minutes.
Its great to be coming back for a second chance, and we're bringing our A-game, 'Doun!
Rising...
ジェイソン
RS2010
Legendary Coach, John Wooden: DAY 5
Photo: www.achievement.org
Photo: www.woodencourse.com
I was planning to write more about our Rising Suns road to Paris today. Then I got the news about the passing of John Wooden, a coaching legend and basketball god. He was 99 years old. An awesome life, an amazing Coach...
I imagine his words were echoed by pretty much every youth/high school coach across the USA at some point in the season, written on locker room walls before practice, and pondered by players on long bus rides home -- after losing a tough game on the road. I had the rare chance to practice in Pauley Pavilion once, with my high school team. Walking into the gym, I remember feeling some goose bumps that day because of all the tradition that Wooden had built over the years with Kareem, Walton and the gang. And I will never forget meeting my lifelong hero Magic Johnson that day either... unbelievable. Hanging on the sidelines with Magic at the house that Wooden built. Really a dream come true.
Now what did Coach Wooden think about Japanese basketball development? I’m sure someone asked him that question at least once during his lifetime, digging for some secrets to success from the coaching master. I haven’t googled it yet, but I guess Coach Wooden would say the best way to grow better basketball skills in a country where size and power are lacking is to work with what you’ve got, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
"If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes."
Wooden’s words are pointing to the underlying challenge for all J-Hoops players, coaches, federation officials, and even the fans themselves: Can Japanese youth athletes go ahead and take some risks when they first start learning the game, try something new, find a creative ‘go-to’ move, or better yet, shock the world by playing with instinct rather than following old traditions of run-run-run and pass-pass-pass?? And by that, I mean can coaches, family and surrounding community members stand behind those youth players 100% when they go out on that limb to learn the game a different way (or shall I say, the ‘Wooden’ way)?
Japan needs to encourage kids to become ‘doers’ and if that means making a few mistakes, or taking a few risks to become better players, then Coach Wooden might have the answer for Japan’s ongoing search for why it can’t break through at the international level of competition. More risks, more mistakes! It sounds strange, and even counter-intuitive to Japanese Basketball Federation ears, but we’re not worried about them right now. Its all about grassroots. Our Rising Suns are taking risks by playing across borders, working with international players and coaches, and traveling half-way around the world to show the world we are not afraid to make mistakes. Win or lose, we’re making a statement with this team. I can only hope Coach Wooden would see our team battle for a championship in Paris, from whatever realm he is in now, and shout some words to motivate our guys.
ジェイソン
RS2010
Introducing the 2010 Rising Suns: DAY 4
Here’s a quick look at our 2010 Rising Suns 日本代表 team roster, which returns to Paris this June for a chance to battle for a world championship at the Quai 54 2010 Edition:
Guards
Shuji Takei a.k.a. ST
RS Team Captain
PG/SG, 178cm, 75kg
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Darin S. Maki a.k.a. Tru Ninja
PG, 175cm, 75kg
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Yuya Kitamura a.k.a. The Jet
SG, 180cm, 75kg
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Keita Suzuki a.k.a. K-TA
SG, 180cm, 80kg
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Yace a.k.a. La Menace
SG/SF, 193cm, 90kg
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Forwards
Jason Hutson
RS Team Organizer/Player/Coach
SF, 194cm, 90kg
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Mikiya Fukuda a.k.a. Micky
SF, 191cm, 86kg
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Kenji Hilke
SF/PF, 198cm, 93kg
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Lono Brazil III
SF/PF, 194cm, 82kg
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Center
Antoine Broxsie
C, 210cm, 116kg
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Assistant Coach
Strength & Conditioning
Thierry Manga
S.T.B. Bern, National League B (Switzerland)
Junior Basketball and Rising Stars Coach/ Strength & Conditioning/ Supporting under 17 Player Development
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With this year's squad, every position from top to bottom has some sort of international playing experience. Team captain ST returns to lead the Rising Suns back to Quai 54, after his gutsy 11-point performance last year and a trip to play professionally in Peru. Journeyman Antoine Broxsie from the BJ League (Takamatsu Five Arrows) led the league in blocks this season, was third in rebounds at 13+ a game, and gives us a nice low-post presence to build around. Darin Maki also brings some solid veteran leadership at the point, so that should help cut down our mental mistakes/turnovers that we struggled with last year. If we can get that number of 20 down to around 10 TOs or less, we should have a chance to win.
Something we paid attention to when making the final player selection was that every member on the RS2010 team has enough ability in Japanese and English to communicate in either language -- on the fly. It should bring our team together, on and off the court, and hopefully make the journey a lot of fun. We're going to be around each other 24/7 in Paris, so I think it will make our daily routine much easier to deal with.
This RS2010 squad is an international team from Japan, and one like the world has never seen. I know at the national level, Japan hasn’t been willing or able to put together a team like ours to represent at international tournaments, world championships, and the Olympics. Its a pretty rigid system of bi-laws and politicking, check the full commentary on this matter just published today from Ed Odeven/The Japan Times here. Perhaps the only way to deal with all of this is...to RISE. From the grassroots, UP.
Okay, that’s enough for DAY 4. Looking forward to getting to know our players over the next few weeks, figuring out each of their roles, and seeing what they can bring to the team to help us win. Still rising...
ジェイソン
RS2010
RS2010 Tryout #3/Player Pool INFO
Report from RS2010 3rd Tryouts (5/4/2010):
Over the past several months, we’ve held multiple tryouts and made recruiting trips to various gyms, club teams, tournaments, etc. (in Tokyo and Osaka). The purpose was to give as many aspiring street and pro ballers in Japan a chance to get involved in this year’s trip to Paris, for the QUAI 54 International Streetball Championship. Our team motto is Represent, Japan (日本代表) so we really wanted to be true to those words. It hasn’t been easy, but we’re still growing and the process has been a lot of fun so far!
After completing the first two rounds of tryouts, it all came down to this. Despite the fact that we held the final round of tryouts during Japan’s Golden Week spring holidays, the turnout was awesome. We definitely got a look at some of the best of the best in Tokyo streetball. From ten new players at the first tryouts back in November ’09, to twenty new members at the second round in February, and an additional ten new members last week...its good to see Japan stepping up for the chance to represent @ QUAI 54. The RS 2010 Player Pool is now set at 15-20 of Japan’s young, up-and-coming ballers. Player selection will be made at the end of the month. Stay tuned for more!
For all the pics from the 3rd tryout, please visit our RS2010 Team Blog
Rising Suns Tryout#2: Report
Now that we’ve reached the mid-way point of our 2010 Rising Suns campaign, this is a good opportunity to stop and reflect a bit on how our team is shaping up...
If you want to skip ahead to the Japanese/日本語 report (with more pictures) go to our Rising Suns team blog.
First of all, just to comment on a few things about building a Japanese national team representation:
Our returning team captain Shuji Takei (ST) has continued to provide Hope 81 with awesome leadership and his professionalism, dedication and commitment have been great to build around. ST represents our team values 100%, on and off the court. Running team workouts, keeping up communication between the players and our Rising Suns management (in English and Japanese), and working tirelessly to build a stronger team for 2010. It seems he truly understands the significance of this opportunity to represent Japan on the world stage in Paris -- having played last year and experiencing the magnitude of QUAI 54 first-hand. Perhaps others haven’t realized it yet, but this could be the biggest chance many of our local Japanese players will see in their lifetime. Its time to step up and represent, Japan! This is your chance.
As for tryouts, our 2nd round was held here in Tokyo last month, and the turnout we had was very encouraging. Here are a few things to grow from:
1) We doubled the number of participants from our 1st round of tryouts back in November, so we’re definitely happy that more people are beginning to understand what the Rising Suns player development program is all about.
2) It was great to have some of Tokyo’s toughest players come out and earn their chance to represent Japan @ QUAI 54 in Paris. Guys that we’ve been watching in local street leagues like Legends or Somecity, and players from local club teams. We know they can play, but now they’ve got to show us the heart and hustle, and battle for a spot on the team. This is what its all about...skills development. Nobody said it would be easy!
3) With our RS2010 ‘Player Pool’ system, players selected from the tryouts will be given a chance to participate in weekly workouts, special training sessions, exhibition games, etc. and prove that they deserve a spot on our RS2010 日本代表 squad. *Those players have already been notified, so now its time to run.
The countdown has begun...we’ve got a little less than four months to go until the QUAI 54 2010 International Streetball Championships. The excitement is growing and we’re getting pumped for our second visit to Paris! Its time to shift into overdrive, and push beyond expectations. This is our chance. Our challenge. Our championship.
